# Plain Language Summary of H.R. 3131

This bill would stop the U.S. government from spending any money on the World Health Organization (WHO) until the organization meets eight specific conditions. Right now, the U.S. contributes money to the WHO both through required membership fees and voluntary donations. If this bill passes, all that funding would be frozen until the Secretary of State certifies that the WHO has made changes the bill requires.

The bill lists several conditions the WHO would need to meet. Some focus on concerns about China's influence over the organization and whether the WHO properly investigated China's handling of COVID-19. Others require the WHO to give observer status to Taiwan, stop diverting medical supplies to countries like Iran and North Korea, and improve transparency and accountability in its operations. The bill also includes conditions about what topics the bill's authors believe the WHO shouldn't focus on—specifically gender identity issues, climate change, and abortion access—calling these outside the organization's health mission.

The final condition states that any WHO directives cannot be legally binding on Americans or individual U.S. states, essentially saying the U.S. would participate in the WHO only if it has no power to enforce its decisions within America. In practical terms, if this bill becomes law, the U.S. would likely stop funding the WHO immediately since meeting all eight conditions simultaneously would be extremely difficult. This could affect global health efforts the WHO coordinates, like disease surveillance and pandemic response, though the U.S. could still work on health issues independently or through other organizations.

To prohibit the use of funds to seek membership in the World Health Organization or to provide assessed or voluntary contributions to the World Health Organization.

Arrington, Jodey C.

<p>This bill prohibits the use of federal funds to seek U.S. membership in the World Health Organization (WHO), or to make contributions to the WHO, until the Department of State makes certain certifications to Congress.</p><p>Specifically, these prohibitions shall apply until the State Department certifies that the WHO has met certain conditions, including that the WHO (1) has adopted reforms to ensure that humanitarian assistance is not politicized; (2) is not under the control of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and is not involved in a cover-up of the CCP's response to the COVID-19 pandemic; (3) has granted observer status to Taiwan; and (4) has ceased engagement on certain issues, such as climate change, access to abortion, and gender identity.</p>