Senator Marshall Leads Letter Addressing Concerns on U.S. Funding Directed to China’s Research Labs

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Roger Marshall, M.D. led a letter to Inspector General Robert Storch of the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) commending him for beginning an investigation on funding China’s research labs as required by the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and requesting that he broaden the scope of his investigation to include other DoD funding of risky virology research.

Through his efforts to determine the origins of COVID-19, Senator Marshall has uncovered many startling revelations while combing through federal contract information. Because of the information he has discovered, Marshall is requesting the DoD Inspector expand his oversight to all DoD activities related to gain-of-function research, including those conducted at American universities. 

You may click HERE to read Senator Marshall’s full letter.

Highlights from the letter include:  

“I commend you for launching your investigation to trace the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) financial support diverted to China’s research labs, as required by Section 252 of the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act.  I write to alert you to research records and laboratory samples uncovered during my COVID-19 pandemic origins investigation that are in DoD’s custody and meet the prescribed criteria for your work. Because of this, I request you expand your efforts under Section 252 to such records and samples.”

“The records reveal that DoD purchased thousands of biospecimens from the University of California at Davis (UC Davis) which were collected in China and other countries by EcoHealth Alliance (EcoHealth), Metabiota, and UC Davis as part of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) PREDICT pandemic preparedness research project.”

“Detailed, unredacted research records, pathogen and biospecimen data should be available to the DoD Inspector General’s office from UC Davis, USAMRIID, EcoHealth, and Metabiota. Additionally, the USAID Office of Inspector General (OIG) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services OIG (HHS OIG) may be able to provide relevant records and assistance.”

“In light of the aforementioned records, I respectfully request that your probe searches for undisclosed, unpublished pathogen and biospecimen collections from research in China that are in DoD’s custody. I also request that all DoD direct or indirect expenditures that supported gain of function research in China are encompassed in your work, to include all contracts arranged for payment through other confidential agreements or CRADAs.”

“The federal government has not been forthcoming in revealing information related to the COVID-19 pandemic and the dangerous pathogen research it offshored to China. I hope that your efforts to unmask all DoD funding of gain of function research, can remedy those errors. Please see the attached CRADA referenced above. I look forward to following your work.”

Background: 

Senator Marshall, M.D., has led the investigation to uncover the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak for years.

In September of 2023, Senator Marshall pursued uncovering the origins of the Covid-19 virus with the introduction of the HHS Covid-19 Origin Transparency Act of 2023. This legislation would require the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to release all information and records related to the origins of Covid-19 to the public.

Senator Marshall released a bombshell Covid-19 origins report in April 2023, a 300-page report is the cumulation of findings and research conducted for more than two years to investigate the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic. 

In 2021, Senator Marshall released a multi-step path forward on getting to the bottom of the origins of COVID-19 and holding China accountable for its actions surrounding the earliest days of the outbreak. 

In November 2021, Senators Marshall and Gillibrand joined forces with Senators Joni Ernst (R-IA) and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) to introduce bipartisan legislation to create a 9/11-style commission to investigate COVID-19 origins and identify lessons learned regarding U.S. preparedness, response, and recovery to improve our ability to respond to future outbreaks. 

Senator Marshall was the first U.S. Senator to demand answers from the DOD and HHS on possible COVID-19 infections of U.S. Army troops who participated in the 2019 World Military Games in Wuhan, China, from October 18-28, 2019.

In August 2021, Senator Marshall released a video walkthrough of a 3D timeline of the origins of COVID-19. Senator Marshall has been sounding the alarm on the timeline of the Covid Origins for over two years.