Topline
The U.S. Senate on Monday unanimously approved a bill to require the federal government to declassify information about any links between China’s Wuhan Institute of Virology and Covid-19 following reporting by the Wall Street Journal that three researchers at the lab were hospitalized with Covid-like symptoms in November 2019.
WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 13: Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) questions Alejandro Mayorkas, Secretary of ... [+]
Key Facts
The bill requires the Director of National Intelligence to declassify “any and all information” about links between the lab and the virus within 90 days.
The bill also calls for the DNI to make “as much information as possible” about the origin of the virus publicly available, in order to identify the origin “as expeditiously as possible.”
Introduced by Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and cosponsored by Sen. Mike Braun (R-Ind.), the bill passed Wednesday night by unanimous consent, meaning no senator objected.
While support has grown among Democratic lawmakers to investigate the origins of Covid-19, House leaders have not yet said whether it will get a vote in the lower chamber and the White House hasn’t said if President Joe Biden will sign it.
Forbes has reached out to the White House, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer’s office for comment.
Key Background
Theories that the virus was man-made as opposed to naturally occurring have been cast as fringe for much of the pandemic. However, the Journal’s revelation this week has caused experts to concede the “lab leak” theory – which remains unproven – can’t be ruled out.
Big Number
90. That’s how many days the intelligence community has been given by Biden to “bring us closer to a definitive conclusion” on the origins of the virus, the president said in a statement Wednesday. Biden said he asked for the inquiry to include “specific questions for China” and a look at “work by our National Labs.”
Tangent
Specific questions the bill seeks to answer are the “activities performed” by the Institute, the identities, symptoms and covid status of the three researchers, and their roles at the Institute – specifically whether they were “involved with or exposed to coronavirus.”
What To Watch For
If passed by the House and signed by Biden, the bill would require the DNI to submit an unclassified report to Congress with redactions limited to those that “protect sources and methods” without “altering or obscuring” vital information.
