House democrats blocked legislation that would require the U.S. Director of National Intelligence to declassify information related to the origins of COVID-19.
The COVID-19 Origin Act passed in the Senate in May. Rep. Michael Burgess brought the bill to the House floor on Tuesday, when democrats shot it down, per the Epoch Times.
The vote was 216 to 207.
“The best disinfectant is sunlight and that’s what we can provide today,” Rep. Brad Wenstrup, who helped bring the bill to the floor, said. “The bill first establishes that we must identify the precise origins of COVID-19 because it is critical for preventing a similar pandemic in the future.”
Wenstrup urged that the legislation is “not controversial,” noting that “not one senator objected” in May.
As previously reported by Human Events News, WHO Director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus recently outlined a proposal to probe Wuhan labs, which would include “audits of relevant laboratories and research institutions operating in the area of the initial human cases identified in December 2019.”
The Senate legislation cited the proposed WHO investigation, indicating that it is warranted.
However, China is refusing to cooperate with WHO plans to audit Wuhan labs to further investigate the origin of COVID-19, accusing the organization of showing “disrespect” and “arrogance towards science.”
