The Department of Health and Human Services announced it will suspend federal funding for a research organization, saying it misled government agencies on its taxpayer-funded research project, the Washington Examiner reported.
The House had launched an investigation into EcoHealth Alliance involvement in the origin of COVID-19. EcoHealth Alliance conducted coronavirus research projects in Wuhan, funded by the National Institutes of Health, according to the Examiner.
The suspension of funding is effective immediately, HHS said.
Republicans on the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic had called for Peter Daszak, president of EcoHealth, to be stripped of a medical license and jailed for misleading the federal government, the Washington Examiner reported.
"He was doing dangerous gain-of-function research; he didn't adhere to the rules of the [research] grant," Rep. Brad Wenstrup, R-Ohio, said on Newsmax. "When they had a dangerous virus created in their fifth year of research; they didn't report it to NIH [National Institutes of Health]. Dr. Peter Daszak should never get another penny from the U.S. government for any type of research, nor should EcoHealth Alliance."
The report and HHS documents claim EcoHealth received NIH funding in 2014 to conduct bat coronavirus research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, with the intention of creating chimeric coronaviruses to better understand viruses with pandemic potential, the Washington Examiner said.
EcoHealth submitted its review two years late and violated grant terms by failing to report potentially dangerous research, according to evidence gathered by the subcommittee.
"These actions are wholly abhorrent, indefensible, and must be addressed with swift action," Wenstrup said. "EcoHealth's immediate funding suspension and future debarment is not only a victory for the U.S. taxpayer, but also for American national security and the safety of citizens worldwide."
Raul Ruiz, D-Ca, applauded HHH's debarring of EcoHealth.
"Every recipient of federal taxpayer funding has an obligation to meet the utmost standards of transparency and accountability to the American public," said Ruiz. "EcoHealth Alliance's failure to do so is a departure from the longstanding legacy of good faith partnerships between NIH and federal grantees to advance science and the public interest."
According to White Coat Waste Project, EcoHealth had been awarded $60 million in taxpayer funding since the pandemic.
Sam Barron ✉
Sam Barron has almost two decades of experience covering a wide range of topics including politics, crime and business.
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