[House Report 117-537]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
117th Congress } { Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session } { 117-537
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RESOLUTION OF INQUIRY DIRECTING THE PRESIDENT TO PROVIDE CERTAIN
DOCUMENTS IN THE PRESIDENT'S POSSESSION TO THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
RELATING TO THE OVERSIGHT OF THE WUHAN INSTITUTE OF VIROLOGY LABORATORY
BY THE DIRECTOR OF THE NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH
_______
September 30, 2022.--Referred to the House Calendar and ordered to be
printed
_______
Mr. Pallone, from the Committee on Energy and Commerce, submitted the
following
ADVERSE REPORT
together with
MINORITY VIEWS
[To accompany H. Res. 1267]
The Committee on Energy and Commerce, to whom was referred
the resolution (H. Res. 1267) of inquiry directing the
President to provide certain documents in the President's
possession to the House of Representatives relating to the
oversight of the Wuhan Institute of Virology laboratory by the
Director of the National Institutes of Health, having
considered the same, report unfavorably thereon without
amendment and recommend that the resolution not be agreed to.
CONTENTS
Page
I. Purpose and Summary.............................................2
II. Background and Need for the Legislation.........................2
III. Committee Hearings..............................................3
IV. Committee Consideration.........................................3
V. Committee Votes.................................................3
VI. Oversight Findings..............................................5
VII. New Budget Authority, Entitlement Authority, and Tax Expenditure5
VIII. Federal Mandates Statement......................................5
IX. Statement of General Performance Goals and Objectives...........5
X. Duplication of Federal Programs.................................5
XI. Committee Cost Estimate.........................................5
XII. Earmarks, Limited Tax Benefits, and Limited Tariff Benefits.....5
XIII. Advisory Committee Statement....................................6
XIV. Applicability to Legislative Branch.............................6
XV. Section-by-Section Analysis of the Legislation..................6
XVI. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported...........6
XVII. Minority Views..................................................7
I. PURPOSE AND SUMMARY
H. Res. 1267 directs the President to furnish to the House
of Representatives copies of documents or communications in the
possession of the Director of the National Institutes of Health
(NIH) that refer or relate to oversight of the Wuhan Institute
of Virology (WIV) laboratory by the Director, including any
such document or communication specifying: (1) the names of the
staff involved in reviewing the research conducted at the WIV
laboratory; (2) the details on the scope of such review and the
process for how such review was conducted; (3) the review of
the biosafety training, practices, and procedures of the WIV
laboratory; and (4) information related to the standard
operating procedures of the WIV laboratory for working with
novel coronaviruses.
II. BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION
Through this resolution of inquiry, the minority seeks to
obtain an undefined scope of documents and communications,
should they exist, in the President's or NIH's possession
relating to research activities conducted by the foreign-
operated Chinese WIV laboratory.
Other than the reference to seeking information pertaining
to WIV laboratory activities related to novel coronaviruses,
the resolution does not specify a connection between these
materials and COVID-19, nor does the resolution indicate why or
how United States government would have an oversight role in
the biosecurity of a foreign nation's laboratory.
As of October 2021, there was a near-consensus agreement
among United States intelligence agencies that the pandemic was
likely the result of an organic zoonotic transmission event\1\
and a shared consensus among the scientific community--
bolstered by recently published peer-reviewed findings--that
the epicenter of the original zoonotic transmission event was
likely the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan, China.\2\
Furthermore, experts in evolutionary biology and virology agree
that the pathogens being studied under NIH-supported grants at
the WIV laboratory were too genetically and evolutionarily
distant from the COVID-19 virus to have been the cause of the
pandemic.\3\
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\1\Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Updated
Assessment on COVID-19 Origins (Oct. 2021) (https://www.dni.gov/
index.php/newsroom/reports-publications/reports-publications-2021/item/
2263-declassified-assessment-on-covid-19-origins).
\2\Science, The Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan was the
early epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic (July 2022) (https://
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abp8715).
\3\National Institutes of Health, SARS-CoV-2 and NIAID-supported
Bat Coronavirus Research An Analysis: Evolutionary Distance of SARS-
CoV-2 and Bat Coronaviruses Studied Under the NIH-supported Research
Grant to EcoHealth Alliance (Oct. 2021) (https://www.niaid.nih.gov/
diseases-conditions/coronavirus-bat-research).
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Throughout the 117th Congress, Department of Health and
Human Services (HHS) officials, including the Secretary, have
appeared as witnesses for COVID-19-related Committee hearings
and member briefings providing the minority an opportunity to
raise questions pertaining to the resolution. In addition, HHS
has responded to several of the minority's letters, produced
hundreds of pages of documents, hosted at least five Committee
staff briefings, and provided at least two in camera reviews
for Committee staff related to the NIH-funded research and
oversight of related award activity in connection with WIV
laboratory.\4\
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\4\See, e.g., Letter from Lawrence A. Tabak, Principal Deputy
Director, National Institutes of Health to Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers,
Ranking Member, House Committee on Energy and Commerce (May 21, 2021);
Briefing by Larry Lohmann, Congressional Affairs Analyst, National
Institutes of Health, to House Committee on Energy and Commerce
Committee Staff (June 28, 2021); Briefing by Robert Anderson, Chief of
Mortality Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, et
al., to House Committee on Energy and Commerce Committee Staff (July
23, 2021); National Institutes of Health Document Production to Rep.
Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Ranking Member, House Committee on Energy and
Commerce (RodNIH-00000001-RodNIH-00000528) (Sept. 7, 2021); Briefing by
David Christian Hassell, Senior Science Advisor and Deputy Assistant
Secretary, Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response, to
House Committee on Energy and Commerce Committee Staff (Sept. 17,
2021); Briefing by Lawrence A. Tabak, Principal Deputy Director,
National Institutes of Health to House Committee on Energy and Commerce
Staff (Sept. 29, 2021); Health and Human Services in camera review of
documents for House Committee on Energy and Commerce Staff (Oct. 5,
2021); Letter from Lawrence A. Tabak, Principal Deputy Director,
National Institutes of Health to Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Ranking
Member, House Committee on Energy and Commerce (Oct. 20, 2021);
Briefing by Lawrence A. Tabak, Principal Deputy Director, National
Institutes of Health to House Committee on Energy and Commerce Staff
(Oct. 21, 2021); Health and Human Services in camera virtual reading of
documents for House Committee on Energy and Commerce Staff (Jan. 14,
2022).
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For these reasons, the Committee ordered H. Res. 1267
reported to the House adversely.
III. COMMITTEE HEARINGS
The Committee on Energy and Commerce has not held hearings
on the resolution of inquiry.
IV. COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION
H. Res. 1267 was introduced on July 26, 2022, by
Representative Hudson (R-NC) and was referred to the Committee
on Energy and Commerce. Subsequently, on July 27, 2022, the
resolution was referred to the Subcommittee on Health. The
resolution was discharged from the Subcommittee on Health on
September 21, 2022.
On September 21, 2022, the Committee met in open markup
session and ordered H. Res. 1267, without amendment, adversely
reported to the House by a recorded vote of 32 yeas and 23
nays.
V. COMMITTEE VOTES
Clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives requires the Committee to list each record vote
on the motion to report legislation and amendments thereto. The
Committee advises that there was one record vote taken on H.
Res. 1267, including a motion by Mr. Pallone ordering H. Res.
1267 adversely reported to the House, without amendment. The
motion on unfavorably reporting the resolution was approved by
a record vote of 32 yeas to 23 nays. The following are the
record votes taken during Committee consideration, including
the names of those members voting for and against:
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
VI. OVERSIGHT FINDINGS
Pursuant to clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII and clause 2(b)(1)
of rule X of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the
oversight findings and recommendations of the Committee are
reflected in the descriptive portion of the report.
VII. NEW BUDGET AUTHORITY, ENTITLEMENT AUTHORITY, AND
TAX EXPENDITURES
Pursuant to 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House
of Representatives, the Committee adopts as its own the
estimate of new budget authority, entitlement authority, or tax
expenditures or revenues contained in the cost estimate
prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget Office
pursuant to section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of
1974.
The Committee has requested but not received from the
Director of the Congressional Budget Office a statement as to
whether this bill contains any new budget authority, spending
authority, credit authority, or an increase or decrease in
revenues or tax expenditures.
VIII. FEDERAL MANDATES STATEMENT
The Committee adopts as its own the estimate of Federal
mandates prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget
Office pursuant to section 423 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform
Act.
IX. STATEMENT OF GENERAL PERFORMANCE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
Pursuant to clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the general
performance goal or objective of this legislation is to direct
the President to provide certain documents in the President's
possession to the House of Representatives relating to the
oversight of the WIV laboratory by the Director of the NIH.
X. DUPLICATION OF FEDERAL PROGRAMS
Pursuant to clause 3(c)(5) of rule XIII, no provision of H.
Res. 1267 is known to be duplicative of another Federal
program, including any program that was included in a report to
Congress pursuant to section 21 of Public Law 111-139 or the
most recent Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance.
XI. COMMITTEE COST ESTIMATE
Pursuant to clause 3(d)(1) of rule XIII, the Committee
adopts as its own the cost estimate prepared by the Director of
the Congressional Budget Office pursuant to section 402 of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974.
XII. EARMARKS, LIMITED TAX BENEFITS, AND LIMITED
TARIFF BENEFITS
Pursuant to clause 9(e), 9(f), and 9(g) of rule XXI, the
Committee finds that H. Res. 1267 contains no earmarks, limited
tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits.
XIII. ADVISORY COMMITTEE STATEMENT
No advisory committee within the meaning of section 5(b) of
the Federal Advisory Committee Act was created by this
legislation.
XIV. APPLICABILITY TO LEGISLATIVE BRANCH
The Committee finds that the legislation does not relate to
the terms and conditions of employment or access to public
services or accommodations within the meaning of section
102(b)(3) of the Congressional Accountability Act.
XV. SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS OF THE LEGISLATION
H. Res. 1267 directs the President to furnish to the House
of Representatives copies of documents or communications in the
possession of the Director of NIH that refers or relates to
oversight of the WIV laboratory by the Director, including any
such document or communication specifying (1) the names of the
staff involved in reviewing the research conducted at the WIV
laboratory; (2) the details on the scope of such review and the
process for how such review was conducted; (3) the review of
the biosafety training, practices, and procedures of the WIV
laboratory; and (4) information related to the standard
operating procedures of the WIV laboratory for working with
novel coronaviruses.
XVI. CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED
There are no changes to existing law made by the bill H.
Res. 1267.
XVII. MINORITY VIEWS
Through this resolution of inquiry, H. Res. 1267, the
minority seeks certain documents, in the President's or NIH's
possession relating to the oversight of the NIH sub-grantee
Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) laboratory by the Director of
the NIH. The resolution specifies four areas of requested
information: names of the staff involved in reviewing the
research at the WIV who determined that the research conducted
was not gain-of-function research; the details on the scope of
this review and the process for how such review was conducted;
the review of the biosafety training, practices, and procedures
at the WIV laboratory; and information relating to the standard
operating procedures of the WIV laboratory for working with
novel coronaviruses.
The WIV was a sub-grantee of an NIH grantee, EcoHealth
Alliance, that received nearly $600,000 in federal funds over
five years. The WIV's laboratory activities have been subject
of oversight interest by the NIH Office of Extramural Research
and by the Intelligence Community (IC), including the WIV's
possible connection to the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Public interest in the accountability for federal funds, U.S.
public health protection, and U.S. national security underscore
the need for oversight and the importance of the requested
information being sought.
Determining the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic may help
scientists with new strategies to curb the spread and guard
against the next pandemic. This issue was of sufficient
importance that President Biden directed the Intelligence
Community (IC) in May 2021 to conduct a review into this
question. Since July 8, 2020, the NIH has suspended a grant of
EcoHealth Alliance over concerns about the adequacy of
monitoring of the sub-grantee WIV, including issues over
biosafety practices. These federal actions reinforce the
justification for the information sought by this resolution.
There is an ongoing national interest in the activities of
the WIV laboratory because the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic
remain a mystery and a laboratory accident is a plausible
scenario for causing the pandemic. The IC review ordered by
President Biden was not conclusive on the origins of the COVID-
19 pandemic. The updated assessment from the ODNI National
Intelligence Council stated: ``After examining all available
intelligence reporting and other information, though, the IC
remains divided on the most likely origin of COVID-19. All
agencies assess that two hypotheses are plausible: natural
exposure to an infected animal and a laboratory-associated
incident.''\1\ Specifically, four agencies and the National
Intelligence Council leaned toward the natural origin theory
(with low confidence), one agency leaned toward the lab leak
theory (with moderate confidence), and analysts at three other
IC elements were unable to coalesce around either theory
without further information.
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\1\Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Updated
Assessment on COVID-19 Origins (Oct. 2021) (www.dni.gov/index.php/
newsroom/reports-publications/reports-publications-2021/item/2263-
declassified-assessment-on-covid-19-origins).
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Some scientists have noted that recently published peer-
reviewed findings suggest that the epicenter of the original
zoonotic transmission event was likely the Huanan Seafood
Wholesale Market in Wuhan, China.\2\ However, key details
remain unanswered. It is unknown where in the market the leap
from animals to humans took place, or which animals were
involved. Nor are the precise steps in the process known. There
is no evidence drawing a line between the viruses in bats and
the Huanan Seafood Market. No intermediate animal host has
tested positive for COVID-19.
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\2\Science, The Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan was the
early epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic (July 2022) (https://
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abp8715).
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Experts in evolutionary biology and virology agree that the
pathogens reportedly being studied under NIH-supported grants
at the WIV laboratory around 2017 or early 2018 were too
genetically and evolutionarily distant from the COVID-19 virus
to have been the cause of the pandemic based on the information
provided by the WIV in grant documents provided by EcoHealth
Alliance to NIH.\3\ However, on August 19, 2022, the NIH
terminated the EcoHealth Alliance sub-grant to the WIV because
the WIV refused to provide the substantiation of the
experiments in laboratory notebooks and electronic files
requested by the NIH and required under NIH grant policy and
federal regulation. Thus, the information on the viruses being
studied in this research is not substantiated. In addition,
information on the virus research conducted in 2019 at the WIV
lab remains unknown.
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\3\National Institutes of Health, SARS-CoV-2 and NIAID-supported
Bat Coronavirus Research An Analysis: Evolutionary Distance of SARS-
CoV-2 and Bat Coronaviruses Studied Under the NIH-supported Research
Grant to EcoHealth Alliance (Oct. 2021) (https://www.niaid.nih.gov/
diseases-conditions/coronavirus-bat-research).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Throughout the 117th Congress, Department of Health and
Human Services (HHS) officials, including the Secretary, have
appeared as witnesses for COVID-19-related Committee hearings
and member briefings providing the minority an opportunity to
raise questions pertaining to the resolution. The minority in
fact used these hearings to urge the then NIH Director and the
HHS Secretary for cooperation with requests related to COVID-19
origins, and both witnesses indicated a willingness to work
with the minority on the requests related to COVID-19 origins.
Notwithstanding the public willingness of the witnesses,
HHS and NIH has responded to only two of the minority's nine
letters related to COVID-19 origins and the WIV, produced only
documents already made available to requesters under the
Freedom of Information Act, hosted three Committee staff
briefings limited to one-hour each on COVID-19 origins, and
provided one in camera review for Committee staff related to
the NIH-funded research and oversight of related award activity
in connection with WIV laboratory.\4\ Because HHS and NIH still
have not provided all information requested related to the WIV
laboratory, this resolution is needed to obtain information
pertinent to the Committee's responsibility to oversee and
legislate on matters relating to pandemic preparedness. We owe
that to the more than one million Americans who have lost their
lives to COVID-19 and to their families.
\4\See, e.g., Letter from Lawrence A. Tabak, Principal Deputy
Director, National Institutes of Health to Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers,
Ranking Member, House Committee on Energy and Commerce (May 21, 2021);
Briefing by Lawrence A. Tabak, Principal Deputy Director, National
Institutes of Health, to House Committee on Energy and Commerce
Committee Staff (June 28, 2021); National Institutes of Health Document
Production to Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Ranking Member, House
Committee on Energy and Commerce (RodNIH-00000001-RodNIH-00000528)
(Sept. 7, 2021); Briefing by Lawrence A. Tabak, Principal Deputy
Director, National Institutes of Health to House Committee on Energy
and Commerce Staff (Sept. 29, 2021); Health and Human Services in
camera review of documents for House Committee on Energy and Commerce
Staff (Oct. 5, 2021); Letter from Lawrence A. Tabak, Principal Deputy
Director, National Institutes of Health to Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers,
Ranking Member, House Committee on Energy and Commerce (Oct. 20, 2021);
Briefing by Lawrence A. Tabak, Principal Deputy Director, National
Institutes of Health to House Committee on Energy and Commerce Staff
(Oct. 21, 2021).
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Cathy McMorris Rodgers,
Republican Leader, House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
[all]