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118th Congress
" COMMITTEE PRINT
2nd Session
BUSINESS MEETING
OF THE
SELECT SUBCOMMITTEE ON THE CORONAVIRUS
PANDEMIC
OF THE
COMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT AND
ACCOUNTABILITY
U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
SECOND SESSION
DECEMBER 4, 2024
Serial No. CP:118–15
Printed for the use of the Committee on Oversight and Accountability
(
Available on: govinfo.gov,
oversight.house.gov or
docs.house.gov
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
57–717 PDF WASHINGTON : 2025
COMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT AND ACCOUNTABILITY
JAMES COMER, Kentucky, Chairman
JIM JORDAN, Ohio JAMIE RASKIN, Maryland, Ranking Minority
MIKE TURNER, Ohio Member
PAUL GOSAR, Arizona ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON, District of
VIRGINIA FOXX, North Carolina Columbia
GLENN GROTHMAN, Wisconsin STEPHEN F. LYNCH, Massachusetts
MICHAEL CLOUD, Texas GERALD E. CONNOLLY, Virginia
GARY PALMER, Alabama RAJA KRISHNAMOORTHI, Illinois
CLAY HIGGINS, Louisiana RO KHANNA, California
PETE SESSIONS, Texas KWEISI MFUME, Maryland
ANDY BIGGS, Arizona ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ, New York
NANCY MACE, South Carolina KATIE PORTER, California
JAKE LATURNER, Kansas CORI BUSH, Missouri
PAT FALLON, Texas SHONTEL BROWN, Ohio
BYRON DONALDS, Florida MELANIE STANSBURY, New Mexico
SCOTT PERRY, Pennsylvania ROBERT GARCIA, California
WILLIAM TIMMONS, South Carolina MAXWELL FROST, Florida
TIM BURCHETT, Tennessee SUMMER LEE, Pennsylvania
MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE, Georgia GREG CASAR, Texas
LISA MCCLAIN, Michigan JASMINE CROCKETT, Texas
LAUREN BOEBERT, Colorado DAN GOLDMAN, New York
RUSSELL FRY, South Carolina JARED MOSKOWITZ, Florida
ANNA PAULINA LUNA, Florida RASHIDA TLAIB, Michigan
NICK LANGWORTHY, New York AYANNA PRESSLEY, Massachusetts
ERIC BURLISON, Missouri
MIKE WALTZ, Florida
MARK MARIN, Staff Director
MITCHELL BENZINE, Subcommittee Staff Director
MARIE POLICASTRO, Clerk
CONTACT NUMBER: 202-225-5074
MILES LICHTMAN, Minority Staff Director
CONTACT NUMBER: 202-225-5051
SELECT SUBCOMMITTEE ON THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC
BRAD WENSTRUP, Ohio, Chairman
NICOLE MALLIOTAKIS, New York RAUL RUIZ, California, Ranking Minority
MARIANNETTE MILLER-MEEKS, Iowa Member
DEBBIE LESKO, Arizona DEBBIE DINGELL, Michigan
MICHAEL CLOUD, Texas KWEISI MFUME, Maryland
JOHN JOYCE, Pennsylvania DEBORAH ROSS, North Carolina
MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE, Georgia ROBERT GARCIA, California
RONNY JACKSON, Texas AMI BERA, California
RICH MCCORMICK, Georgia JILL TOKUDA, Hawaii
(II)
C O N T E N T S
INDEX OF DOCUMENTS
* Statement, U.S. State Department, ‘‘Adherence to and Compliance with
Arms Control, Nonproliferation and Disarmament Agreements and Com-
mitments’’; submitted by Rep. Wenstrup.
* Article, Washington Post, ‘‘A flu virus risk worth taking’’; submitted
by Rep. Wenstrup.
* Article, Nature Medicine, ‘‘A SARS-like cluster of circulating bat
coronaviruses’’; submitted by Rep. Wenstrup.
* Article, PLOS.org, ‘‘Discovery of the rich gene pool of bat SARS-related
coronaviruses’’; submitted by Rep. Wenstrup.
* Article, Fauci, ‘‘Research on Highly Pathogenic H5N1 Influenza Virus’’;
submitted by Rep. Wenstrup.
* Statement, ‘‘After Action Review of the Covid-19 Pandemic: Recommenda-
tions’’; submitted by Rep. Wenstrup.
* Letter, December 3, 2024, from Arnold & Porter to the Select Sub-
committee; submitted by Rep. Ruiz.
* Letter, Correspondence with Mitchell Benzine re: Draft Report Dated
12-1-2024; submitted by Rep. Ruiz.
* Letter, December 3, 2024, from Counsel for the American Federation
of Teachers to the Select Subcommittee; submitted by Rep. Ruiz.
* Statement, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Responses
to Draft SSCP Report Dated November 29, 2024; submitted by Rep. Ruiz.
Documents are available at: docs.house.gov.
(III)
BUSINESS MEETING
Wednesday, December 4, 2024
U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
COMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT AND ACCOUNTABILITY
SELECT SUBCOMMITTEE ON THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC
Washington, D.C.
The Subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:29 a.m., in
room 2247, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Brad Wenstrup
(Chairman of the Subcommittee) presiding.
Present: Wenstrup, Malliotakis, Miller-Meeks, Lesko, Cloud,
Joyce, Greene, Jackson, McCormick, Ruiz, Dingell, Bera, and
Tokuda.
Dr. WENSTRUP. The Select Subcommittee will please come to
order. A quorum is present.
Without objection, the Chair is authorized to declare a recess at
any time.
Pursuant to House Rule XI, Clause 2, the Chair may postpone
further proceedings today on the question of approving any meas-
ure or matter or adopting an amendment on which a recorded vote
or the ayes and nays may be ordered.
The Subcommittee will use the electronic system for recorded
votes on amendments in passage of the report. Of course, should
any technical issues arise, which I do not anticipate, we will imme-
diately transition to traditional roll-call votes. Any procedural or
motion-related votes during today’s markup will be dispensed with
by a traditional roll-call vote.
Now, pursuant to notice, I call up a report titled, ‘‘After Action
Review of the COVID–19 Pandemic: Lessons Learned and a Path
Forward.’’
The clerk will report the report, which has been distributed in
advance.
The CLERK. A report titled, ‘‘After Action Review of the COVID–
19 Pandemic: Lessons Learned and Path Forward.’’
Dr. WENSTRUP. I ask unanimous consent that the report be con-
sidered as read and open for amendment at any point.
Without objection, so ordered.
Dr. WENSTRUP. The Chair recognizes himself to offer an amend-
ment in the nature of a substitute, and the clerk will report the
amendment.
The CLERK. An amendment in the nature of a substitute to the
report, offered by Dr. Wenstrup.
(1)
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Dr. WENSTRUP. Without objection, the amendment is considered
read, and the substitute will be considered as original text for the
purposes of further amendment.
Dr. WENSTRUP. I now recognize myself for 5 minutes for a state-
ment on the report.
And before I get started, I would like to introduce some articles
for the record that are exemplary of the Select Subcommittee’s
finding that a lab leak is the most likely origin scenario, that the
Chinese Communist Party was conducting dangerous research, and
this type of dangerous research was notionally supported by the
NIH.
I ask unanimous consent for a 2005 statement from the State
Department that says China has a bioweapons program.
Without objection, so ordered.
Dr. WENSTRUP. I ask unanimous consent for a 2015 article by Dr.
Ralph Baric and Dr. Zhengli Shi of China, where they created a
chimera of two bat-borne coronaviruses that gained function.
Without objection, so ordered.
Dr. WENSTRUP. I ask unanimous consent for a 2017 article by the
Wuhan Institute of Virology researcher Dr. Ben Hu, where he cre-
ated multiple chimeras of coronaviruses under a BSL–2 condition
at the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
Without objection, so ordered.
Dr. WENSTRUP. I ask unanimous consent for a 2011 article by Dr.
Fauci and Dr. Collins that stated important information and in-
sights can come from generating a potentially dangerous virus in
the laboratory.
Without objection, so ordered.
Dr. WENSTRUP. I ask unanimous consent for a 2012 paper writ-
ten by Dr. Fauci that stated that the benefits of gain-of-function re-
search outweigh the risks.
Without objection, so ordered.
Dr. WENSTRUP. But I want to thank all of those that voluntarily
presented to the Committee to give honest and forthright testi-
mony. The report is the culmination of years of work and dedica-
tion. The Select Subcommittee held bad actors accountable, drove
actual change in our public health agencies, and provided a road-
map for what to do and what not to do. I could go on and on about
the findings of this report, but I think we will let the 500 pages
and 2,000 footnotes speak for themselves.
Today, we are also releasing all previously unreleased interview
transcripts and supplementary materials. We as a Subcommittee
are also grateful to whistleblowers that courageously came forward,
and through long hours and dedication, provided important evi-
dence that we may not have found. Also, I want to thank the hard
work of the professional staffers on this Subcommittee, and I feel
that that is a must. Our staff was an extraordinary group of hard-
working patriots seeking to fight for—and this is my favorite Su-
perman motto—truth, justice, and the American way.
I want to thank my staff: Staff Director, Mitch Benzine; Chief
Counsel, Eric Osterhues; Senior Counsel, Jack Emmer, Counsel,
Madeline Brewer; Professional Staff Member, Peter Spectre; Pro-
fessional Staff Member, Anna Blake Langley; Communications Di-
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rector, Liz Lyons; Press Secretary, Olivia Coleman; and Director of
Operations and Member Services, Marie Policastro.
In one scenario, years from now, people perhaps will have long
forgotten what we did here, but if our work leads to a trustable
system that is able to complete our goals of predicting, preparing,
protecting us, and preventing the next pandemic, to me, that is re-
ward enough. May God be with us and our future generations of
Americans.
I now recognize the Ranking Member for a 5-minute statement
on the amendment.
Dr. RUIZ. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. First, I would like to begin
by entering into the record a number of letters and materials the
Select Subcommittee has received in recent days from parties to in-
vestigations this Congress, including from Dr. Anthony Fauci, Dr.
Francis Collins, the Department of Health and Human Services,
and the American Federation of Teachers. These submissions me-
morialize substantive objections these parties have to the represen-
tations made in the majority’s report, and I believe it is important
that the record reflect their perspectives as well.
Dr. WENSTRUP. Without objection.
Dr. RUIZ. Thank you. Look, it goes without saying that both sides
of the aisle have not always seen eye-to-eye in the Select Sub-
committee this Congress, and it is clear from our two final reports,
that as the Select Subcommittee concludes, we are leaving with dif-
ferent impressions of what we did or did not find. At various
points, we have debated these issues, and I think the record is
clear on where we all stand. So, as we wrap up these 2 years, I
want to say a few final things.
First, I want to acknowledge the devastating loss of life that
COVID–19 pandemic inflicted on families and communities across
this country. More than 1 million Americans lost their lives too
soon, and while we have overcome the darkest days of the COVID–
19 pandemic, I recognize that as a Nation, we may never fully
overcome this grief that all of us share, regardless of political
party. It is always important to put humanity front and center and
to reflect on the human loss and the human struggle that went
through all of this pandemic. And oftentimes in politics and par-
tisan war, there is a sense of forgetfulness of what people have
faced and what truly is important for them.
Second, I want to thank the hundreds of thousands of doctors,
nurses, first responders, healthcare workers, essential workers, sci-
entists, business leaders, policymakers, moms and dads, and people
who came together to mount America’s response to the most signifi-
cant public health crisis we have faced in a generation. Often, at
great personal expense and sacrifice, millions of Americans put
their neighbors before themselves to help ensure that we could
make it through this challenging period. It is this selflessness that
represents the best of what America has to offer, and it is this self-
lessness that gives me hope that despite our differences, we can
find a path forward to safeguarding and strengthening our Nation’s
public health.
Now, I won’t pretend that this process won’t be messy at times,
but it is my sincere belief that we can come together as true profes-
sionals to work through the noise of politics and partisanship to do
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the real work of preventing and preparing for future pandemics,
closing pathways for novel viruses to emerge, be they in nature or
in a lab, strengthening our schools so that they can be better pre-
pared to maintain safe in-person learning during future pandemics,
fortifying infection prevention and control in nursing homes to keep
our seniors safe, exploring how we can lay the groundwork for the
rapid development of future vaccines and therapeutics for novel vi-
ruses when they inevitably emerge, and more. And in my opinion,
we didn’t do enough of that this Congress, and I consider that a
missed opportunity. But as I said at our final hearing last month,
just because we haven’t yet come together to tackle these serious
challenges doesn’t mean we can’t. And as I have said since the out-
set of the Congress, I am willing to work with anyone, Republican
or Democrat, to move this work forward.
So, as we conclude the Select Subcommittee today, it is my hope
that we can set aside the politics and commit to the forward-look-
ing mission of meaningfully getting ahead of future viruses, be-
cause even after 2 years, I still believe that it is not too late to
come together and do the work of saving future lives. And I truly
appreciate all the Members being in the arena and debating and
having good conversations of what we believe through practical sci-
entific principles, or whether it is philosophical or ideological ways.
All of those were valid concerns, and we came out better for it as
individuals.
I want to thank the Members in the Democratic Committee who
showed up consistently and gave it their all and were very well
prepared for all of these meetings. I want to thank our wonderful
staff under the leadership of Miles Lichtman, Joseph Romero, Dani
Walker, and Alicia Yass, who have done excellent jobs while being
here. And I also want to personally thank the Chairman, Chairman
Wenstrup, for your service in the military, for your service in Con-
gress, and for carrying this messy process forward to the best of
your ability. I respect that. I respect you, and I thank you for your
years of friendship and of service, and I congratulate you on your
retirement and wish you nothing but the best for you and your
family. And with that, I yield back. Thank you.
Dr. WENSTRUP. The question is now on the amendment in the
nature of a substitute to the report.
All those in favor, signify by saying aye.
All those opposed, signify by saying nay.
In the opinion of the Chair, the ayes have it. The amendment in
the nature of a substitute to the report is agreed to.
The question is now on favorably reporting the report, as amend-
ed.
All those in favor, signify by saying aye.
All those opposed, signify by saying nay.
In the opinion of the Chair, the ayes have it.
Pursuant to the vote, the Select Subcommittee hereby adopts this
report titled, ‘‘After Action Review of the COVID–19 Pandemic: The
Lessons Learned and a Path Forward.’’
Without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table.
Finally, I want to ask unanimous consent for the recommenda-
tions that accompanied the report to be entered into the record.
Without objection, so ordered.
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Dr. WENSTRUP. Thank you all. Pursuant to House Rule XI,
Clause 2, Select Subcommittee Members shall have the right to file
with the clerk of the Select Subcommittee supplemental additional
minority and dissenting views within 2 days.
Without objection, so ordered.
Additionally, the staff is authorized to make necessary technical
and conforming changes to the report reported today, subject to the
approval of the minority.
Without objection, so ordered.
There has been a lot of hard work from both sides of the aisle
through this whole process. I am grateful to everyone for their ef-
forts, and I am pleased that we have come to this day and be able
to put something forward for the American people to digest and
move from.
If there is no further business for the Select Subcommittee, with-
out objection and for the final time, the Select Subcommittee on the
Coronavirus Pandemic stands adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 10:42 a.m., the Subcommittee was adjourned.]
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