This week, my colleagues and I on the the House Intelligence Committee released a report on the origins of COVID-19. The report indicates that COVID-19 could be connected to China’s biological weapons research program and may have leaked into the human population during an accident at China’s Wuhan Institute of Virology. The report highlights the failure of the U.S. Intelligence Community (IC) in withholding key information from the American people and their elected officials, deepening public mistrust.
Every American’s life has been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Over one million Americans died, businesses were forced to close, and livelihoods were destroyed. Government mismanagement has led to education delays for kids across the nation and a dramatic increase in mental health issues. This report bolsters the lab leak theory, which many government officials, Big Tech platforms, and media outlets previously labeled a conspiracy theory. It marks significant progress towards giving the American people answers they deserve. In the 118th Congress, the Republican majority will continue this critical work. We must make every effort to ensure that our country is never vulnerable to similar threats again. And we must hold China accountable for its errors, its refusal to provide prompt disclosure to the US and the world about COVID-19’s release, and its continued stonewalling of investigations into these issues.
