Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding the need to conduct a comprehensive investigation to determine the origins of COVID-19, and for other purposes.

IV 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. RES. 462 Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding the need to conduct a comprehensive investigation to determine the origins of COVID–19, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 4, 2021 Mr. NEWHOUSE submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs RESOLUTION Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regard- ing the need to conduct a comprehensive investigation to determine the origins of COVID–19, and for other purposes. Whereas COVID–19 has taken the lives of nearly 3,500,000 individuals around the world; Whereas understanding the origins of the COVID–19 pan- demic is essential to addressing vulnerabilities and pre- venting future crises; Whereas in May 2020, the World Health Assembly did not authorize a comprehensive investigation into the origins of COVID–19 and instead passed a significantly limited compromise resolution, with Chinese Government sup- VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:53 Jun 05, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR462.IH HR462 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HRES 462 IH port, which did not explicitly include in its scope the pos- sibility of a research-related accident; Whereas the 2020 World Health Assembly resolution and its terms of reference, which were negotiated privately be- tween the World Health Organization (‘‘WHO’’) and Chi- nese authorities, handed the Chinese Government control over the joint-study process by giving the Chinese Gov- ernment veto power over which international experts were allowed to participate in the joint study and by agreeing that most primary research would be carried out by Chi- nese teams without ensuring broad access to primary data by international experts; Whereas as a result of these terms, the significant structural, procedural, and analytical shortcomings of the joint study, and the severe restrictions imposed by Chinese au- thorities, the WHO-convened joint study into the origins of COVID–19 was prevented from providing a balanced consideration of the multiple theories of the origin of COVID–19; Whereas only 4 of the 313 pages of the joint study team re- port and its annexes addressed the possibility of a labora- tory accident, and no thorough examination of the lab in- cident hypothesis was carried out by the joint study team; Whereas some of the international experts on the joint-study team stated that they lacked the means and resources to properly investigate the research-related accident hypoth- esis and they were neither able nor meant to do such a full investigation, but instead were acting as a ‘‘study re- view group’’; VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:53 Jun 05, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR462.IH HR462 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HRES 462 IH Whereas WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus commented on March 30, 2021, the day the joint-study report was released, ‘‘I do not believe that [the joint study team’s] assessment [of a possible lab in- cident] was extensive enough. Further data and studies will be needed to reach more robust conclusions . . . po- tentially with additional missions involving specialist ex- perts, which I am ready to deploy.’’; Whereas the WHO Director-General further commented, ‘‘As far as WHO is concerned all hypotheses remain on the table . . . We have not yet found the source of the virus, and we must continue to follow the science and leave no stone unturned as we do . . . It is clear that we need more research across a range of areas, which will entail further field visits.’’; Whereas the March 30, 2021 Joint Statement on the WHO- convened COVID–19 Origins Study by the United States and 13 other countries recognized the severe short- comings of the joint-study process and called for ‘‘a transparent and independent analysis and evaluation, free from interference and undue influence.’’; Whereas in spite of the devastation the COVID–19 pandemic has caused in the United States and around the world, no process currently exists to ensure a comprehensive in- vestigation into the source of COVID–19; and Whereas such an investigation is essential for ensuring this type of crisis never happens again, for the benefit of all people, all nations, and future generations: Now, there- fore, be it Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Rep- 1 resentatives that— 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:53 Jun 05, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR462.IH HR462 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HRES 462 IH (1) a comprehensive investigation to determine 1 the origins of COVID–19 must be conducted by 2 WHO immediately, with access to all relevant 3 records, samples, and personnel in China, and that 4 such investigation must fully explore all possible 5 sources of the COVID–19 pandemic, including exclu- 6 sively ‘‘natural’’ zoonosis in the wild, human con- 7 tamination in an animal farm, and a research-re- 8 lated accident; 9 (2) the United States delegation to the World 10 Health Assembly should, in concert with allies and 11 partners around the world, work to ensure that an 12 international scientific investigation into the origins 13 of COVID–19, with full access to all relevant 14 records, samples, and personnel in China, will be au- 15 thorized by the World Health Assembly and imple- 16 mented with extreme urgency; and 17 (3) should such a full investigation not be au- 18 thorized by the 2021 World Health Assembly, then 19 the United States Government should immediately 20 begin planning a comprehensive and data-driven in- 21 vestigation into the COVID–19 pandemic origins, in 22 concert with willing partner governments and ex- 23 perts around the world. 24 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:53 Jun 05, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\HR462.IH HR462 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS