Yavapai News

U.S. Rep. Eli Crane (AZ-2) is backing the WHO Withdrawal Act, a new bill sponsored by fellow Arizona Rep. Andy Biggs (AZ-5) that would withdraw the United States from membership in the World Health Organization (WHO).

"The WHO Withdrawal Act, introduced by @repandybiggs, would require the President to withdraw the US from the World Health Organization," Crane wrote in an Instagram post. "As a member of the WHO, we're paying an organization that's compromised by communist China to undermine American freedom."

According to the bill summary, the WHO Withdrawal Act, H.R. 79, "requires the President to immediately withdraw the United States from the World Health Organization (WHO) and prohibits using any federal funds to provide for U.S. participation in the WHO. The bill also repeals the 1948 act authorizing the United States to join the WHO."

As of the publication of this article, H.R. 79 had 18 co-sponsors.

"The reason that we're doing this in case you've been living under a rock or in a cave somewhere, is because, the WHO is becoming way too powerful, has way too much influence in how we conduct ourselves and live our lives during medical crisis around the world," said Crane in the video accompanying his Instagram post. 

Established on April 7, 1948, the WHO is an agency within the United Nations that focuses on international public health. The agency is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, with six regional offices and 150 field offices across the globe. The current director of the WHO is Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who was elected in May 2017 and formerly served as Minister of Health and Minister of Foreign Affairs for Ethiopia. The United States joined the WHO on June 14, 1948.

According to the WHO, the United States was the third-largest donor to the organization in 2020-2021, with contributions totaling $693 million. That was surpassed only by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which contributed $751 million dollars, and Germany, which contributed $1,268,000.

"There are people in this country and globalists all around the world who want to see the WHO have control over our sovereignty during medical crises, and they're already talking about the next ones coming down the pipe," said Crane.

Crane, 43, was first elected to represent Arizona’s Second Congressional District in Nov. 2023. He defeated incumbent U.S. Rep. Tom O’Halleren (D-Prescott), winning 54 percent to O’Halleran’s 46 percent.  

A Yuma native, Crane graduated from Cibola High School and attended Arizona Western and University of Arizona before dropping out a week after the September 11 attacks to enlist in the U.S. Navy. He served as a Navy SEAL from 2001-2014.

Arizona’s Second Congressional District includes all of northeast Arizona, including Flagstaff, Sedona, Prescott, Grand Canyon National Park, and the Navajo Indian Reservation as well as Maricopa, Casa Grande, Coolidge and Florence in south suburban Phoenix.

Rep. Andy Biggs, 64, was first elected to represent Arizona’s Fifth District in 2016. He defeated challenger Talia Fuentes (D-Phoenix), winning 64 percent to Fuentes' 35 percent.  

Biggs previously served in the Arizona State House of Representatives for eight years, and in the Arizona State Senate for six years. He graduated from Brigham Young University, holds a masters degree from Arizona State University, and his J.D. from the University of Arizona. An Arizona native, Biggs and his wife, Cindy, live in Gilbert, AZ and six children and eight grandchildren.

Arizona's Fifth Congressional District is located within eastern Maricopa County and contains Gilbert, Queen Creek, southern and eastern Chandler, and eastern Mesa.