The resolution lays out how China tried to hide the discovery and spread of the coronavirus and calls for an investigation into how the CPP’s handling of the coronavirus before March 11, 2020, contributed to the emergence of a global pandemic. It also calls on China to pay back all nations affected by coronavirus.
Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) introduced a companion bill in the House. Hawley tweeted Tuesday: Proud to partner w/ @EliseStefanik @RepStefanik to introduce this bicameral resolution calling for #China to compensate USA and all affected countries for the harm & destruction the Communist Party unleashed w/ their lies & deception about #coronavirus.
Stefanik, a member of the House Armed Services and Intelligence Committees, said in a statement: Since day one, the Chinese Communist Party intentionally lied to the world about the origin of this pandemic. The CCP was aware of the reality of the virus as early as December but ordered laboratories to destroy samples and forced doctors to keep silent. It is time for an international investigation into the role their cover-up played in the spread of this devastating pandemic. The CCP must be held to account for what the world is now suffering.
“There is no doubt that China’s unconscionable decision to orchestrate an elaborate coverup of the wide-ranging and deadly implications of coronavirus led to the death of thousands of people, including hundreds of Americans and climbing,” she said.
“This Resolution calls for China to provide compensation for the harm, loss, and destruction their arrogance brought upon the rest of the world. Simply put – China must, and will, be held accountable.”
Supporting an international investigation into the handling by the Government of the People’s Republic of China of COVID–19 and the impact of handling COVID–19 in that manner on the people of the United States and other nations.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
Mr. HAWLEY submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on __________
RESOLUTION
Supporting an international investigation into the handling by the Government of the People’s Republic of China of COVID–19 and the impact of handling COVID–19 in that manner on the people of the United States and other nations.
Whereas the novel coronavirus (referred to in this resolution as ‘‘COVID–19’’) emerged in the People’s Republic of China and began to spread as early as November 2019;
Whereas, by late December, dozens of citizens of the People’s Republic of China had fallen victim to COVID–19;
Whereas, on December 30, Wuhan, China health authorities identified, interrogated, and reprimanded multiple doctors in response to their decisions to warn other Chinese citizens of the danger posed by that new disease;
Whereas, on January 1, 2020, the Wuhan Public Security Bureau questioned 8 Chinese doctors who had posted information about COVID–19 on WeChat;
Whereas, on January 1, the Hubei provincial health commission ordered laboratories to stop testing for COVID–19 and destroy samples of the same;
Whereas, on January 2, the Wuhan Institute of Virology mapped the genome of COVID–19 in order to inform development of public health interventions and medical treatments for COVID–19, but the Government of the People’s Republic of China withheld genetic informationon COVID–19 until January 9;
Whereas, on January 11, the Wuhan municipal health commission insisted that there were no new cases of infection by COVID–19;
Whereas, on January 13, the first COVID–19 case outside of the People’s Republic of China was announced in Thailand;
Whereas, on January 14, the World Health Organization announced that the Government of the People’s Republic of China had seen ‘‘no clear evidence of human-to-human transmission of the novel coronavirus’’;
Whereas, on January 23, the Government of the People’s Republic of China began to implement quarantine measures to stem the spread of COVID–19 at the same time as the disease had already begun to proliferate throughout the world;
Whereas, on March 11, the World Health Organization declared COVID–19 a global pandemic, with 118,000 persons infected and 4,291 dead in 114 different countries at the time of the announcement;
Whereas the Government of the People’s Republic of China has argued recently that COVID–19 did not originate in the People’s Republic of China;
Whereas the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China has alleged that the United States Army may have delivered COVID–19 to the city of Wuhan in the People’s Republic of China;
Whereas the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China has said, ‘‘China’s endeavor to combating the epidemic has bought time for [international] preparedness’’; and
Whereas a University of Southampton study found that earlier intervention by the Government of the People’s Republic of China could have ‘‘significantly’’ limited the geographic spread of COVID–19: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate—
(1) condemns the decision by the Government
of the People’s Republic of China to hide the emer4 gence and spread of
COVID–19 within its borders during the initial weeks of the outbreak;
(2) assesses that the decision by the
Government of the People’s Republic of China to hide the emergence and spread
of COVID–19 during that pe9 riod almost certainly contributed to the rapid
spread of that disease throughout the Indo-Pacific region, Europe, and the rest
of the world;
(3) finds that the Government of the People’s
Republic of China should be held accountable for the impact, of its decision to
hide the emergence and spread of COVID–19, on the lives and livelihoods of the
people of the United States and other nations;
(4) calls for an international investigation
led by public health officials from the United States and other affected
nations to determine how the handling by the Government of the People’s
Republic of China of the COVID–19 outbreak prior to March 11, 2020, contributed
to the emergence of the COVID–19 global pandemic; and
(5) calls on the international community to—
(A) quantify the harm caused, by the han15
dling of the COVID–19 outbreak by the Gov16 ernment of the People’s Republic of
China, to the health and economic well-being of the peo18 ple of the United
States and other nations; and
(B) design a mechanism for delivering
compensation from the Government of the Peo21 ple’s Republic of China to all
affected nations for the harm caused by its decision to hide the emergence and
spread of COVID–19 during the initial weeks of the outbreak.
