Exclusive: Rep. Tom Tiffany Presents Bill to Block Biden from Unilateral Approval of W.H.O. Pandemic Treaty
Rep. Tom Tiffany (R-WI) introduced a bill on Tuesday, co-sponsored by 14 Republicans in the House of Representatives, that would ensure the White House must recognize any World Health Organization (W.H.O.) binding international instrument on pandemics as a treaty, thus requiring Senate approval.
The administration of far-left President Joe Biden is currently participating in global deliberations as part of the W.H.O.’s Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB) on drafting a “pandemic accord” which would enforce international legal responsibilities on its members to help address any future pandemics in a better way than the ongoing coronavirus pandemic – originating in Wuhan, China – was initially handled.
The INB held its most recent meeting last week; during those deliberations, Biden envoy Pamela Hamamoto insisted that the White House was “committed to the Pandemic Accord” as an enduring binding instrument “for generations to come.”
As per the American Constitution, treaties – binding agreements with foreign states – have the maximum legal authority in the United States, described in the document as “the supreme Law of the Land.” Given their power, two-thirds of the Senate must approve a treaty before the U.S. government can ratify it. Past presidents have avoided this requirement, particularly when an opposing political party controls the Senate, by using terms such as “executive agreement” or other phrases to describe international agreements.
The two most prominent international policies of the administration of leftist President Barack Obama – admission into the Paris climate agreement and the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA, or Iran nuclear deal) – thus gained legal force without Senate approval despite clearly binding America to international commitments, as a treaty would.