TOPEKA — Four members of the Kansas congressional delegation responded to the latest U.S. Department of Energy report on origin of COVID-19 by urging greater investigation into cause of a pandemic killing more than 1 million in the United States and greater than 10 million worldwide.
U.S. Sens. Roger Marshall and Jerry Moran, both Republicans, and GOP U.S. Rep. Jake LaTurner and Democratic U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids offered support for continued examination of evidence related to possibility of the virus accidently escaping from a laboratory in Wuhan, China.
The Wall Street Journal and other news outlets reported on the federal agency’s updated assessment pointing to such a lab leak. The agency also said there was insufficient information at this time to make a more definitive judgment.
Marshall, who has directly accused of China of the breach, said the “cloak of silence” on China’s role was being drawn aside three years after the pandemic began. He said DOE should make public new intelligence relied on for the latest assessment “as we all look for closure on the nightmare we have all lived.”
He would welcome the Federal Bureau of Investigation taking an expanded role in sorting through evidence and endorsed the idea of creating a robust federal commission specifically assigned to that issue.
“Momentum is building for an exhaustive, full-throated, 9/11-style, non-political commission,” said Marshall, a physician. “Look, when a plane crashes in this country, we go to great lengths to determine the cause. Certainly, the deaths of 1 million Americans, the destruction of our economy, the locking of our children out of schools, all this deserves an explanation.”
Moran echoed that sentiment: “The American people deserve a thorough, transparent investigation and explanation from the Biden administration regarding the origins of COVID-19 inside China.”
Davids, who represents the 3rd District centered on Johnson and Wyandotte counties, expressed interest in answers to the virus’ origin “so a pandemic of this magnitude does not happen again in the future.”
The federal government, social media companies and news organizations deserved blame for pushing back against the idea COVID-19 emerged from China, LaTurner said. He serves the 2nd District, which stretches from Nebraska to Oklahoma in eastern Kansas.
“COVID-19 arose from a lab leak in Communist China,” LaTurner said. “Washington bureaucrats, big tech and the mainstream media worked overtime to hide this truth from the American people. It’s vital that we get all the facts to hold those involved accountable and help ensure it never happens again.”
