House votes to defund EcoHealth and Wuhan lab

The House of Representatives voted to strip funding from the Wuhan Institute of Virology and partner group EcoHealth Alliance as part of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that passed on Friday, according to the watchdog group White Coat Waste Project.

The amendment blocks Department of Defense (DOD) funding for EcoHealth Alliance, a non-governmental research group that received $26 million in DOD grants since 2020, according to White Coat Waste Project. EcoHealth Alliance had previously helped fund an animal experimenter at the Wuhan Institute of Virology who some think could be the “patient zero” from the COVID-19 pandemic, White Coat Waste Project reported.

The amendment, drafted by Republican Michigan Rep. Lisa McClain, will ensure that “none of the funds authorized to be appropriated” will be awarded to EcoHealth or the Wuhan Institute of Virology. The NDAA passed the House 219-210.

“Our blockbuster investigations prove that the disgraced EcoHealth Alliance secretively shipped US taxpayer dollars to COVID’s likely Patient Zero at the Wuhan lab for dangerous gain-of-function experiments on humanized mice that violated federal policy and that the FBI and other experts believe caused COVID,” Justin Goodman, senior vice president of White Coat Waste Project, said in a statement.

BREAKING: Following WCW lobbying, Congress just unanimously passed @RepLisaMcClainamendment to CUT ALL DOD $ to EcoHealth & the Wuhan animal lab #NDAA

The DOD is EHAs top funder, recently forking over $26M, incl for WMD-related programs

Stop the money. Stop the madness! pic.twitter.com/gxEp21vvSE

— White Coat Waste Project 🥼️ (@WhiteCoatWaste) July 14, 2023

The DOD’s $26 million in funding to EcoHealth included money from the Pentagon’s “Combating Weapons of Mass Destruction” account, White Coat Waste Project reported. EcoHealth has reportedly collected roughly $46 million in taxpayer dollars since the start of the COVID pandemic – including from the National Institute of Health (NIH) and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), according to the watchdog.

EcoHealth used much of its funding to perform gain-of-function research on coronaviruses with the Wuhan Institute of Virology and perform “risky and cruel” experiments on animals including mice and bats, according to White Coat Waste Project.

“Enough is enough. Taxpayers shouldn’t be forced to fund the reckless white coats who caused COVID or other dangerous virus experiments on animals at home and abroad,” Goodman said. “We’re proud to work with Congress to curtail wasteful government spending on animal experiments that can prompt pandemics.”

“The solution is simple: Stop the money. Stop the madness,” Goodman said.

The NDAA contains other provisions that target the Pentagon’s diversity, equity and inclusion and abortion agendas, including bans on funded sex-change treatments and race-based admissions at military academies.

The DOD did not immediately respond to Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

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