House Democrats on Tuesday blocked a GOP bill which would require the Director of National Intelligence to declassify information related to the US government’s investigations into the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic – and in particular, what role the Wuhan Institute of Virology may have played in the outbreak.

The bill failed in the House by a vote of 216 – 207.

The COVID-19 Origin Act was introduced in the Senate by Josh Hawley (R-MO) and Mike Braun (R-IN), and was passed unanimously in May, according to Townhall. Then, it was brought to the House floor by Rep. Michael Burgess (R-TX) along with Reps. Brad Wenstrup (R-OH) and Darin LaHood (R-IL).

“The best disinfectant is sunlight and that’s what we can provide today,” said Wenstrup. “The bill first establishes that we must identify the precise origins of COVID-19 because it is critical for preventing a similar pandemic in the future.”

“I cannot stress enough that this bill is not controversial by any means,” he continued. “In fact, it passed the Senate in May with unanimous consent — not one senator objected. Not Senators Ted Cruz or Rand Paul, not Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren. If those four members can get on board with this bill, should not we be able to do the same?”

Meanwhile, Beijing has decided not to cooperate in a second WHO-sponsored investigation into the origins of COVID-19, thwarting the NGO’s plans to carry out a second, more credible, investigation.

During a Thursday press conference, Zeng Yixin, deputy head of China’s National Health Commission, said Beijing wouldn’t cooperate with another probe. However, the refusal to cooperate likely won’t help China’s cause in the West, as it tries to convince the Americans and Europeans that COVID wasn’t the result of a careless lab leak.

Zeng says he is “surprised” to see research into the lab leak theory, which was initially dismissed by the WHO as highly unlikely, included as a reason for a second hoped-for visit by a WHO team to Wuhan.

“In some aspects, the WHO’s plan for the next phase of investigation of the coronavirus origin doesn’t respect common sense, and it’s against science. It’s impossible for us to accept such a plan,” he said.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told the White House press corp during Thursday’s briefing that Bejing’s refusal to cooperate in the investigation of COVID’s origins was “dangerous.”

Republished from ZeroHedge.com with permission

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