In a rare show of bipartisanship, the House of Representatives has unanimously passed a bill that would require the Director of National Intelligence to declassify information related to the origins of the COVID-19 virus. Sen sponsored sponsored by Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo. ), the bill directs the DNI to release any and all information that may link the Wuhan Institute of Virology with the virus, including activities performed by the institute with or on behalf of the People's Liberation Army, as well as any research or other related activities conducted at the Institute before the outbreak of the virus. Furthermore, the bill would require the DNI to submit an unclassified report to the Congress with any necessary redactions.
The move follows the Wall Street Journal report that the Energy Department had determined, with "low confidence," that the coronavirus most likely came from the Wuhan Institute of Virology. Further, an intelligence community report states that four intelligence agencies and the National Intelligence Council have assessed, with "low confidence", that the initial human infection likely came from a laboratory incident.
The bill, which was previously approved by the Senate by unanimous consent, is now awaiting President Biden’s final approval. If the President signs the measure, declassified information would need to be released within 90 days. The declassified documents could potentially include research papers from Chinese journals that could offer insight into work conducted at the Wuhan Institute of Virology as well as unclassified portions of classified reports. It is yet to be seen what previously unreported information may be revealed which could potentially give the public a better understanding of the origins of the virus.