Bipartisan lawmakers propose bill requiring federal agencies to disclose dollars sent to China labs

A bipartisan group of lawmakers is introducing legislation in response to a White Coat Waste Project investigation that exposes "millions in active U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding for dog testing and other animal experiments in dozens of Chinese animal labs, including those tied to the CCP and People's Liberation Army," the watchdog group revealed on Wednesday. 

Sens. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Reps. Nick Langworthy (R-N.Y.), Don Davis (D-N.C.), and Clay Higgins (R-La.) on Wednesday introduced the CLAWS Act that would require every federal agency to submit annual reports to Congress that detail any of the funding provided for labs in China.

“Despite Fauci’s gain-of-function disaster that we exposed at the Wuhan animal lab, we’ve uncovered how the NIH is still shipping millions of tax dollars to dozens of other Chinese labs that butcher beagles, poison puppies, and experiment with deadly viruses that can cause pandemics," said Anthony Bellotti, president and founder of the White Coat Waste Project.

"A supermajority of taxpayers across the political spectrum—Republicans, Democrats, and Independents alike—agree that we shouldn’t be forced to fund wasteful and dangerous experiments on dogs and other animals in Chinese labs, especially those linked to the Communist Party and military. This is common sense and we’re urging Congress to swiftly pass bipartisan legislation to defund China’s unaccountable animal labs once and for all," he added.

Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.), the lead sponsor of the bipartisan PAAW Act that would defund NIH testing on dogs and cats, said that "it’s disgusting that the Biden-Harris Administration is still sending American tax dollars to shady Chinese labs for unnecessary, unethical, and unsafe experiments on dogs and puppies." She called for the practice to "stop immediately." 

She said the Biden-Harris Administration "must’ve forgotten what happened in Wuhan."

Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) said that "it should not feel like herding cats to figure out how many tax dollars are funding batty experiments in Wuhan."

She continued, saying, "As I have pulled back the curtain to expose every last cent being sent to mad scientists in China, the Biden-Harris administration has blocked my attempts at transparency. It’s time to break out the CLAWS, so we can finally end the gravy train to shady overseas labs."