San Antonio Standard

Rep. Chip Roy recently led 18 House Republican colleagues in a letter urging Speaker Kevin McCarthy for pandemic response reforms through the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act (PAHPA) reauthorization, emphasizing COVID-19 failures and calling for funding adjustments, oversight and accountability. Roy added that these measures would protect the American people from "tyrannical, incompetent and largely unchecked public health bureaucrats."

“The federal government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic fundamentally failed the American people,” the letter stated. “Acknowledgment of this reality should form the foundation for any reauthorization of the agencies and programs even tangentially responsible for coordinating the failed response.”

“Failure to include these reforms risks not just the reauthorization of PAHPA altogether, but the support of our constituents who demand accountability,” the letter said. “We encourage House Republicans to come together to make further reforms to advance only a legislative package that protects the rights of all Americans, strengthens congressional oversight of the public health system and ensures accountability for the failed COVID-19 response.”

Roy called on McCarthy to make multiple federal reforms to pandemic policy. The proposed reforms encompass returning PAHPA funding to pre-COVID levels to prevent undue influence, reforming vaccine liability for compensation and accountability while advocating for transparent oversight through audits, asserting sovereignty over global bodies, restricting Chinese-manufactured goods and curtailing compulsory vaccine mandates to safeguard American liberty.

Roy warned that excluding these reforms risks PAHPA reauthorization and constituent support. The call is for united House Republican efforts, enhancing oversight, accountability and constitutional responses for a comprehensive, widely supported PAHPA reform and reauthorization.

PAHPA, enacted in December 2006 (Public Law No. 109-417), holds significant implications for the Department of Health and Human Service’s (HHS) readiness and responses to emergencies. Its objective is to give power to the federal government over the nation's public health and medical preparedness for various emergencies, including deliberate, accidental or natural incidents.

Roy's letter was endorsed by other House Republican representatives, including Lauren Boebert (R-CO), Dan Bishop (R-NC), Eli Crane (R-AZ) and 15 others.

Roy has been a lead voice for pandemic responsibility and accountability. Earlier this year, Roy joined Sen. Rand Paul to introduce the NIH Reform Act and also called on the federal government to defund vaccine mandates.