I am calling your attention to a document in the files of the U. S. Senate which calls for advance planning to deal with difficulties in supplying adequate health, housing, nourishment, education, social security, child protection, et al. in case of national emergency.  It should certainly have been at least considered in the 40 years during which it was signed by two U.S. presidents and ratified by two Houses of Representatives.  However, the Senate has not once allowed it to be brought to the Senate floor even once for discussion.  I think it high time that this was done.  Information follows for concerned citizens to consider.

FROM WIKIPEDIA

The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) is a multilateral treaty adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 16 December 1966 through GA. Resolution 2200A (XXI), and came in force from 3 January 1976. It commits its parties to work toward the granting of economic, social, and cultural rights (ESCR) to the Non-Self-Governing and Trust Territories and individuals, including labour rights and the right to health, the right to education, and the right to an adequate standard of living. As of July 2020, the Covenant has 171 parties. A further four countries, including the United States, have signed but not ratified the Covenant.

The ICESCR has been signed and ratified by all the participating members except the United States, which after over 40 years has not done so, and which still claims that the goals dealt with in it are not rights but merely ideals not incumbent on any state.  However over 170 states have ratified it, and most are cooperating regularly with each other and with the United Nations on voluntarily complying with its requirements.

***I give links to some sources which may be of some help to those concerned to know more.

ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS: Questions and Answers

At Last? Ratification of the Economic Covenant as a Congressional-Executive Agreement

These were attempts to address this issue during the short period ten years ago when Democrats shortly held the Senate in the first year of Obama's administration.  I find no signs that the Republican Senate has ever since shown any inclination to ever even mention the existence to the public of this document.

Here is a link to an excerpt from a recent UK government publication that indicates the sorts of interaction the American government could expect if the Senate ratified the ICESCR.

I also recommend reading the Wikipedia section on the ICESCR’s core provisions, as it gives an idea of the requirements and limitations of the Convention.  I myself find them both idealistic and realistic, practical and humane, and I hope that my admitted biases in their direction are not misleading anyone.