Iowa Republican Joni Ernst demanded Saturday that China "stop their cover-up" of the origins of the coronavirus and called for a thorough investigation to prevent a "recurrence."
"The Communist Party of China refuses to fully cooperate with efforts to learn more about the origins of the deadly coronavirus," Ernst revealed in a statement to Fox News Saturday. "The world deserves answers—and that includes determining whether it originated from the Wuhan Institute of Virology."
Ernst’s comments are the latest from Republicans on the Hill calling on the Biden administration to take charge in uncovering the true origin of the virus that has infected over 157 million people globally and killed nearly 3.3 million.
INTERESTING WATCH: RFK TALKING TO GLENN BECK ON WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM
House Republicans this week penned a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken requesting that he release "unclassified documents and declassify other documents" relating to classified research referenced in the department's Jan. 15, 2021 Fact Sheet.
WATCH: WE NEED MORE DAD'S LIKE THIS
"As leaders on the Congressional Committee with jurisdiction over public health, we strongly support a comprehensive investigation into the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic, including the possibility of an accidental laboratory leak," McMorris, joined by Reps. Brett Guthrie and H. Morgan Griffith wrote.
UNIVERSITIES HAVE LOST THEIR WAY, ARE THEY THE ROOT OF THE PROBLEM?
The documents reportedly unveil collaboration between the Wuhan Institute of Virology and the Chinese military in connection to "laboratory animal experiments."
The letter pointed out that the Wuhan lab "has been a major focus" for not only the U.S. government but the World Health Organization (WHO) in their research into the origins of the coronavirus.
INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEE SHAKES UP 2024 OLYMPICS WITH THIS INVITATION...
"Finding the source of the COVID outbreak is about preventing a recurrence," Ernst stated on Saturday. "Communist China needs to stop their cover-up and start cooperating with international efforts to get to the bottom of this."
Ernst has been widely critical of the WHO’s report following their month-long trip to Wuhan in January.
The Iowa Republican accused the WHO investigation of being "influenced" by the Chinese Communist Party and called for an independent study of the virus' origins.
The March report rejected any allegations that the virus was leaked from a Wuhan lab and insisted that it was "likely to very likely" the virus spread by zoonotic transmission, the transfer of infection from animals to humans.
NETANYAHU'S WORST NIGHTMARE? THE ICC'S POTENTIAL DECISION COULD ROCK ISRAEL'S LEADERSHIP
The White House also criticized the report as a "partial, incomplete picture" of the origin of the virus.
FROM HOLLYWOOD TO HOLY WATER: THIS SUPERSTAR DETAILS HIS JOURNEY TO CHRISTIANITY
White House press secretary Jen Psaki called on the Chinese government to allow a team of international experts "unfettered access" to data and people on the ground in Wuhan.
In a separate probe, Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., penned a letter to Dr. Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), demanding further information on the "cause" of the pandemic.
Gallagher wrote in a letter Wednesday to Fauci, "given the stakes, we cannot afford to settle for a limited, blinkered, or politicized understanding of the origin of this terrible disease."
Discover alternative ideas that will make you think
Engage in mind bending debate
Earn points, rise in rank, have fun
