Press Releases

Today, Congressman Ben Cline (VA-06) introduced an amendment in the State and Foreign Operations Appropriations bill to require the declassification of intelligence related to any potential links between the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) and the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic. Similar legislation was passed unanimously by the Senate recently.

Congressman Cline's amendment states that funding authorized for the World Health Organization (WHO) in the State and Foreign Operations Appropriations bill would be withheld until the Director of National Intelligence has declassified the aforementioned information.

"From the very beginning, the Chinese Communist Party covered up the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic and hindered investigations at every turn," Cline said. "Life as we know it was put on pause for more than a year, and the American people, as well as the rest of the world, deserve answers. If there is any intelligence related to the origins of the pandemic, it must be released to ensure both transparency and accountability."

Cline also introduced a separate amendment that would withhold funding from the WHO until the Secretary of State certifies and reports to Congress that the WHO has conducted a transparent international forensic investigation into the origins of COVID-19 and implemented amendments to the International Health Regulations to improve transparency in response to outbreaks of infectious diseases.

A copy of the amendments can be found here and here.

Congressman Ben Cline represents the Sixth Congressional District of Virginia. He previously was an attorney in private practice and served both as an assistant prosecutor and Member of the Virginia House of Delegates. Cline and his wife, Elizabeth, live in Botetourt County with their two children.

###