EXCLUSIVE: Chip Roy Condemns Proposed WHO Treaty in Letter to HHS Secretary

Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) is speaking out against the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) effort to involve the United States in a treaty that would expand the power of the World Health Organization (WHO).

In a letter to HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra, Mr. Roy denounced the proposal, which he said would infringe on U.S. sovereignty in favor of the Chinese Communist Party-linked international organization.

In March 2021, a group of international leaders proposed a new treaty to handle future pandemic preparedness and foster cooperation between international bodies—at least, that’s what its supporters, including HHS and the Department of State, say.

Critics like Mr. Roy aren’t buying it, however.

In his letter to Mr. Becerra, Mr. Roy wrote, “The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of State … should cease all efforts to further legitimize this corrupt body by crafting a new global pandemic treaty.”

He pointed to a series of “deeply problematic” provisions in the treaty, and said that the United States shouldn’t seek closer ties with the WHO.

For instance, one aspect of the treaty would mandate that members work together to “combat false, misleading, misinformation or disinformation.”

This provision and others, Mr. Roy wrote, “[stand] in opposition to our country’s founding principles” and would “stifle free speech.”

“Under no circumstances should we empower the bureaucrats in Geneva to govern the speech of American citizens,” he added.

Mr. Roy also pointed to an aspect of the treaty that would encourage member states to give away intellectual property and medical patents to developing nations—which would include China, the No. 1 U.S. adversary internationally.

This provision, Mr. Roy said, “would disincentivize vital healthcare research and innovation.”

“We should harness the power of America’s ingenuity—not stifle it to empower another international organization, let alone our adversaries like the CCP,” Mr. Roy wrote. “For these reasons and many others, the Biden administration should cease all attempts to make the United States party to this agreement.”

Concerns About Chinese Communist Party

Additionally, Mr. Roy cited the WHO’s links to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic as “disqualifying” it from U.S. support.

“The WHO’s inept handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, close ties with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and endorsement of divisive political ideologies disqualify it from the United States’ membership and taxpayer support,” Mr. Roy wrote.

The breadth of its ties to the CCP, Mr. Roy said, were put on full display during the COVID-19 pandemic.

He cited several instances.

In one case, he noted, the WHO intentionally ignored Taiwan’s early warnings that COVID-19 could spread from person to person, instead “[trumpeting] CCP propaganda that there was ‘no clear evidence of human-to-human transmission.’”

In another, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus praised the CCP for its openness and cooperation with the organization during COVID-19.

Mr. Roy also said that, “To this day, the WHO has been reticent to fully and unbiasedly investigate the origins of COVID-19.”

“The WHO’s disastrous response and lack of accountability for the CCP’s handling of COVID-19 solidifies why HHS and the State Department should not seek to further legitimize this failed organization,” Mr. Roy wrote.

Senate Vote Needed

Mr. Roy also demanded that the treaty, if it should advance, be brought to a vote in the Senate, as required by the U.S. Constitution.

The demand comes as other international agreements, including the Paris Climate Accords, never came to a vote in the upper chamber.

“Our founders wisely empowered the Senate with the authority to sign off on international agreements to ensure the country is not rushed into a treaty without significant discussion in Congress,” Mr. Roy wrote. “Any effort to circumvent Congress and join any WHO-related agreement or treaty would be an affront to the Constitution.”

Should the administration proceed with the treaty regardless, Mr. Roy said he would seek to have Congress withhold funding from enforcing the treaty.

“As Members of Congress, we would therefore be left with no alternative but to use our authority vested by Article I and articulated in Federalist 58 to withhold funding from any such endeavor,” he wrote.

Wrapping up the letter, Mr. Roy wrote, “The Biden administration should cease all support for a new global pandemic treaty and withdraw the United States as a member. The WHO does not deserve an additional dime of taxpayer support or any more power to craft international pandemic responses.

“It is far past time for your administration to hold the WHO accountable for its multitude of failures,” he added. “American families should be empowered to make health care decisions that are in the best interests of their loved ones—not the bureaucrats in Geneva.”