Self-Inflicted Crises

Floor Speech

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Mr. ROSE. Mr. Speaker, the evidence of the Chinese Communist Party's denial, distortion, and concealment of the coronavirus pandemic from its critical beginning to the present day is overwhelming.

In January 2020, if not before, the Chinese Communist Party knew it was dealing with a fast-spreading disease in Wuhan but rejected transparency in favor of a propaganda campaign to spread disinformation.

From manipulated statistics and the prevention of an investigation by international experts to ousted journalists and whistleblowers who were silenced through intimidation and foul play, there are countless examples of how the CCP lied to the rest of the world about the origins of the pandemic.

Prominent epidemiologists and biologists have raised concerns about a possible spillover in the Wuhan lab, and CDC director Dr. Walensky said it is possible COVID could have leaked from a lab.

It was recently reported that three researchers from China's Wuhan Institute of Virology became ill with symptoms consistent with COVID-19 and sought hospital care in November of 2019. On top of that, China has not been forthright in sharing information nor have they cooperated with the U.S. or the global community.

The dishonesty of China's Communist leadership regarding the coronavirus pandemic has led to hundreds of thousands of American deaths, millions of sick Americans, and trillions of dollars of economic damage to our country.

In the face of this mounting evidence, I join 211 of my House colleagues in urging Speaker Pelosi to investigate the origins of COVID-19. But House Democrats continue to stonewall this effort.

The Biden administration and House Democrats cannot continue to turn a blind eye to the CCP's nefarious behavior. We must penalize and hold the CCP legally and financially responsible for the human and economic suffering its Communist Government has caused. Enough is enough.

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