[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 108 (Tuesday, June 22, 2021)]
[House]
[Page H2935]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       HOLDING CHINA ACCOUNTABLE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania (Mr. Joyce) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. JOYCE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, more than a year into the 
COVID-19 pandemic, I rise once again to bring attention to the Chinese 
Communist Party's role in this public health and economic crisis and to 
call for a full congressional investigation into the origin of the 
virus.
  Day after day, we learn more facts and evidence that confirm what we 
have expected from the beginning: The Chinese Communist Party 
intentionally covered up the COVID-19 outbreak, squandering valuable 
time, creating dangerous misinformation, and, ultimately, costing 
lives.
  Over a year ago, the China Task Force began raising real questions 
about the origin of the virus. At that time, the mainstream media and 
others dismissed our concerns. Despite their objections, we continued 
in our efforts to expose this coverup.
  Now, after lives and livelihoods have been destroyed, President Biden 
and the Democrats finally are asking questions about this virus. They 
finally are waking up to reality.
  Not only did this pandemic start in China, but the World Health 
Organization acted as a willing pawn of the Chinese Government to cover 
up this virus and hide it from the world.
  After taking office, one of President Biden's first actions was 
rejoining the World Health Organization at taxpayer expense, without 
requiring a single reform to its corrupt culture.
  Time and time again, President Biden has failed to hold the Chinese 
Communist Party accountable. Now, this Congress must act.
  Last year, the China Task Force developed more than 400 commonsense 
solutions to counter the Chinese Communist Party's threat to our 
health, our economy, and our way of life. We could start by 
implementing these legislative solutions and restoring America's 
leadership in 21st century innovation.
  As a Congress, we also should build upon the China Task Force's 
investigation into the COVID-19 pandemic origin, including whether the 
virus was engineered at the Wuhan lab.
  Why delay? How many more Americans will need to be infected before we 
say ``enough''?
  As my friend, Leader Kevin McCarthy has outlined, we need to demand 
transparency, and we must seek justice. We need to get to the bottom of 
this question and allow the truth to come to light.
  Thanks to American ingenuity, resilience, and perseverance, our 
Nation has embarked on the long path to recovery. However, while new 
virus cases are on the decline, the pandemic isn't over.
  For the families of more than 600,000 Americans who have died from 
COVID-19, grief still lingers.
  For the thousands of Americans struggling with post-COVID syndrome, 
the virus remains a central part of their lives each and every day.
  For small business leaders struggling to keep their doors open amid 
the current workforce shortage, there is still a crisis.
  Holding China accountable for the pandemic is still very relevant. We 
cannot drag our feet. We cannot just move on.
  This is the time for Congress to get serious about our oversight 
responsibilities and fully investigate the origin of the COVID-19 
pandemic.
  Today, I urge Speaker Pelosi and House Democrats to join with 
Republicans in exposing this regime's blame in the pandemic and 
demanding answers from the Chinese Communist Party.
  We must ensure that this hostile regime never again is allowed to 
unleash a virus onto our shores. As we have seen, lives and livelihoods 
are on the line.

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