WASHINGTON – Today, Representative Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA) issued the following statement:

“Today, I helped pass the bipartisan Securing America from Epidemics (SAFE) Act, of which I am a cosponsor, through the House Foreign Affairs Committee with unanimous support,” said Houlahan. “As we continue to face this global pandemic, it is critical that the United States actively engage with the international community, including the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), to rapidly and safely develop, manufacture and distribute a COVID-19 vaccine. Thus far, the Administration has failed to meet this moment – 5 months in and 150,000 American lives lost, and we are still without a national testing strategy or a global plan for large-scale vaccine production and equitable access around the world.

“This particular legislation, which I also helped pass through the HEROES Act in May, has ramifications beyond those of COVID-19. What has been painstakingly clear is that we, as a nation, were woefully unprepared for a pandemic of this proportion. Unless we take decisive action to change our present and future course of action, we will again be faced with unnecessarily high death tolls and community spread when the next pandemic strikes.

“By joining CEPI, the United States would be taking a proactive step towards fortifying itself against viruses like COVID-19. CEPI has been at the forefront of the search for not only a vaccine but also for signs of the inevitable next pandemic. They are focused on the science, using experts from across the globe who are on the cutting edge of pandemic response research to better prepare the population for future viral outbreaks.

“The Administration needs to reengage with the international community. We, as Americans, stand to gain a great deal from working with our global partners on everything from vaccine development to distribution to the study of zoonotic disease. Diseases do not respect borders. In order to avoid a future where the United States is once again ill-equipped to battle a highly transmittable virus, we need to invest more in organizations like CEPI and work productively with our allies starting today.”