Federal investigators want to know if U.S. tax dollars have directly or indirectly supported research in China into enhancing pathogens capable of causing worldwide pandemics, such as the COVID-19 outbreak that killed more than 1 million Americans in 2020 and 2021.
The investigation seeks to “determine the extent to which the [Department of Defense] awarded federal funds directly or indirectly through grants, contracts, sub-grants, subcontracts, or any other type of agreement or collaboration, during the 10-year period from 2014 through 2023, to Chinese research labs or to fund research or experiments in China or other foreign countries designed to enhance pathogens of pandemic potential,” according to Department of Defense Inspector General Robert Storch.
