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

IV 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. CON. RES. 97 Establishing the Joint Select Committee on the Events and Activities Surrounding China’s Handling of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APRIL 17, 2020 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 00:26 Apr 18, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HC97.IH HC97 2 •HCON 97 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 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:26 Apr 18, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HC97.IH HC97 3 •HCON 97 IH consultation with the minority leader of the House 1 of Representatives. 2 (2) One shall be a Senator, who shall be ap- 3 pointed as co-chair by the majority leader of the 4 Senate in consultation with the minority leader of 5 the Senate. 6 (c) VACANCIES.—A vacancy in the membership of the 7 Joint Select Committee (including a vacancy resulting be- 8 cause a member ceases to be a Member of the House of 9 Representatives or a Senator) shall not affect its powers, 10 and shall be filled not later than 14 calendar days after 11 the date on which the vacancy occurs in the same manner 12 as the original appointment was made. 13 (d) DEADLINES.—Members of the Joint Select Com- 14 mittee and the co-chairs of the Joint Select Committee 15 shall be appointed not later than 14 calendar days after 16 the date of the adoption of this concurrent resolution. 17 SEC. 3. INVESTIGATION AND REPORT ON THE EVENTS SUR- 18 ROUNDING CHINA’S HANDLING OF THE 2019 19 NOVEL CORONAVIRUS. 20 (a) INVESTIGATION AND REPORT.—The Joint Select 21 Committee is authorized and directed to conduct a full and 22 complete investigation of, and to issue a final report to 23 the House of Representatives and Senate regarding, the 24 following: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:26 Apr 18, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HC97.IH HC97 4 •HCON 97 IH (1) The origins and causes of the 2019 novel 1 coronavirus. 2 (2) All policies, decisions, and activities by 3 China regarding the origins and causes of such 4 coronavirus. 5 (3) All policies, decisions, and activities by 6 China in response to the initial outbreak and spread 7 of such coronavirus. 8 (4) All policies, decisions, and activities by 9 China to suppress facts and information regarding 10 the spread, origins, causes, and transmission of such 11 coronavirus, including efforts to silence those mak- 12 ing early warnings, punish whistleblowers, and re- 13 strict freedom of information about such coronavi- 14 rus. 15 (5) All policies, decisions, and activities by 16 China to spread misinformation regarding the ori- 17 gins and causes of such coronavirus, including accu- 18 sations and misinformation that the coronavirus was 19 brought to the city of Wuhan by the United States 20 military. 21 (6) All policies, decisions, and activities by 22 China to sideline, deny, and suppress charitable 23 service organizations, institutions of civil society, 24 secular and faith-based non-governmental organiza- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:26 Apr 18, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HC97.IH HC97 5 •HCON 97 IH tions, international humanitarian organizations, and 1 foreign governments offering to provide information, 2 expertise, resources, and assistance to China and the 3 Chinese people to combat such coronavirus. 4 (7) Accountability for policies, decisions and ac- 5 tivities related to influencing the World Health Or- 6 ganization’s response to the outbreak of such 7 coronavirus, including individuals and entities re- 8 sponsible for those policies, decisions, and activities. 9 (8) All policies, decisions, and activities by 10 China to manufacture, produce, procure, possess, or 11 hoard personal protective equipment and critical 12 pharmaceutical components to manipulate or 13 weaponize the supply chain against the international 14 community, including the United States. 15 (9) Vulnerabilities in the United States domes- 16 tic and global supply chain to combat a global pan- 17 demic due to reliance on Chinese manufacturing and 18 recommendations for decreasing dependence on Chi- 19 nese manufacturing by improving and securing a do- 20 mestic supply chain for antibiotics, viral drugs, crit- 21 ical pharmaceutical components, masks, and other 22 personal protective equipment. 23 (10) Information related to lessons learned 24 from China’s handling of such coronavirus. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:26 Apr 18, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HC97.IH HC97 6 •HCON 97 IH (11) Any other relevant issues relating to Chi- 1 na’s actions that led to further spread of such 2 coronavirus, China’s response to such coronavirus, 3 or the investigation by the Joint Select Committee 4 into China regarding such coronavirus. 5 (12) Any recommendations to Congress and the 6 executive branch regarding actions the United States 7 government should take in response to China’s han- 8 dling of such coronavirus. 9 (b) TRANSFER OF RECORDS.—At the request of the 10 co-chairs of the Joint Select Committee, any standing 11 committee of the Senate or House of Representatives hav- 12 ing custody of records in any form relating to the matters 13 described in subsection (a) shall transfer such records to 14 the Joint Select Committee. 15 (c) INTERIM REPORTS.—In addition to the final re- 16 port issued under subsection (a), the Joint Select Com- 17 mittee may issue such interim reports as it considers nec- 18 essary. 19 (d) CLASSIFIED ANNEX.—The Joint Select Com- 20 mittee may include a classified annex in any report issued 21 under this section. 22 (e) DEFINITIONS.— 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:26 Apr 18, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HC97.IH HC97 7 •HCON 97 IH (1) CHINA.—In this section, the term ‘‘China’’ 1 means the Government of the People’s Republic of 2 China and any of the following: 3 (A) An official of the Chinese Communist 4 Party. 5 (B) An official of the Government of the 6 People’s Republic of China. 7 (C) An agent or instrumentality of the 8 Government of the People’s Republic of China. 9 (D) Any other person owned or controlled 10 by or acting on behalf of any person described 11 in subparagraphs (A) through (C). 12 (2) 2019 NOVEL CORONAVIRUS.—In this sub- 13 section, the term ‘‘2019 novel coronavirus’’ means 14 the coronavirus disease (COVID–19) and severe 15 acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS– 16 CoV–2). 17 SEC. 4. POWERS. 18 (a) HEARINGS AND OTHER ACTIVITIES.—For the 19 purpose of carrying out its duties, the Joint Select Com- 20 mittee may hold such hearings and undertake such other 21 activities as the Joint Select Committee determines to be 22 necessary to carry out its duties, whether the Congress 23 is in session, has recessed, or has adjourned. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:26 Apr 18, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HC97.IH HC97 8 •HCON 97 IH (b) AUTHORITY TO USE SUBPOENAS.—The Joint Se- 1 lect Committee may require by subpoena the attendance 2 of such witnesses and the production of such books, pa- 3 pers, and documents, as it considers appropriate. 4 (c) ACCESS TO LEGISLATIVE BRANCH SERVICES.— 5 The Joint Select Committee shall have access to the serv- 6 ices of the Government Accountability Office, the Congres- 7 sional Budget Office, and the Congressional Research 8 Service in the same manner and under the same terms 9 and conditions as any standing committee of the House 10 of Representatives or Senate. 11 (d) ADOPTION OF RULES.—Not later than 7 days 12 after all of its members have been appointed, the Joint 13 Select Committee shall adopt rules governing its oper- 14 ations, including rules governing the issuance of sub- 15 poenas and rules governing the use of official funds for 16 travel by members and staff, and shall submit such rules 17 to the Clerk of the House of Representatives and Sec- 18 retary of the Senate for publication in the Congressional 19 Record. 20 SEC. 5. STAFF; FUNDING. 21 (a) STAFF.— 22 (1) USE OF EXISTING STAFF.—To the greatest 23 extent practicable, the Joint Select Committee shall 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:26 Apr 18, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HC97.IH HC97 9 •HCON 97 IH utilize the services of staff of employing offices of 1 the Senate and House of Representatives. 2 (2) AUTHORITY TO APPOINT STAFF.— 3 (A) IN GENERAL.—Each of the co-chairs 4 of the Joint Select Committee may appoint, 5 prescribe the duties and responsibilities of, and 6 fix the pay of such staff as the co-chair con- 7 siders appropriate to assist the Joint Select 8 Committee in carrying out its duties, so long as 9 the number of staff appointed by one of the co- 10 chairs does not exceed the number of staff ap- 11 pointed by the other co-chair. 12 (B) DETAIL OF CONGRESSIONAL EMPLOY- 13 EES.—Upon the joint request of the co-chairs, 14 the head of an employing office of the House of 15 Representatives or Senate (including a joint 16 committee of the Congress) is authorized to de- 17 tail, without reimbursement, any of the staff of 18 the office to the Joint Select Committee to as- 19 sist the Joint Select Committee in carrying out 20 its duties. 21 (3) EXPERTS AND CONSULTANTS.—Section 22 202(i) of the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 23 (2 U.S.C. 4301(i)) shall apply with respect to the 24 Joint Select Committee in the same manner as such 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:26 Apr 18, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HC97.IH HC97 10 •HCON 97 IH section applies with respect to a standing committee 1 of the Senate, except that any consultant whose 2 services are procured by the Joint Select Committee 3 shall be selected jointly by the co-chairs of the Joint 4 Select Committee. 5 (b) FUNDING.— 6 (1) VOUCHERS.—Payments for expenses of the 7 Joint Select Committee shall be made using vouch- 8 ers authorized by the Joint Select Committee, signed 9 by co-chairs of the Joint Select Committee, and ap- 10 proved in a manner directed by the Committee on 11 Rules and Administration of the Senate and the 12 Committee on House Administration of the House of 13 Representatives. 14 (2) SOURCE OF FUNDS.—There are authorized 15 to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary 16 for the operation of the Joint Select Committee, of 17 which— 18 (A) 50 percent shall be derived from the 19 applicable accounts of the House of Representa- 20 tives; and 21 (B) 50 percent shall be derived from the 22 contingent fund of the Senate. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:26 Apr 18, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HC97.IH HC97 11 •HCON 97 IH SEC. 6. TERMINATION. 1 (a) TERMINATION DATE.—The Joint Select Com- 2 mittee shall terminate 30 days after filing the final report 3 required under section 3. 4 (b) TRANSFER OF RECORDS.—Upon termination of 5 the Joint Select Committee, the records of the Joint Select 6 Committee shall be transferred to— 7 (1) such committee or committees of the House 8 of Representatives as may be designated by the 9 Speaker of the House of Representatives; and 10 (2) such committee or committees of the Senate 11 as my be designated by the President pro tempore 12 of the Senate. 13 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:26 Apr 18, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\HC97.IH HC97