Senate and House Republicans want new requirements that the Department of Defense (DOD) make public unclassified information it has redacted on Pentagon funding of enhancement research on pathogens with pandemic potential that is linked to the Chinese military.
Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) and Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) are acting in response to a Department of Defense Inspector General (DOD-IG) report that said auditors cannot track all such potential funding because of inadequacies in the Pentagon’s budget management system.
Ms. Ernst is Chair of the Senate Republican Policy Committee, while Ms. Stefanik is Chair of the House Republican Conference.
“The full extent of DOD funds provided to Chinese research laboratories or other foreign countries for research related to enhancement of pathogens of pandemic potential is unknown. Our results were consistent with observations identified by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) in a 2022 report,” the DOD-IG report said….