[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 90 (Monday, May 24, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Page S3367]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 1953. Mr. HAWLEY submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to 
amendment SA 1502 proposed by Mr. Schumer to the bill S. 1260, to 
establish a new Directorate for Technology and Innovation in the 
National Science Foundation, to establish a regional technology hub 
program, to require a strategy and report on economic security, 
science, research, innovation, manufacturing, and job creation, to 
establish a critical supply chain resiliency program, and for other 
purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

        Strike section 3217 of division C and insert the 
     following:

     SEC. 3217. DECLASSIFICATION OF INFORMATION RELATED TO THE 
                   ORIGIN OF COVID-19.

       (a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
       (1) The Department of State released a fact sheet on 
     January 15, 2021, about the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) 
     which stated the following:
       (A) ``The U.S. government has reason to believe that 
     several researchers inside the WIV became sick in autumn 
     2019, before the first identified case of the outbreak, with 
     symptoms consistent with both COVID-19 and common seasonal 
     illnesses.''.
       (B) ``WIV researchers conducted experiments involving 
     RaTG13, the bat coronavirus identified by the WIV in January 
     2020 as its closest sample to SARS-CoV-2.''.
       (C) ``Despite the WIV presenting itself as a civilian 
     institution, the United States has determined that the WIV 
     has collaborated on publications and secret projects with 
     China's military.''.
       (2) Former Director of the Centers for Disease Control and 
     Prevention, Robert Redfield, stated in March 2021 that, ``the 
     most likely etiology of this pathogen in Wuhan was from a 
     laboratory'' and noted that, ``[i]t is not unusual for 
     respiratory pathogens that are being worked on in a 
     laboratory to infect the laboratory worker.''.
       (3) Director-General of the World Health Organization 
     Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus acknowledged in March 2021 that 
     the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) may have originated 
     in a laboratory and said this hypothesis ``requires further 
     investigation, potentially with additional missions involving 
     specialist experts.''.
       (b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
       (1) identifying the origin of Coronavirus Disease 2019 
     (COVID-19) is critical for preventing a similar pandemic from 
     occurring in the future;
       (2) there is reason to believe the COVID-19 pandemic may 
     have originated at the Wuhan Institute of Virology; and
       (3) the Director of National Intelligence should declassify 
     and make available to the public as much information as 
     possible about the origin of COVID-19 so the United States 
     and like-minded countries can--
       (A) identify the origin of COVID-19 as expeditiously as 
     possible, and
       (B) use that information to take all appropriate measures 
     to prevent a similar pandemic from occurring again.
       (c) In General.--Not later than 90 days after the date of 
     the enactment of this Act, the Director of National 
     Intelligence shall--
       (1) declassify any and all information relating to 
     potential links between the Wuhan Institute of Virology and 
     the origin of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), 
     including--
       (A) activities performed by the Wuhan Institute of Virology 
     with or on behalf of the People's Liberation Army;
       (B) coronavirus research or other related activities 
     performed at the Wuhan Institute of Virology prior to the 
     outbreak of COVID-19; and
       (C) researchers at the Wuhan Institute of Virology who fell 
     ill in autumn 2019, including for any such researcher--
       (i) the researcher's name;
       (ii) the researcher's symptoms;
       (iii) the date of the onset of the researcher's symptoms;
       (iv) the researcher's role at the Wuhan Institute of 
     Virology;
       (v) whether the researcher was involved with or exposed to 
     coronavirus research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology;
       (vi) whether the researcher visited a hospital while they 
     were ill; and
       (vii) a description of any other actions taken by the 
     researcher that may suggest they were experiencing a serious 
     illness at the time; and
       (2) submit to Congress an unclassified report that 
     contains--
       (A) all of the information described under paragraph (1); 
     and
       (B) only such redactions as the Director determines 
     necessary to protect sources and methods without altering or 
     obscuring in any way the information described under 
     paragraph (1).
                                 ______