Recently, as Chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, I announced the Committee subpoenaed fourteen agencies from the outgoing Biden-Harris administration in connection with the origins of COVID-19 and taxpayer-funded gain-of-function research.
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These subpoenas were issued under the Committee’s rules in force at the time, without objection from the minority. Committee rules unanimously adopted for the 119th Congress provide the Chairman authority to issue such subpoenas on my own directive. The subpoenas, sent on January 13, 2025, build upon the Committee’s joint investigation of national security threats posed by high-risk biological research and technology in the U.S. and abroad. The Committee held bipartisan hearings examining oversight of taxpayer-funded high-risk virus research, the first full Senate Committee hearing on the origins of COVID-19, and overwhelmingly passed my Risky Research Review Act.
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The list of agencies includes the National Institutes of Health, Department of State, United States Agency for International Development, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Health and Human Services, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Defense, Department of Justice, National Security Agency, Central Intelligence Agency, National Security Council, Department of Energy, Department of Agriculture, and Office of Science and Technology Policy.Â
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You can read more about our efforts HERE.