Sponsors (23)
The bill trades modest, immediate federal budget savings and concentrated executive control over WHO participation for significantly reduced international disease surveillance and coordination, weakened U.S. influence on global health standards, greater strain and cost on state/local health systems, and potential economic and public-health harms.
Taxpayers and the federal budget will no longer fund U.S. participation in the WHO, reducing federal expenditures for international organization membership.
The executive branch gains unilateral authority to end treaty obligations and U.S. participation with the WHO immediately, allowing faster, centralized policy changes.
Hospitals, state and local public-health agencies, and patients (including those with chronic conditions) will lose access to WHO disease surveillance, guidance, and coordination, increasing the risk of delayed detection and slower response to cross-border outbreaks.
U.S. global health diplomacy and influence at the WHO would decline, reducing the country's ability to shape international health standards and responses that affect American travelers, exporters, and supply chains.
States, local health departments, and hospitals may face higher costs and coordination gaps during international health emergencies without streamlined U.S.–WHO collaboration.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Introduced January 3, 2025 by Andrew S. Biggs · Last progress January 3, 2025
Directs the President to withdraw the United States from the World Health Organization (WHO) Constitution, immediately bars any federal department or agency from spending funds to participate in WHO or any successor organization, and repeals the U.S. statute that authorized membership and related appropriations. The prohibition on funding and the repeal of the prior law take effect on enactment, ending the statutory basis for U.S. participation in WHO.