[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 104 (Tuesday, June 15, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4535-S4537]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
CORONAVIRUS
Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. President, last week's conversations about our
own government's role in the COVID coverup reflected over a year of
refusal on the part of my Democratic colleagues to accept that the
novel coronavirus may not have spread via natural transmission from a
Chinese wildlife wet market.
As the theories of the pandemic's origins evolved, one remained,
until very recently, off limits. This is, of course, the lab leak
hypothesis, or the theory that the virus somehow escaped from a lab in
Wuhan, China.
Now, this theory didn't come out of nowhere. In early January 2020,
alarm bells were already ringing at the CDC, the State Department, and
in the scientific community over problems with the natural origin
theory of transmission.
Virologists and other public health officials studying the disease
were quickly coming to the conclusion that the way the virus was
spreading suggested that this theory was flawed. Officials also knew
that the Wuhan Institute of Virology was conducting controversial and
dangerous ``gain of function'' research with the help of repackaged
U.S. Government grants.
Yes, that is correct.
In April of last year, I joined many of my colleagues in publicly
demanding a thorough investigation into the lab leak theory. What
followed was nothing less than moral panic. Activists, journalists, and
even our own Democratic colleagues accused us of racism, xenophobia,
and science denial.
Major media organizations refused to report on the hypothesis, except
to decry it as a racist attack on Chinese scientists. Facebook banned
accounts that posted about it. YouTube deleted videos that dared
contradict the World Health Organization.
Rather than scaring us off, though, these attacks left us with
another question to answer: Why did the very idea of investigating the
Wuhan lab inspire such a bizarre panic? Or, perhaps, the better
question is, Why did NIAID Director Dr. Fauci and the rest of the
powers that be publicly insist that the idea of a lab leak was
completely preposterous?
Even NIH Director Francis Collins hadn't ruled it out. In a March
2020 interview with the Atlantic, he said that while natural
transmission was the likely culprit, ``the possibility that such a
naturally evolved virus might have also been under study at the Wuhan
Institute of Virology and reached residents of Wuhan--and ultimately
the rest of the world--as the result of a lab accident has never been
adequately excluded.''
We certainly have evidence to show that mistakes happen, even in a
professional lab. Who could forget that back in 2015, we saw reports
that personnel at a military facility in Utah accidentally shipped
active samples of anthrax to labs in nine States--yes, a 2015 lab
accident.
NIH has also had problems keeping track of things. According to a
memo prepared in 2016 by a minority staff of the House Energy and
Commerce Committee, a 2009 Department of Health and Human Services OIG
audit found an inventory discrepancy at the NIH caused in part by
mislabeled envelopes containing unregistered vials of plague and other
antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
In 2012, NIH researchers found vials of anthrax spores in the wrong
place. What is worse, the scientists in that particular lab weren't
registered to possess them.
In 2014, an FDA researcher working at the NIH campus in Bethesda
discovered vials of live smallpox virus stuffed in a cardboard box in
an unsecured cold storage room.
Mistakes were clearly made. Lab accidents happen. It is also clear
that while a leak from the Wuhan lab could have happened due to human
error, this coverup we are now learning about certainly did not happen
by error.
We now have an emerging picture of what did happen behind the scenes
to create so much resistance to the lab leak theory.
On June 3 of this year, that bastion of rightwing insanity known as
Vanity Fair magazine published an investigative report exposing the
deranged political gamesmanship that prompted public health officials
to paint the lab leak theory as a conspiracy.
The report confirmed just about everything those officials wanted to
keep hidden--namely, that the lab leak hypothesis was suppressed at
multiple levels of government by officials looking to protect their own
interests and to distance themselves from President Donald Trump--so
much for following the science. They were following emotions.
The report confirmed conflicts of interest concerning grant awards
that supported gain-of-function research at the Wuhan Institute of
Virology. The same people who knew that Chinese scientists were
performing these dangerous experiments on the taxpayer dime also knew
from verified intelligence reports that three Wuhan-based researchers
fell ill with COVID-like symptoms in November 2019, well before the
first reported outbreak. Still,
[[Page S4536]]
State Department officials warned investigators to abandon their
inquiries into the origins of COVID-19 because it would ``open a can of
worms.''
The internal coverups bled into this year until, finally, 5 days
before President Biden took the oath of office, the State Department
put out a fact sheet on the Wuhan lab that confirmed the November
outbreak and revealed that scientists working there had collaborated
with the Chinese military on classified research. The Biden
administration has yet to walk any of this back.
We are also finally seeing some interest in the World Health
Organization's Beijing-controlled investigation into the Wuhan lab. On
March 1 of this year and again on May 24, I laid out my concerns to the
White House about the WHO's reliance on the Chinese Communist Party for
funding and support. I explained how this reliance drove their initial
support for Beijing's response to the outbreaks and ruined the
integrity of their investigation. The White House has yet to respond to
my concerns, but it is not going to be able to avoid responding because
the American people are demanding the answers.
I think it is important to state for the record that what we are
seeing in these news reports is not entirely new information. The
foundations of the lab leak hypothesis remain much the same as they
were a year ago. So why pop open that can of worms right now? Because
there is no way to sweep this thing back under the rug.
We have the sudden interest of the media. Imagine that. We also have
an entire body of published statements and investigative reporting from
inside China. Facebook and YouTube have reversed their content
policies, which means they couldn't stop people from sharing this
information unless they pulled the plug on the entire internet which,
obviously, isn't an option.
We also have the magic of FOIA on our side. We learned from Dr.
Fauci's published emails that he knew about the dangerous research
happening in China. He was aware. We know he allowed inquiries into the
Wuhan lab leak theory to go unanswered. We also know he worked with
Mark Zuckerberg to determine what COVID-related information flowed into
the public timeline and when that information went out.
Now, I stand by my criticism of Dr. Fauci. His dystopian comments
equating attacks on his job performance with attacks on science are
unacceptable, but I want to encourage everyone to not make this about
one person. We now have evidence that public officials were eating each
other alive over political disagreements and that these disagreements
derailed investigations into the origins of COVID-19.
This is more than just political failure; it is a moral inversion
that empowered one of the globe's most violent authoritarian
governments. The Chinese officials who hid the existence of the novel
coronavirus from international bodies are the very same Chinese
officials who gunned down freedom fighters in Hong Kong, who unleashed
political violence in Inner Mongolia and Tibet, and who continue to
commit ongoing genocide against Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang.
It is time for Congress to get serious about cleaning up this mess. I
reiterate the same demands I made more than a year ago for a full and
unbiased inquiry into the lab leak hypothesis and a broader
investigation into the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Last week, I joined Senator Cotton in reintroducing the Li Wenliang
Global Public Health Accountability Act. This legislation would
authorize the President to sanction foreign officials who suppress or
distort information about international public health crises, including
COVID-19. I encourage my colleagues to sign on to the bill.
Most importantly, I would implore my Democratic colleagues to engage
in a little introspection. The officials implicated in this coverup
swept science under the rug, orchestrated a relentless smear campaign,
throttled the flow of public information, and allowed the Chinese
Communist Party to exonerate itself at the expense of truth and
accountability.
You don't have to defend this. Please, have the moral courage to make
the right choice, and join us in our demands for unbiased
investigations into the origin of the pandemic.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record
the referenced fact sheet and letters. The referenced articles and
report can be found online at www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/
06/francis-collins-nih/619065, www.vanityfair.com/news/2021/06/the-lab-
leak-theory-inside-the-fight-to-uncover-covid-19s-origins, and
osp.od.nih.gov/wp-content/uploads/BRP-House-EC-Report.pdf
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
Fact Sheet Activity at the Wuhan Institute of Virology--United States
Department of State
Fact Sheet
January 15, 2021
For more than a year, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has
systematically prevented a transparent and thorough
investigation of the COVID-19 pandemic's origin, choosing
instead to devote enormous resources to deceit and
disinformation. Nearly two million people have died. Their
families deserve to know the truth. Only through transparency
can we learn what caused this pandemic and how to prevent the
next one.
The U.S. government does not know exactly where, when, or
how the COVID-19 virus-known as SARS--CoV-2--was transmitted
initially to humans. We have not determined whether the
outbreak began through contact with infected animals or was
the result of an accident at a laboratory in Wuhan, China.
The virus could have emerged naturally from human contact
with infected animals, spreading in a pattern consistent with
a natural epidemic. Alternatively, a laboratory accident
could resemble a natural outbreak if the initial exposure
included only a few individuals and was compounded by
asymptomatic infection. Scientists in China have researched
animal-derived coronaviruses under conditions that increased
the risk for accidental and potentially unwitting exposure.
The CCP's deadly obsession with secrecy and control comes
at the expense of public health in China and around the
world. The previously undisclosed information in this fact
sheet, combined with open-source reporting, highlights three
elements about COVID-19's origin that deserve greater
scrutiny:
1. illnesses inside the wuhan institute of virology (wiv)
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.
This raises questions about the credibility of WIV senior
researcher Shi Zhengli's public claim that there was ``zero
infection'' among the WIV's staff and students of SARS-CoV-2
or SARS-related viruses.
Accidental infections in labs have caused several previous
virus outbreaks in China and elsewhere, including a 2004 SARS
outbreak in Beijing that infected nine people, killing one.
The CCP has prevented independent journalists,
investigators, and global health authorities from
interviewing researchers at the WIV, including those who were
ill in the fall of 2019. Any credible inquiry into the origin
of the virus must include interviews with these researchers
and a full accounting of their previously unreported illness.
2. Research at the WIV
Starting in at least 2016--and with no indication of a stop
prior to the COVID-19 outbreak--WIV researchers conducted
experiments involving RaTG13, the bat coronavirus identified
by the WIV in January 2020 as its closest sample to SARS-CoV-
2 (96.2% similar). The WIV became a focal point for
international coronavirus research after the 2003 SARS
outbreak and has since studied animals including mice, bats,
and pangolins.
The WIV has a published record of conducting ``gain-of-
function'' research to engineer chimeric viruses. But the WIV
has not been transparent or consistent about its record of
studying viruses most similar to the COVID-19 virus,
including ``RaTG13,'' which it sampled from a cave in Yunnan
Province in 2013 after several miners died of SARS-like
illness.
WHO investigators must have access to the records of the
WIV's work on bat and other coronaviruses before the COVID-19
outbreak. As part of a thorough inquiry, they must have a
full accounting of why the WIV altered and then removed
online records of its work with RaTG13 and other viruses.
3. Secret military activity at the WIV
Secrecy and non-disclosure are standard practice for
Beijing. For many years the United States has publicly raised
concerns about China's past biological weapons work, which
Beijing has neither documented nor demonstrably eliminated,
despite its clear obligations under the Biological Weapons
Convention.
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. The WIV has engaged in classified research,
including laboratory animal experiments, on behalf of the
Chinese military since at least 2017.
The United States and other donors who funded or
collaborated on civilian research
[[Page S4537]]
at the WIV have a right and obligation to determine whether
any of our research funding was diverted to secret Chinese
military projects at the WIV.
Today's revelations just scratch the surface of what is
still hidden about COVID-19's origin in China. Any credible
investigation into the origin of COVID-19 demands complete,
transparent access to the research labs in Wuhan, including
their facilities, samples, personnel, and records.
As the world continues to battle this pandemic--and as WHO
investigators begin their work, after more than a year of
delays--the virus's origin remains uncertain. The United
States will continue to do everything it can to support a
credible and thorough investigation, including by continuing
to demand transparency on the part of Chinese authorities.
____
March 1, 2021.
Hon. Joseph R. Biden, Jr.,
President of the United States,
Washington, DC.
Dear President Biden: The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a
significant toll on American life as well as the U.S.
economy. Test kits, antibody therapies, and vaccine
development have occurred in record time due to Operation
Warp Speed and the ingenuity of the private sector. However,
the investigation into the origins of the pandemic are not
complete. Without this knowledge, it will be difficult to
prevent a future, similar pandemic. I urge you to use your
leadership to ensure investigations by the World Health
Organization (WHO) are free from conflicts of interest.
Concerns have been raised about the lack of transparency of
the events that took place at the time the outbreak started
in Wuhan, China. In addition, concerns have been raised
regarding the manner in which World Health Organization
investigators were chosen to study the outbreak and some of
the conflicts of interest that exist in those investigators.
Following the 2014 breakdown of security measures that
resulted in cross contamination with a dangerous bird flu
strain and the accidental mailing of live anthrax spores from
the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to other labs, Tom
Frieden, the director of the CDC under president Obama
testified ``We also need to encourage a culture of openness
and effective reporting of past or future incidents--since a
key aspect of effective response is to support rapid
reporting of problems.''
On February 13, 2021, National Security Advisor Jake
Sullivan said, ``We have deep concerns about the way in which
the early findings of the COVID-19 investigation were
communicated and questions about the process used to reach
them. It is imperative that this report be independent, with
expert findings free from intervention or alteration by the
Chinese government.''
Transparency is an issue upon which we can agree. In light
of that, I respectfully request you use your leadership to
ensure the ongoing investigation of the COVID-19 pandemic
origin be free from conflict of interest. WHO should be
required to have independent investigators to conduct this
study. WHO should not include researchers with conflicts of
interest or with a lack of experience in forensic
investigation. We owe this to the over 500,000 Americans who
have died from this disease, to their families, and to future
Americans who face possible pandemics.
Sincerely,
Marsha Blackburn,
U.S. Senator.
____
May 24, 2021.
Hon. Joseph R. Biden, Jr.,
President of the United States,
Washington, DC.
Dear President Biden: I write to follow-up on my March 1,
2021 letter with lingering concerns about the validity of the
World Health Organization's (WHO) investigation into the
origin of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Prior reports appear to confirm that the WHO had ``little
power to conduct a thorough, impartial examination.'' On May
13, 2021, in a letter published in Science, a group of 19
prominent scientists called for a deeper investigation of the
two primary hypotheses: 1) the virus began to spread after
jumping from infected animals to humans; and 2) the virus was
accidentally released from China's Wuhan Institute of
Virology and began spreading in the human population.
Among other issues, these scientists call into question the
China-WHO joint study's consideration of the two main
hypotheses stating, ``Only 4 of the 313 pages of the report
and its annexes addressed the possibility of a laboratory
accident.'' This fact is deeply concerning in light of recent
media reports that, ``[t]hree researchers from China's Wuhan
Institute of Virology became sick enough in November 2019
that they sought hospital care.''
In light of these reports and my continued concerns, please
respond, in writing, to the following questions:
1. According to reports, the WHO asked the U.S. government
to recommend three experts for the China-WHO joint
investigation team. Although they were not ultimately
selected, another U.S. scientist was selected for the team.
a. Please name the three scientists recommended by the
U.S., and articulate the WHO's reasoning for not choosing
these individuals.
2. Beijing has refused to share critical raw data on the
initial cases of COVID-19 in China. Has Beijing provided the
U.S. with that data? If not, please explain why.
3. The China-WHO joint investigation stated that they
``lacked expertise and access to investigate a potential lab
leak.'' What will the administration do to insure that
competent, impartial experts are involved in future
investigations?
4. WHO spokesman Tarik Jasarevic said the organization was
not mandated to do a forensic audit. Why was this the case?
Will your administration insist on a fulsome forensic audit
for future outbreaks?
I request the courtesy of a reply by June 14, 2021.
Sincerely,
Marsha Blackburn,
U.S. Senator.
Mrs. BLACKBURN. I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Nebraska.
____________________