Wittman Introduces Bill That Calls for an Investigation of the COVID-19 ‘Lab Leak’ Theory
Virginia | June 18, 2021
Congressman Rob Wittman (R-VA-01) is calling for sanctions against top Chinese health officials until they allow an independent investigation into the Wuhan Institute of Virology and the origins of COVID-19. Wittman and Congresswoman Elise Stefanik (R-NY-21) introduced The World Deserves to Know Act on Tuesday.
“We cannot allow China to impede a free and fair investigation into the origins of COVID-19,” Wittman said in a press release. “Nor can we tolerate China’s suppression of information which could prove critically important to preventing future pandemics. The sanctions imposed by the World Deserves to Know Act pave the way to uncover the truth about COVID-19’s origins.”
According to the press release, the act directs intelligence activity to identify people who worked to suppress information relating to COVID-19 and the Wuhan Institute. It focuses on prohibiting federal funds and contracts between U.S. agencies and universities and Chinese-based institutes and universities affiliated with China’s National Health Commission (NHC). It also directs a review of National Institute of Health funding which has gone to the NHC. It also advocates for upgrading Taiwan’s status in the World Health Assembly, given Taiwan’s early warnings of COVID-19.
Stefanik’s press release states that the act is also focused on intellectual property theft and human rights abuses.
“This legislation would also instruct President Biden to work with the Intelligence Community to identify members of the Chinese Communist Party involved in the persecution of whistleblowers and citizen journalists and sanction them for human rights abuses,” Stefanik’s press release states...
(Excerpts from the Virginia Star)