The US House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly to declassify American intelligence about the origins of COVID-19. The revelation comes about three years after the outbreak of the epidemic, which has become one of the most widespread global phenomena in recent memory. Declassification was approved by a vote of 419 to 0. The law will now be delivered to US President Joe Biden’s desk for signature.
“The American public deserves answers to every aspect of the COVID-19 pandemic,” stated House Intelligence Committee Chairman Representative Michael Turner. He is the state representative for Ohio.
Turner stated that information that the public should know includes “how this virus was created and, specifically, whether it was a natural occurrence or was the result of a lab-related event.”
China was the first country to succumb to the coronavirus pandemic. The first cluster of illnesses was discovered in Wuhan. The virus quickly spread throughout the world, bringing economies to a halt owing to lockdowns that sometimes lasted months. It is widely assumed that the coronavirus was created in Chinese laboratories. All such charges are denied by China.
The intelligence that will be declassified as a result of the legislation will include details regarding China’s Wuhan Institute of Virology. The US intelligence community is divided on whether the pandemic was caused by a coronavirus lab breach or by the virus jumping from animals to humans.
“Transparency is a cornerstone of our democracy,” said Connecticut Rep. Jim Himes, the top Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, during the discussion.
The bill’s passage reflected a rare show of bipartisanship between Democrats and Republicans.
If the legislation is enacted into law, it will mandate the revelation of “any and all information relating to potential links between the Wuhan Institute of Virology and the origin of the Coronavirus Disease.”.”