“It’s of paramount importance to public health and biosecurity.” 

Washington, D.C.— As numerous mainstream outlets have reported, the origins of COVID-19 are still unknown and China is stonewalling efforts to get answers.   

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• NBC NEWS: U.S. still hasn't ruled out lab accident origin for Covid because China hasn't been transparent. 
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• WSJ: How the WHO’s Hunt for Covid’s Origins Stumbled in China. “A team of scientists hoped a mission to Wuhan would provide some clarity about the coronavirus’s origins. New details about the team’s constraints reveal how little power it had to conduct a thorough probe.” 
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• AXIOS: Why we need to know COVID's origins. 
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• WAPO EDITORIAL: We’re still missing the origin story of this pandemic. China is sitting on the answers.  
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 BREAKING:Today, Republican Leaders on the House Energy and Commerce Committee urged the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to join them and advance a complete, independent scientific investigation. 

As POLITICO Playbook PM reported: “As U.S.-China talks get underway in Alaska today, House Energy & Commerce ranking member CATHY MCMORRIS RODGERS (R-Wash.) and other GOP leaders on the committee are sending a letter to NIH Director FRANCIS COLLINS asking for a full, independent investigation into the origins of the novel coronavirus in China.” THE LETTER. 

Energy and Commerce Republican Leader Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Republican Leader Morgan Griffith (R-VA), and Health Subcommittee Republican Leader Brett Guthrie (R-KY) wrote to NIH: 

“Over a year has passed since the deadly virus reached our shores and yet, the origin of the virus has yet to be determined. An independent, expert investigation of the origin of COVID-19 is of paramount importance to public health and biosecurity.” 

Their 11-page letter to the NIH includes the most comprehensive breakdown to date on what we know and don’t know from China about the origins of COVID-19, including key questions about where the World Health Organization’s (WHO) investigation fell short into the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV). 

The Republican Leader’s call for American leadership for a scientific investigation comes as the Biden Administration meets today with Chinese officials in Alaska.  

The Republican Energy and Commerce Leaders wrote: 

“Because of rising tensions between the U.S. and China, the WHO scrapped plans for an interim report. An international group of science experts, including specialists in virology, microbiology, and zoology, asked for a new review.  

“The NIH, as a premier scientific institution, must lead in order to foster a transparent, independent, and science-based investigation into the origin of the COVID-19 pandemic. Such an effort must meet the WHO’s stated goals of an open-minded investigation that does not exclude any plausible hypothesis.  In addition, the NIH is well-positioned to gather and provide information through oversight of its grants and other federal awards. Thus, the NIH is in a unique position to investigate the possibility that the pandemic stemmed from a laboratory accident or leak, especially regarding the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV).” 

CLICK HERE to read their entire letter.