House Democrats block a bill that would declassify information on the origins of COVID-19

House Democrats have blocked the consideration of a bill that would require the declassification of information and data related to the origins of COIVD-19, particularly regarding any role the Wuhan Institute of Virology may have played.

"The best disinfectant is sunlight and that’s what we can provide today," GOP Rep. Brad Wenstrup, who helped fellow Rep. Michael Burges bring the bill to the House floor, said Tuesday during the vote, according to The Epoch Times.

"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," Wenstrup added.

The final vote on considering the measure ended with 216 against and 207 in favor. 

The bill called the COVID-19 Origin Act unanimously passed in the Senate in May. The measure would require the Director of National Intelligence to declassify intelligence related to any links between the virus and the Wuhan Institute of Virology.