[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 111 (Friday, June 25, 2021)]
[House]
[Pages H3137-H3138]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              NEED FOR AN ORIGIN OF COVID-19 INVESTIGATION

  (Mr. KELLER asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. KELLER. Mr. Speaker, my colleagues across the aisle appear eager 
to investigate and hold hearings on just about anything, but when 200 
Republicans and I urged the Speaker to investigate the origins of 
COVID-19 a month ago, the Speaker did nothing.
  Evidence is now mounting that COVID-19 may have escaped from a lab in 
Wuhan, China, and the Chinese Communist Party worked to cover it up.
  Pointblank, this coverup by the CCP cost American lives, shuttered 
tens of

[[Page H3138]]

thousands of businesses, and altered life as we know it.
  Yet, here we stand, almost a month later, and we are still no closer 
to a House investigation, not even a hearing to get to the bottom of 
what happened.
  The simple fact of the matter is that the Chinese Communist Party is 
an adversary, and they have not been truthful or honest about anything, 
especially not their role in covering up the origins of COVID-19.
  Since the very beginning, the Chinese Communist Party has blocked 
American scientists from participating in a full-scope investigation, 
refused access to reporters from Wuhan, manipulated the World Health 
Organization's report on the origins of the virus, and strong-armed 
anyone who disagreed with the narrative they invented.
  It is infuriating that Speaker Pelosi and House Democrats are willing 
to cover for the Chinese Communist Party and let them off the hook for 
this disaster, simply to achieve a political end.
  We cannot and should not accept anything less than absolute certainty 
about the origins of COVID-19. We must investigate, hold China 
accountable, and ensure nothing like this ever happens again.

                          ____________________