Establishing the Joint Select Committee on the Events and Activities Surrounding China's Handling of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus.

IV 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. CON. RES. 36 Establishing the Joint Select Committee on the Events and Activities Surrounding China’s Handling of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 28, 2021 Mr. BARR submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Rules CONCURRENT RESOLUTION Establishing the Joint Select Committee on the Events and Activities Surrounding China’s Handling of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus. Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 1 concurring), 2 SECTION 1. ESTABLISHMENT. 3 There is hereby established in the Senate and the 4 House of Representatives a joint select committee to be 5 known as the ‘‘Joint Select Committee on the Events and 6 Activities Surrounding China’s Handling of the 2019 7 Novel Coronavirus’’ (hereafter referred to as the ‘‘Joint 8 Select Committee’’). 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:39 May 29, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HC36.IH HC36 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HCON 36 IH SEC. 2. MEMBERSHIP. 1 (a) SELECTION AND APPOINTMENT.— 2 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Joint Select Committee 3 shall be composed of 20 Members of the House of 4 Representatives and Senate, of whom— 5 (A) 10 shall be Members of the House of 6 Representatives, of whom 5 shall be appointed 7 by the Speaker of the House of Representatives 8 and 5 shall be appointed by the minority leader 9 of the House of Representatives; and 10 (B) 10 shall be Senators, of whom 5 shall 11 be appointed by the majority leader of the Sen- 12 ate and 5 shall be appointed by the minority 13 leader of the Senate. 14 (2) TREATMENT OF DELEGATE AND RESIDENT 15 COMMISSIONER.—For purposes of this section, a 16 ‘‘Member’’ of the House of Representatives includes 17 a Delegate or Resident Commissioner to the Con- 18 gress. 19 (b) CO-CHAIRS.—Two of the members of the Joint 20 Select Committee shall serve as co-chairs of the Joint Se- 21 lect Committee, and shall be appointed as follows: 22 (1) One shall be a Member of the House of 23 Representatives, who shall be appointed as co-chair 24 by the Speaker of the House of Representatives in 25 consultation with the majority leader of the Senate. 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:24 May 29, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HC36.IH HC36 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HCON 36 IH (2) One shall be a Senator, who shall be ap- 1 pointed as co-chair by the minority leader of the 2 Senate in consultation with the minority leader of 3 the House of Representatives. 4 (c) VACANCIES.—A vacancy in the membership of the 5 Joint Select Committee (including a vacancy resulting be- 6 cause a member ceases to be a Member of the House of 7 Representatives or a Senator) shall not affect its powers, 8 and shall be filled not later than 14 calendar days after 9 the date on which the vacancy occurs in the same manner 10 as the original appointment was made. 11 (d) DEADLINES.—Members of the Joint Select Com- 12 mittee and the co-chairs of the Joint Select Committee 13 shall be appointed not later than 14 calendar days after 14 the date of the adoption of this concurrent resolution. 15 SEC. 3. INVESTIGATION AND REPORT ON THE EVENTS SUR- 16 ROUNDING CHINA’S HANDLING OF THE 2019 17 NOVEL CORONAVIRUS. 18 (a) INVESTIGATION AND REPORT.—The Joint Select 19 Committee is authorized and directed to conduct a full and 20 complete investigation of, and to issue a final report to 21 the House of Representatives and Senate regarding, the 22 following: 23 (1) The origins and causes of the 2019 novel 24 coronavirus. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:39 May 29, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HC36.IH HC36 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HCON 36 IH (2) All policies, decisions, and activities by 1 China regarding the origins and causes of such 2 coronavirus. 3 (3) All policies, decisions, and activities by 4 China in response to the initial outbreak and spread 5 of such coronavirus. 6 (4) All policies, decisions, and activities by 7 China to suppress facts and information regarding 8 the spread, origins, causes, and transmission of such 9 coronavirus, including efforts to silence those mak- 10 ing early warnings, punish whistleblowers, and re- 11 strict freedom of information about such corona- 12 virus. 13 (5) All policies, decisions, and activities by 14 China to spread misinformation regarding the ori- 15 gins and causes of such coronavirus, including accu- 16 sations and misinformation that the coronavirus was 17 brought to the city of Wuhan by the United States 18 military. 19 (6) All policies, decisions, and activities by 20 China to sideline, deny, and suppress charitable 21 service organizations, institutions of civil society, 22 secular and faith-based non-governmental organiza- 23 tions, international humanitarian organizations, and 24 foreign governments offering to provide information, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:39 May 29, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HC36.IH HC36 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HCON 36 IH expertise, resources, and assistance to China and the 1 Chinese people to combat such coronavirus. 2 (7) Accountability for policies, decisions and ac- 3 tivities related to influencing the World Health Or- 4 ganization’s response to the outbreak of such 5 coronavirus, including individuals and entities re- 6 sponsible for those policies, decisions, and activities. 7 (8) All policies, decisions, and activities by 8 China to manufacture, produce, procure, possess, or 9 hoard personal protective equipment and critical 10 pharmaceutical components to manipulate or 11 weaponize the supply chain against the international 12 community, including the United States. 13 (9) Vulnerabilities in the United States domes- 14 tic and global supply chain to combat a global pan- 15 demic due to reliance on Chinese manufacturing and 16 recommendations for decreasing dependence on Chi- 17 nese manufacturing by improving and securing a do- 18 mestic supply chain for antibiotics, viral drugs, crit- 19 ical pharmaceutical components, masks, and other 20 personal protective equipment. 21 (10) Information related to lessons learned 22 from China’s handling of such coronavirus. 23 (11) Any other relevant issues relating to Chi- 24 na’s actions that led to further spread of such 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:39 May 29, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HC36.IH HC36 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HCON 36 IH coronavirus, China’s response to such coronavirus, 1 or the investigation by the Joint Select Committee 2 into China regarding such coronavirus. 3 (12) Any recommendations to Congress and the 4 executive branch regarding actions the United States 5 government should take in response to China’s han- 6 dling of such coronavirus. 7 (b) TRANSFER OF RECORDS.—At the request of the 8 co-chairs of the Joint Select Committee, any standing 9 committee of the Senate or House of Representatives hav- 10 ing custody of records in any form relating to the matters 11 described in subsection (a) shall transfer such records to 12 the Joint Select Committee. 13 (c) INTERIM REPORTS.—In addition to the final re- 14 port issued under subsection (a), the Joint Select Com- 15 mittee may issue such interim reports as it considers nec- 16 essary. 17 (d) CLASSIFIED ANNEX.—The Joint Select Com- 18 mittee may include a classified annex in any report issued 19 under this section. 20 (e) DEFINITIONS.— 21 (1) CHINA.—In this section, the term ‘‘China’’ 22 means the Government of the People’s Republic of 23 China and any of the following: 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:39 May 29, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HC36.IH HC36 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HCON 36 IH (A) An official of the Chinese Communist 1 Party. 2 (B) An official of the Government of the 3 People’s Republic of China. 4 (C) An agent or instrumentality of the 5 Government of the People’s Republic of China. 6 (D) Any other person owned or controlled 7 by or acting on behalf of any person described 8 in subparagraphs (A) through (C). 9 (2) 2019 NOVEL CORONAVIRUS.—In this sub- 10 section, the term ‘‘2019 novel coronavirus’’ means 11 the coronavirus disease (COVID–19) and severe 12 acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS– 13 CoV–2). 14 SEC. 4. POWERS. 15 (a) HEARINGS AND OTHER ACTIVITIES.—For the 16 purpose of carrying out its duties, the Joint Select Com- 17 mittee may hold such hearings and undertake such other 18 activities as the Joint Select Committee determines to be 19 necessary to carry out its duties, whether the Congress 20 is in session, has recessed, or has adjourned. 21 (b) AUTHORITY TO USE SUBPOENAS.—The Joint Se- 22 lect Committee may require by subpoena the attendance 23 of such witnesses and the production of such books, pa- 24 pers, and documents, as it considers appropriate. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:24 May 29, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HC36.IH HC36 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •HCON 36 IH (c) ACCESS TO LEGISLATIVE BRANCH SERVICES.— 1 The Joint Select Committee shall have access to the serv- 2 ices of the Government Accountability Office, the Congres- 3 sional Budget Office, and the Congressional Research 4 Service in the same manner and under the same terms 5 and conditions as any standing committee of the House 6 of Representatives or Senate. 7 (d) ADOPTION OF RULES.—Not later than 7 days 8 after all of its members have been appointed, the Joint 9 Select Committee shall adopt rules governing its oper- 10 ations, including rules governing the issuance of sub- 11 poenas and rules governing the use of official funds for 12 travel by members and staff, and shall submit such rules 13 to the Clerk of the House of Representatives and Sec- 14 retary of the Senate for publication in the Congressional 15 Record. 16 SEC. 5. STAFF; FUNDING. 17 (a) STAFF.— 18 (1) USE OF EXISTING STAFF.—To the greatest 19 extent practicable, the Joint Select Committee shall 20 utilize the services of staff of employing offices of 21 the Senate and House of Representatives. 22 (2) AUTHORITY TO APPOINT STAFF.— 23 (A) IN GENERAL.—Each of the co-chairs 24 of the Joint Select Committee may appoint, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:39 May 29, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HC36.IH HC36 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •HCON 36 IH prescribe the duties and responsibilities of, and 1 fix the pay of such staff as the co-chair con- 2 siders appropriate to assist the Joint Select 3 Committee in carrying out its duties, so long as 4 the number of staff appointed by one of the co- 5 chairs does not exceed the number of staff ap- 6 pointed by the other co-chair. 7 (B) DETAIL OF CONGRESSIONAL EMPLOY- 8 EES.—Upon the joint request of the co-chairs, 9 the head of an employing office of the House of 10 Representatives or Senate (including a joint 11 committee of the Congress) is authorized to de- 12 tail, without reimbursement, any of the staff of 13 the office to the Joint Select Committee to as- 14 sist the Joint Select Committee in carrying out 15 its duties. 16 (3) EXPERTS AND CONSULTANTS.—Section 17 202(i) of the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 18 (2 U.S.C. 4301(i)) shall apply with respect to the 19 Joint Select Committee in the same manner as such 20 section applies with respect to a standing committee 21 of the Senate, except that any consultant whose 22 services are procured by the Joint Select Committee 23 shall be selected jointly by the co-chairs of the Joint 24 Select Committee. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:39 May 29, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HC36.IH HC36 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •HCON 36 IH (b) FUNDING.— 1 (1) VOUCHERS.—Payments for expenses of the 2 Joint Select Committee shall be made using vouch- 3 ers authorized by the Joint Select Committee, signed 4 by co-chairs of the Joint Select Committee, and ap- 5 proved in a manner directed by the Committee on 6 Rules and Administration of the Senate and the 7 Committee on House Administration of the House of 8 Representatives. 9 (2) SOURCE OF FUNDS.—There are authorized 10 to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary 11 for the operation of the Joint Select Committee, of 12 which— 13 (A) 50 percent shall be derived from the 14 applicable accounts of the House of Representa- 15 tives; and 16 (B) 50 percent shall be derived from the 17 contingent fund of the Senate. 18 SEC. 6. TERMINATION. 19 (a) TERMINATION DATE.—The Joint Select Com- 20 mittee shall terminate 30 days after filing the final report 21 required under section 3. 22 (b) TRANSFER OF RECORDS.—Upon termination of 23 the Joint Select Committee, the records of the Joint Select 24 Committee shall be transferred to— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:39 May 29, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HC36.IH HC36 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •HCON 36 IH (1) such committee or committees of the House 1 of Representatives as may be designated by the 2 Speaker of the House of Representatives; and 3 (2) such committee or committees of the Senate 4 as my be designated by the President pro tempore 5 of the Senate. 6 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:39 May 29, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\HC36.IH HC36 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS