Joco Today

U.S. Senator Roger Marshall, M.D., has penned a letter to Inspector General Robert Storch of the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), commending him for initiating an investigation into the funding directed towards China's research labs as mandated by the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The senator also requested that the scope of this investigation be expanded to include other DoD funding allocated to potentially risky virology research.

In his quest to uncover the origins of COVID-19, Senator Marshall discovered startling information while scrutinizing federal contract data. As a result, he is urging the DoD Inspector to extend his oversight to all DoD activities related to gain-of-function research, including those conducted at American universities.

Key excerpts from Senator Marshall's 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... 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."

"In light of the aforementioned records, I respectfully request that your probe searches for undisclosed, unpublished pathogen and biospecimen collections from research in China that are in DoD’s custody... Please see the attached CRADA referenced above. I look forward to following your work.”

Senator Marshall has been leading an investigation into the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak for several years. In September 2023, he introduced legislation requiring the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to release all information and records related to COVID-19's origins.

In April 2023, Senator Marshall released a comprehensive report on the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic. The 300-page document encapsulates findings and research conducted over more than two years.

In November 2021, Senators Marshall and Gillibrand collaborated with Senators Joni Ernst (R-IA) and Dianne Feinstein (D-Ca) to propose bipartisan legislation aimed at creating a commission akin to the one formed after 9/11. This commission would investigate COVID-19's origins and identify lessons learned regarding U.S. preparedness, response, and recovery to enhance our ability to respond to future outbreaks.

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