On Tuesday Rep. Tom Tiffany (R-WI), with 14 Republican co-sponsors, introduced a bill that would ensure the White House recognize any binding international instrument on pandemics with the World Health Organization (WHO) as a treaty therefore requiring two-thirds Senate approval. The Biden Administration is participating in global discussions with the WHO’s Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB) on a preliminary draft titled the “W.H.O. Convention, Agreement or Other International Instrument on Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response.” Past presidents have used terminology such as “executive agreement” to bypass Senate approval with other international policies, such as Obama did with the Paris climate agreement.
