[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 131 (Tuesday, July 27, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5084-S5085]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                              Coronavirus

  Madam President, on another note, on June 8 of this year, I sent a 
letter--I came to the floor, I should say instead, to speak about my 
oversight activities with respect to the origins of the coronavirus. As 
part of that oversight, on March 8 and May 26 of this year, I wrote to 
the Department of Health and Human Services about its oversight of 
grants sent to EcoHealth Alliance.
  The Department sent millions of dollars to EcoHealth. That group then 
subawarded hundreds of thousands of dollars of that taxpayer money to 
the Wuhan Institute of Virology. Reports have indicated that $600,000 
to $826,000 was sent to the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
  So, folks, what we have here is taxpayer money that was sent to the 
communist Chinese Government. That is a pretty scary proposition. When 
we send taxpayers' money to the Chinese Government, if there is no 
oversight done on that money, then we really don't have any idea how it 
is used. Just look at the news about China kicking the French out of 
the Wuhan laboratory.
  China can't be trusted, period. But I am not sure bureaucrats share 
that same view. I am talking about bureaucrats of our government. To 
illustrate, Dr. Anthony Fauci has said that Chinese scientists are 
trustworthy; that ``we [really] always trust the grantee to do what 
they say.''
  As a threshold matter, if a government worker doesn't show at least a 
little bit of skepticism about how a grant recipient is using the 
taxpayers' money, they aren't doing their job. That skepticism is 
healthy, and it is basic good government to question the recipient to 
make sure that they are doing what they are supposed to do with our 
money.
  Dr. Fauci has also stated that the National Institutes of Health 
``has not ever and does not now fund gain-of-function research in the 
Wuhan Institute of Virology.'' That is a pretty confident statement.
  When my colleague Senator Paul questioned Dr. Fauci on his position 
with respect to gain-of-function research, that same Dr. Fauci called 
my colleague a liar. Well, the way I see it, the only way that Dr. 
Fauci and the government can be so confident that no gain-of-function 
research was done is if they performed the proper oversight of the 
American taxpayers' money sent to China.
  In both my letters to the Department of Health and Human Services, I 
asked that very question. So far, the Department of Health and Human 
Services has failed to answer the question.
  On June 10 of this year at the Senate Finance Committee hearing, I 
asked Secretary Becerra what, if any, oversight was done. He didn't 
give me an answer. I asked again in a followup question for the 
record--still no response, even though all these people that come 
before a committee for nomination approval always say: We will answer 
your letters; we will answer the phone; we will testify. But no answer 
to that question yet.

[[Page S5085]]

  The Director of the National Institutes of Health, Dr. Francis 
Collins, has also been silent on what, if any, oversight was done on 
the grants to the Wuhan Institute of Virology. Dr. Fauci has been 
silent on what, if any, oversight he did.
  This is a simple and very important question for the government to 
answer. In other words, as you heard me say a few minutes ago, the 
public's business ought to be public. And without that sort of 
transparency, we don't have accountability, and we are entitled to have 
accountability on this kind of money.
  The more that they deny the U.S. Congress an answer, the more it 
looks like these bureaucrats don't give a lick about the American 
people: the people they work for, the people who pay their salary.
  Dr. Fauci is all over television and radio. You name it, he is on it. 
But, apparently, he and his counterparts can't find enough time to 
answer this very simple question: Did you do any oversight of the 
taxpayers' money you sent to EcoHealth, money that you knew was going 
to the communist Chinese Government? If so, please explain; if not, why 
not?
  This should not be a difficult question to answer. Either you did or 
you didn't, and, either way, the American people deserve an 
explanation. And if they didn't do any oversight, then how can they 
confidently say the money wasn't used for gain-of-function research or 
other bad conduct?
  We have lost over 600,000 Americans, and this body has spent 
trillions of dollars to support our economy and fight the virus. 
Congress and the American people have an absolute right to know what 
Dr. Fauci and Dr. Collins did to oversee this money. Enough with the 
games. Just answer the question.
  I understand that the Department of Health and Human Services Office 
of Inspector General is doing an audit of what, if any, oversight was 
done. They are supposed to be taking a deep dive on the grants, the 
cooperative arrangements, and other relationships the government had 
with EcoHealth Alliance.
  The audit isn't just focused on what the National Institutes of 
Health did or didn't do to monitor the grants. The scope also includes 
what EcoHealth did or didn't do to manage the funds in accordance with 
Federal requirements. And the scope of that review, at least right now, 
is from 2014 to 2021.
  I expect the inspector general to be aggressive and unrelenting in 
getting the records, the emails, and the memos; run the transcribed 
interviews and question everyone up the leadership chain; leave no 
stone unturned; and make as much as possible public.
  If punches are pulled, then this IG audit will be a waste of 
everybody's time and taxpayers' money. The inspector general has a 
tremendous responsibility to get this job done right.