WASHINGTON, DC – Rep. Mike Gallagher today introduced the COVID-19 Origin Act of 2021, legislation that would require the Biden Administration to declassify all intelligence and require a report to Congress — protecting for sources and methods — surrounding the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) and the origin of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The bill, which was first reported by Fox News, comes as efforts to obtain more information about the WIV through a World Health Organization-led investigation have stalled. Senators Josh Hawley (R-MO) and Mike Braun (R-IN) introduced the bill in the Senate last month.

“The question of how this pandemic started is the most important question facing the world,” said Rep. Gallagher. “As evidence supporting the lab leak hypothesis continues to grow, it’s clear an investigation into the Wuhan Institute of Virology isn’t just a good idea – it’s fully warranted. The Chinese Communist Party will only continue to stonewall, but that doesn’t mean we can’t get answers, and the first step in doing so is to declassify all intelligence surrounding the lab the origins of COVID-19.

“This shouldn’t be partisan,” Rep. Gallagher continued. “If we don’t find out how this happened, we’re never going to be able to ensure it doesn’t happen again.”

Senator Hawley said, “Government officials have openly speculated that the Wuhan Institute of Virology may be linked to the outbreak of COVID-19. But for the past year, the Chinese Communist Party has done everything in its power to block a credible investigation into this connection, while their allies in Big Tech continue to censor anyone raising this possibility. The Biden administration must declassify what it knows about the Wuhan lab and the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic so we can prevent a similar catastrophe from happening in the future.”

Rep. Gallagher has been leading the effort to investigate the origin of the COVID-19 pandemic. Last week, he wrote to Dr. Anthony Fauci to ask whether Dr. Fauci supported an investigation into the lab leak hypothesis and whether U.S. taxpayer dollars went to fund risky gain of function research that some scientists have suggested could be responsible for the outbreak of this disease. This bill is a continuation of his effort to push government officials and members of the media to find answers to these questions.

The bill is co-sponsored in the House by: Reps. Guy Reschenthaler (R-PA), Chris Stewart (R-UT), Dan Bishop (R-NC), Jason Smith (R-MO), Dusty Johnson (R-SD), Rep. Mark Green (R-TN), Scott Perry (R-CA), Tom Rice (R-SC), Brian Babin (R-TX), John Rutherford (R-FL), Paul Gosar (R-AZ), Bob Gibbs (R-OH), Daniel Webster (R-FL), Madison Cawthorn (R-NC), and Jody Hice (R-GA).

Click HERE for bill text.

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