Reuters reported in March that the leaders of 23 countries along with the World Health Organization (WHO) voiced support for a so-called "pandemic treaty."

However, some in Congress are working to ensure that President Joe Biden and all of his successors are prevented from unilaterally joining it.  

Bill would require any pandemic agreement to be ratified like a treaty

According to Reuters, the treaty would create standard rules for sharing information about a new pandemic as well as "universal and equitable access to vaccines, medicines and diagnostics."

That idea hasn't gone over well with Wisconsin Republican Rep. Tom Tiffany, who introduced a bill earlier this year called the "No WHO Pandemic Preparedness Treaty Without Senate Approval Act."

My bill – the No WHO Pandemic Preparedness Treaty Without Senate Approval Act – PASSED out of @HouseForeignGOP today.

This is a critical step in protecting American sovereignty

Joe Biden should NEVER surrender our pandemic management to the World Health Organization. pic.twitter.com/PaGpvaF6II

— Rep. Tom Tiffany (@RepTiffany) July 11, 2024

Tiffany's legislation requires that "any convention, agreement, or other international instrument on pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response reached by the World Health Assembly" be subject to the same approval process as treaties.

Tiffany says his bill "is essential to protecting our nation’s sovereignty"

Under Article II, Section 2 of the United States Constitution, the president is empowered to make treaties with foreign governments.

However, such treaties are only binding if they have received approval from two-thirds of the Senate, something which is unlikely to happen for any WHO-related pandemic agreement.

"It’s deeply concerning that the Biden-Harris administration would even consider signing the World Health Organization’s pandemic treaty," Breitbart quoted Tiffany as saying in a statement to reporters this week.

"We cannot stand by as they attempt to surrender control of our public health system to unelected bureaucrats at the W.H.O. and the UN," he continued.

"This legislation is essential to protecting our nation’s sovereignty and ensuring that the safety of American citizens remains in the hands of the U.S., not a corrupt international organization," the Republican lawmaker went on to add.

Bill passes with support from four Democrats

Breitbart noted that Tiffany's bill passed the House of Representatives on Wednesday in a vote of 219 votes to 199, with four Democrats joining Republicans in supporting it.

New Jersey Republican Rep. Chris Smith is one of the bill's co-sponsors, and he issued a statement which warned of "an absolute power grab by a troubled U.N. agency that is in the pocket of China’s Communist dictator Xi Jinping."

"From the very start, we have been pressing the Biden-Harris Administration to ensure that our U.S. sovereignty is protected from the unelected bureaucrats at the WHO, but so far, our demands have not been heeded," Smith declared.