Milwaukee City Wire

U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) and the entire Senate Republican conference have sent a letter to President Biden urging him to withdraw support for two international agreements being considered at the World Health Assembly. The letter expresses concerns about granting more authority to the World Health Organization (WHO) and potentially weakening United States sovereignty. In the letter, the senators stated, "Some of the over 300 proposals for amendments made by member states would substantially increase the WHO’s health emergency powers and constitute intolerable infringements upon U.S. sovereignty."

The senators highlighted the WHO's poor response to the COVID-19 pandemic, calling it "as total as it was predictable and did lasting harm to our country." They urged the President to focus on necessary reforms rather than moving forward with agreements that could increase WHO authority, shred intellectual property rights, and infringe on freedom of speech. The letter also emphasized that any agreement should be considered a treaty requiring the concurrence of two-thirds of the Senate under the Constitution.

Sen. Johnson was joined by a long list of Republican senators in signing the letter to President Biden. The group includes Senators from various states, such as John Barrasso, M.D. (R-Wyo.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Mitt Romney (R-Utah), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), and many more.

The senators' concerns and call for action regarding the WHO agreements can be found in detail in a letter dated May 1, 2024, as reported by Fox News.