Hawley, Stefanik call for investigation into Chinese role in coronavirus outbreak, as Biden restores WHO ties
Biden announced this week that the U.S. will restore its relationship with the WHO
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., and Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., are calling for an international investigation into the origins of the coronavirus outbreak and China’s role in it -- just as President Biden moved to rejoin the World Health Organization (WHO).
The resolution, originally introduced in March, called for "an international investigation into the handling by the Government of the People’s Republic of China of COVID–19 and the impact of handling COVID–19 in that manner on the people of the United States and other nations."
"It has been one year since the first confirmed COVID-19 case in the U.S. and China continues to stonewall any credible investigation into the origins of this deadly pandemic. Meanwhile, the World Health Organization, which President Biden has praised, has shown itself to be, at best, incompetent and, at worst, a pawn of the Chinese Communist Party [CCP]," Hawley said in a statement on Friday.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"We must redouble our efforts to understand how CCP negligence unleashed a global pandemic and hold them accountable."
BIDEN TO RE-ENGAGE WITH WHO AFTER TRUMP CUT TIES OVER COVID, CHINA
While the World Health Organization (WHO) is conducting its own investigation, the Trump administration and Republicans had expressed skepticism about the probe and the WHO itself. President Donald Trump announced in the summer that the U.S. would terminate its relationship with the WHO, where the U.S. was the largest funder, over its refusal to reform and it’s alleged pro-China bias.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Biden retracted that withdrawal this week and alerted the U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres that the U.S. would remain part of the organization.
"The WHO plays a crucial role in the world’s fight against the deadly COVID-19 pandemic as well as countless other threats to global health and health security," he said. "The United States will continue to be a full participant and a global leader in confronting such threats and advancing global health and health security."
POMPEO URGES WHO TO PROBE WUHAN LAB ILLNESSES, DEMANDS BEIJING BE TRANSPARENT
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}WHO scientists arrived in China last week, but amid concerns that the investigation will be hampered by China, who spent months hashing out the terms of the probe with the WHO.
Hawley and Stefanik noted comments by scientists on the mission who reportedly said the investigation is "not about finding China guilty."
The lawmakers said that President Biden should push forward and demand a new investigation by the international community. Stefanik said that Biden "has the power to demand answers from the World Health Organization" as to why it promoted "Chinese misinformation" about the pandemic.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
"Instead, President Biden made the illogical decision to rejoin the WHO without repercussions or demands for critical reforms," she said. "President Biden must stand up for the American people, and hold tax-payer funded, global organizations like the WHO responsible when America’s interests are being ignored."
The resolution, introduced in both chambers, also calls for the international community to quantify the harm caused by the communist regime’s handling of the pandemic and "design a mechanism" to deliver compensation from China for nations affected by the pandemic.