WASHINGTON, D.C. — Yesterday, the U.S. Senate passed a bipartisan amendment offered by U.S. Senators Kirsten Gillibrand, member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, and Roger Marshall M.D. (R-KS) that calls for transparency into the World Health Organization’s (WHO) potentially flawed report on the origins of the COVID-19 outbreak, which largely dismissed the possibility that the virus had accidentally escaped from a Chinese laboratory in Wuhan.
Additionally, the amendment calls for a comprehensive investigation by the U.S. and world allies into the origins of the virus if China continues to obstruct efforts to identify how and when the coronavirus pandemic began.
“There must be a thorough and transparent investigation into the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic—obstruction is completely unacceptable. Our amendment makes clear that the US believes that the previous WHO investigation was flawed, that there must be accountability, and all potential origins of this virus, including a lab leak, must be investigated fully,” said Senator Gillibrand.
The passage of the amendment comes on the heels of President Biden’s call on U.S. intelligence agencies to double-down on efforts to thoroughly investigate the origins of the coronavirus and report back in 90 days. Biden said that the C.I.A and other intelligence agencies had not yet reached a consensus on how the virus originated in China and indicated that the administration is considering the possibility that the deadly virus was accidentally leaked from a lab.
Full text of the amendment can be found here.
Press release from Kirsten Gillibrand’s Press Office.
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