While I sincerely appreciate the provision of humanitarian and peace-building programs in response to COVID-19 in previous emergency supplemental legislation, I am alarmed that the HEROES Act contained no such support. New legislation to provide swift international assistance is needed urgently.

As the United States faces an escalating health crisis at home, we cannot afford to ignore the situation among our neighbors beyond our borders. The spread of COVID-19 in developing countries will hamper the United States’ efforts to contain the pathogen domestically, impede economic recovery, and intensify the political instability and human suffering that have contributed to high levels of migration in recent years. The United Nations World Food Program estimates that, as a result of the pandemic, 265 million people could face starvation by the end of the year. 

I urge you to co-sponsor the Robust International Response to Pandemic Act (H.R.6581). Congress should enact H.R.6581 as part of forthcoming coronavirus legislation to ensure that developing countries will be supported with the resources they need to confront this unprecedented global crisis. 

H.R.6581 contains:

1. Debt Relief: Instructs U.S. representatives to the international financial institutions to support a suspension of debt payments to those institutions during the COVID-19 pandemic;
2. Protection of Public Health Spending: Instructs U.S. representatives to the international financial institutions to oppose programs that undermine countries’ ability to respond to COVID-19, such as those that encourage cuts to public health spending;
3. Needed Resources: Instructs the U.S. representative to the IMF to support issuing $3 trillion in “Special Drawing Rights” (SDRs), an emergency financial liquid resource that is without any cost to U.S. taxpayers.

A special international reserve asset created by the IMF, SDRs are distributed to central banks of countries in proportion to their IMF quotas. Countries can exchange SDRs for freely usable currencies when they are in weak financial positions. The IMF last issued SDRs in 2009 in response to the global financial crisis and thereby helped ease the impact of the crisis on developing economies.

Another important measure is a moratorium on debt service payments to the IMF, World Bank and other international financial institutions. Across 46 countries, debt payments for this year are currently projected to be 400% of their health budgets. 

According to a poll released by the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition, the people of the U.S. overwhelmingly support increased foreign assistance due to the pandemic, with the understanding that global cooperation to address this unprecedented global crisis will make us all safer.

Please contact alex.campbell@mail.house.gov in Rep. García's office to cosponsor H.R.6581 and urge House Leadership to adopt this urgently needed proposal in the next coronavirus spending package.

Thank you.

While I sincerely appreciate the provision of some critical humanitarian and peace-building programs in response to COVID-19 in previous emergency supplemental legislation, I am alarmed that the House-proposed HEROES Act contained no such support. New legislation to provide swift international assistance is needed urgently.

As the United States faces an escalating health crisis at home, we cannot afford to ignore the situation among our neighbors beyond our borders. The spread of COVID-19 in developing countries will hamper the United States’ efforts to contain the pathogen domestically, impede global and domestic economic recovery, and intensify the political instability and human suffering that have contributed to high levels of migration in recent years.

To avoid dire economic and humanitarian consequences, I urge you to consider the following requests:

1) Provide emergency assistance: I urge Congress to provide no less than $12 billion for the international response in the next legislative package. It should include significant resources for emergency global health and health security activities, as well as for food security, livelihood and other programs to mitigate the economic shock of the pandemic. In comparison, the U.S. provided an emergency appropriation of $5.4 billion for three countries in West Africa to respond to the Ebola outbreak in 2015.

Within this response, I urge continued support to the World Health Organization, the only multilateral institution organization with the technical capacity and global mandate to support and coordinate the public health response of all countries.

2) Support a moratorium on debt service payments to allow indebted countries to increase spending on essential items to fight the pandemic. The IMF canceled debt payments for the 25 poorest countries and the G20 agreed to put debt on hold for others. But more than 100 countries are asking the IMF for more loans. Across 46 countries, debt payments for this year are currently projected to be 400% of their health budgets.

3) Support the IMF issuance of Special Drawing Rights. I urge Congress to instruct the U.S. representative to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to support, not block, issuance of $3 trillion in Special Drawing Rights (SDRs), an emergency financial liquid resource that is without any cost to U.S. taxpayers.

A special international reserve asset created by the IMF, SDRs are distributed to central banks of countries in proportion to their IMF quotas. Countries can exchange SDRs for freely usable currencies when they are in weak financial positions. The IMF last issued SDRs in 2009 in response to the global financial crisis and thereby helped ease the impact of the crisis on developing economies.

According to a poll released by the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition, the people of the U.S. overwhelmingly support increased foreign assistance due to the pandemic. Thank you for your consideration.