The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has cut off all funding and “formally debarred” EcoHealth Alliance Inc. and its former president, Dr. Peter Daszak, after finding evidence that it facilitated gain-of-function research in Wuhan, China, without proper oversight and violated statutes in its National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant.
Evidence was gathered over an eight-month investigation by the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform said in a Friday news release.
A letter from HHS states that a five-year “period of debarment for Dr. Daszak is necessary to protect the Federal Government’s business interests,” and confirms that EcoHealth terminated his employment on January 6 of this year.
A May 2024 interim report from the coronavirus subcommittee revealed “serious, systemic weaknesses” within NIH and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) that “enabled” Daszak to fund “dangerous” gain-of-function research with the the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) with a multi-million dollar federal grant.
Then-subcommittee Chair, Brad Wenstrup (R-OH), accused the British doctor of having “blatant contempt for the American people,” calling it “reprehensible”:
EcoHealth Alliance President Dr. Peter Daszak is not a good steward of U.S. taxpayer dollars and should never again receive funding from the U.S. taxpayer. Dr. Daszak and his organization conducted dangerous gain-of-function research at the WIV, willfully violated the terms of a multi-million-dollar NIH grant, and placed U.S. national security at risk. This blatant contempt for the American people is reprehensible. It is imperative to establish higher standards of oversight at the NIH. The Select Subcommittee’s detailed and comprehensive report today holds Dr. Daszak and EcoHealth Alliance accountable and sheds light on severe shortcomings in our public health systems.
On top of debarment, the interim report also recommended that Daszak be criminally investigated.
Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) celebrated the defunding and debarment of EcoHealth and Daszak in a Friday statement:
“Justice for the American people was served today. Bad actor EcoHealth Alliance and its corrupt former President, Dr. Peter Daszak, were formally debarred by HHS for using taxpayer funds to facilitate dangerous gain-of-function research in China,” the Kentucky Republican said in the committee’s press release. “Today’s decision is not only a victory for the U.S. taxpayer, but also for American national security and the safety of citizens worldwide.”
“Given that a lab-related incident involving gain-of-function research is the most likely origin of COVID-19, EcoHealth and its former President should never again receive a single cent from the U.S. taxpayer,” Comer added.
EcoHealth Alliance’s period of debarment is set to end on May 14, 2029, and Daszak’s is set to end six days later, Fox News reported.
The medical research firm got nearly $100 million from the U.S. government over the last 15 years, the outlet noted.
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