HR 4207119th CongressIn Committee

No WHO Pandemic Preparedness Treaty Without Senate Approval Act

Introduced: Jun 26, 2025

Defense & National Security

Standard Summary

Comprehensive overview in 1-2 paragraphs

No WHO Pandemic Preparedness Treaty Without Senate Approval Act would require that any convention, agreement, or other international instrument on pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response that is reached by the World Health Assembly (WHA) must be submitted to the Senate for advice and consent before it can become binding for the United States. In effect, the bill would treat such WHO-derived instruments as treaties that require a two-thirds Senate vote, rather than permitting immediate executive-branch commitment through executive agreements. The bill also includes findings about past concerns with WHO and articulates a sense of Congress that any such agreement should be treated as a treaty and require Senate approval. It ends with a policy section expressing support for Taiwan’s full participation in the WHO. In practical terms, if enacted, the United States would not be able to join or be bound by a WHA pandemic instrument unless two-thirds of the Senate approves it. This would give the Senate a deciding role over any global pandemic agreement negotiated under the WHO process and could slow or block involvement in any international framework unless it obtains Senate consent.

Key Points

1Any pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response instrument reached by the World Health Assembly (WHA) would be deemed a treaty subject to Senate advice and consent (two-thirds vote) under the Constitution’s treaty process.
2The bill explicitly requires Senate ratification for WHA agreements resulting from the International Negotiating Body (INB) negotiations and any final WHA convention, agreement, or instrument.
3It sets forth findings and a sense of Congress that public distrust of the WHO exists, that such pandemic-related agreements should require Senate approval, and that instruments lacking Senate support should not be implemented by the United States.
4The bill asserts that the process should weigh toward treaty status rather than executive agreement status, based on criteria about the scope and impact of international commitments.
5It includes a policy provision endorsing Taiwan’s full participation in the World Health Organization.

Impact Areas

Primary group/area affected- U.S. constitutional and political process: The Executive Branch would be constrained from binding the United States to a WHA pandemic instrument without Senate approval; the Senate would gain a formal role in deciding such international commitments.Secondary group/area affected- International health governance: WHO, the WHA, and the INB would be placed in a framework where any resulting pandemic instrument requires U.S. Senate ratification to take effect domestically.Additional impacts- U.S. foreign policy and global health diplomacy: Could affect how the United States engages in global health security arrangements, vaccine and countermeasure financing, and sharing of pathogens or technology, depending on Senate action.- Taiwan policy: The bill articulates a policy in favor of Taiwan’s participation in the WHO, which could influence U.S. diplomacy around WHO membership and related dialogues.World Health Assembly (WHA): The decision-making body of the World Health Organization (WHO), which negotiates and adopts international health agreements.International Negotiating Body (INB): A WHO-established body charged with drafting a convention or other instrument on pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response.Treaty vs. executive agreement: Treaties require Senate advice and consent (typically two-thirds) and become U.S. law through formal ratification; executive agreements are less formal arrangements that do not require Senate approval. The bill seeks to classify WHA instruments as treaties, thereby triggering the Senate’s consent process.

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