Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., a member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, has reintroduced a measure that would direct the current administration to declassify all information related to the potential association of the COVID-19 pandemic with China’s Wuhan Institute of Virology.
The COVID-19 Origin Act of 2023 was co-sponsored by Reps. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y.; Chris Stewart, R-Utah; John Rutherford, R-Fla.; Michael Cloud, R-Texas; Mark Green, R-Tenn.; Andy Biggs, R-Ariz.; August Pfluger, R-Texas; and Daniel Webster, R-Fla., Gallagher’s office said Friday.
“It’s been three years since COVID-19 upended our lives and we’re still asking basic questions about the origins of this virus. That’s unacceptable,” Gallagher said.
“It’s time for Congress to act and force the administration to declassify the relevant intelligence surrounding the pandemic,” he added.
The Senate on Wednesday unanimously passed a companion bill introduced by Sens. Josh Hawley, R-Mo. and Mike Braun, R-Ind.
FBI Director Christopher Wray told Fox News in an interview that aired Tuesday that the pandemic “most likely” originated from a laboratory in China.
“The FBI has for quite some time now assessed that the origins of the pandemic are most likely a potential lab incident in Wuhan,” Wray said during the interview. “Here you are talking about a potential leak from a Chinese government-controlled lab.”
A classified intelligence report showed that the U.S. Department of Energy has concluded that the pandemic most likely stemmed from a lab leak based on new intelligence, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal. The U.S. Intelligence Community at large has not accepted the findings and claims there is not enough evidence to yet make a determination.