Catch washington today for a fastpaced group work for stories of the day. Listen to cspan any time, tell your Smart Speaker play cspan radio. Cspan, powered by cable. Announcer next, testimony on the origins of covid19 with the former director of National Intelligence, john radcliffe, he testified before the House Committee on the pandemic with other government officials. They talk about the intelligence gathered by the u. S. And the roadblocks to the investigations. The hearing is 2. 5 hours. Next testimony on the origins of covid 19 with former director of National IntelligenceJohn Ratcliffe. He testified before the select subcommittee on the coronavirus pandemic with other government officials. We talk about intelligence gathered by the us and roadblocks to those investigations. The hearing is 21 2 hours. The select subcommittee on the coronavirus pandemic will come to order. Welcome everyone. With objection the chair may declare recess at any time for the committee on oversight and accountability at the discretion of chairman comer. A member of the full committee may participate in the hearing for the purpose of questions. We ask unanimous consent for mr. Moscowitz to join today for the purposes of questions. I recognize myself the purpose of making an opening statement. The second hearing in the series investigating, in the first hearing, what we presume for years in addition to scientific question for intelligence and National Security. Former director of the us centers for Disease Control and prevention doctor Robert Redfield who himself is a virologist. Discussing the origins, quote, i dont think the answers going to come from the Scientific Community. The answer will come from the Intelligence Community. Doctor redfield stated the Intelligence Community plays an Important Role in this investigation. We are not here to analyze the intelligence ourselves but to listen to the experts who follow the facts and that is what we are here to do today. Ask those who were involved in the intelligence process in the early stage of the pandemic about what they saw and how we as congress should proceed. We appreciate each of the witnesses here today. I want to highlight that according to the Christian Research service, this is the first time current or former director of National Intelligence testified for the oversight committee. Welcome. It shows the importance of this issue for director radcliffe to be here today and i thanked him. We will discuss and examine many aspects of the classified intelligence and it is my sincere hope this hearing moves the ball forward and we can agree the origins of covid 19 cannot be solved by science alone. Starting in 2020, they were grumbling about the possibility covid 19 came from a lab in wuhan. Every month since then more circumstantial evidence has come to light suggesting this is the case. January 15, 2021, secretary of state mike pompeo released a fact sheet, surrounding the origins of covid 19. The fact sheet stated three things. First there were numerous it does not prove covid19 came from a lab, it is a data point adjusting so. Two weeks ago, an expert in merging disease outbreak testified before the subcommittee that research in the lab would be consistent with the Research Related with the lab outbreak. Second, the institute of rheology, has a record of research including at level low biosafety levels. Again, we know much of the work was done with u. S. Of this work was done with usbased ecoHealth Alliance. We know that he go Health Alliance failed to publish, refused to share its work with the Us Government. In other words, us taxpayerfunded Risky Research that may have sparked the pandemic is being hidden by a us entity in china. Third, the Wuhan Institute of virology has cooperated with the Chinese Military since 2017, including on Animal Laboratory experiments. Biden Administration Still has not disagreed with these facts. A senior Biden State Department official says, quote, no one is disputing the information, the fact those data points exist, the fact that they are accurate. Ironically, the Biden Administration takes issue with the fact the Trump Administration released these facts. The same official said, quote, the Trump Administration puts been on the ball. The fact she displayed clear and nonbiased. It even stated the Us Government does not know exactly where, when, or how the covid 19 virus was transmitted to humans. That is true. The rest are statements of fact derived from available intelligence. Next, october 29, 2021, the office of the director of National Intelligence released its first declassified assessment on covid 19 origins. The stated unequivocally, laboratory or natural origins are policies. More reporting has emerged. Fbi director Christopher Ray confirmed the fbi assist covid 19 most likely originated from a lab incident in wuhan. The wall street journal reported that the brunt of energy believes the lab leak is the most likely origin. The fact these two agencies is important. The fbi uses experts in biological threats and was reportedly supported by the national bio Forensic Analysis Center and the department of energy used its own b Division Experts in investigating biological threats. These are scientific and intelligence experts. The specific origin of covid 19 may not be 100 clear, mounting evidence indicates a lab related incident. What is clear is china does not want the globe to know the origins. They dodge and duck every attempt to investigate the question. According to the fact sheet, china has prevented a transparent investigation of the covid 19 pandemics origins. China has hindered global investigation, resisted sharing information and reported to blaming other countries including the United States. This became more clear when we received this email from the Chinese Embassy last week. Without objection i would ask unanimous consent to enter this email into the record. And the Chinese Embassy expresses grave concern regarding this hearing and states they firmly oppose it. We have some news for beijing, these intimidation tactics will not work, will not slow down our work. After the hearing i will send a letter to the Chinese Ambassador to the us requesting china cease d intimidation tactics and cooperate in this investigation. I extend the invitation to any member of the subcommittee to join me. Thank you. I would now like to recognize Ranking Member ruiz to make an opening statement. Thank you. Understanding the origins of the covid 19 pandemic is important to americas Public Health and our ability to respond to future Public Health threats. Since the first outbreak of covid 19 researchers in the Scientific Community have worked tirelessly to get to the bottom of this issue with dozens of studies that have been conducted or are currently underway. Agents in the Intelligence Community have continued their sweeping assessment of covid 19 origins. Thanks to President Bidens direction and leadership, we are learning more every day. In may of 2021 he directed the Intelligence Community to evaluate whether the Novel Coronavirus could have emerged from a laboratory in china urging our nations intelligence agencies to do, quote, everything we can to trace the roots of this outbreak. Since then, two Government Agencies have assessed with low and moderate confidence the virus originated in a lab while four Government Agencies assist with low confidence that the virus came about through natural transmission. As it stands there is no consensus. The reports are inconclusive and more research is needed. While our scientists and intelligence communities continue their investigation, it is crucial that we empower them to do so without extreme partisan rhetoric or political biases that cherry pick evidence to push a partisan political narrative that vilify public house leaders. Our focus as lawmakers should be on developing policy based on current and evolving evidence to prevent and prepare for future pandemics and save lives. To do right by the American People and Public Health we must let our expert communities do their job. We must develop policies based on evidence as inconclusive as they may be at the moment that will help us prevent the next pandemic no matter which covid origin theory you believe in. We must take a deep dive into the barriers to the nations ability to research the origins of covid and respond to it. This includes examining how the Chinese Communist partys refusal to cooperate with International Investigations in december 2019 set us back in our pandemic. And how the chinese commonest party continued the spread of misinformation and up eustachian and evidence entered our ability to understand both theories of how this virus came to be in the first place. And it is crucial we look at forwardlooking domestic answered and foreign policy, that advance american interests and save lives. This means rejecting the isolation approached isolationist approach donald trump took under the guise of America First that decimated the state department. Weakened our ability to engage. Let the void that rendered america vulnerable to chinas growing influence. It abandoned state to state diplomacy. And and americas Public Health, economy and security ultimately paid the price. We must protect our Public Health, and security from the ccps growing influence by investing in competition, deepening collaboration with our allies in furthering the state department after black work. That means building on the progress we made with legislation with the chips in science act to invest in innovation to outcompete china in sectors critical to our Public Health and National Defense and strengthening the supplychain and that means building on House Democrats in the Biden Administrations work to bolster our pandemic preparedness, Public Health infrastructure and international into mystic standards for pandemic surveillance to address possible animal transmission and Biomedical Research safety to address possible lab leaks. Theres more work to do and it is my sincere hope we can pursue this on a bipartisan basis. The covid 19 pandemic has demonstrated how Global Health security, pandemic preparedness and National Security are linked. As we seek to understand the viruss origin we must take a scientific and evidencebased approach. As physician and Ranking Member of the subcommittee i take this chart seriously, putting people over politics, to protect our Public Health. We should do this without the politicization and extreme partisan rhetoric that get in the way of Common Sense Solutions to the Public Health challenges we face. Lets work on forwardlooking policies to prevent the harm of future viruses and pandemics without vilifying the nations Public Health officials. The world is watching what we are doing and it is my hope that we rise to the occasion and meet the moment with the integrity our Global Health and National Security demands. Thank you. Pursuant to committee on oversight and accountability rule 9 g, the witnesses will stand and raise their right hand. Do you solemnly swear or affirm the testimony you are about to give is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you god . Thank you, please be seated. Let the record show the when this is all answered in the affirmative. Our Witnesses Today are the honorable John Ratcliffe who was most recently the director of National Intelligence, serving as the principal intelligence advisor to the president. Prior to that he served in congress as a member of the house intelligence, Homeland Security and judiciary committee. Mr. Fife, mr. David 5, adjunct senior fellow at the center for a new american security, previously Deputy Assistant secretary of state for east pacific affairs. And doctor mark loan fell loewnthal who served as vice chairman for evaluation of National Intelligence council. The select subcommittee certainly appreciates you all for being here today. We appreciate your service and look forward to your testimony would let me remind the witnesses we have read your written statements and they will appear in full in the hearing record. Please welcome your statements to 5 minutes. As a reminder please press the button on the microphone in front of you so it is on and members can hear you. When you speak the light in front of you will turn green. After four minutes up turn yellow. When the red light comes on, your 5 minutes has expired and we ask that you please wrap up. I recognize director ratcliffe to give an opening statement. Members of the committee, its a pleasure for me to be back in the house of representatives where i spent six years on the house intelligence, judiciary, and Homeland Security committees, before leaving congress when confirmed as director of National Intelligence and the Trump Administration. This was the first in person Senate Hearing after the covid 19 pandemic began. During i promised to ensure the Intelligence Community would be laser focused on getting answers to the viruss origins and spread. What follows is a brief overview of what the Intelligence Community learned, synopsis of the relevant challenges i encountered during this effort, where we must go from here. Let me state the bottom line upfront. Up front. My assessment as a person with as much access as anyone to the governments intelligence in the initial year of the pandemic has been and continues to be that a lab leak is the only a split nation. Supported by our intelligence, science and common sense. Review that our intelligence at evidence supporting Lab Leak Theory was placed sidebyside with our intelligence and evidence pointing to natural origins or spillover theory, the lab leak side of the ledger would be long, even overwhelming, the spillover side would be nearly empty. Were this a trial, a preponderance of circumstantial evidence provided by our intelligence would propel us provide a jury finding of guilt to an accusation the Coronavirus Research in wuhan labs was responsible for the pandemic, and likewise the chinese commonest party would be guilty of going to Great Lengths to cover up the viruss origins, from destroying medical tests, samples, and data, to intimidating and disappearing witnesses and journalists, to lying and coercing Global Health authorities, even spreading propaganda that the virus originated here in the United States by the us military. Their efforts continue to this day as the Chinese Embassy has objected to this hearing at this committees efforts to ascertain the truth. The Chinese Government has done this while proving itself incapable of offering a shred of exculpatory evidence. The Intelligence Community sources on this issue are numerous, diverse, and unassailable. I hope t