President Joe Biden on Monday signed legislation requiring the declassification of information related to the origin of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, the White House announced.
Biden said he shares Congress’ goal of releasing as much information as possible about the origins of COVID-19.
“In implementing this law, my administration will declassify and release as much of this information as possible consistent with my constitutional authority to protect against the disclosure of information that could harm national security,” Biden said in a statement.
The bill passed the Senate and House of Representatives without objection before being sent to the White House.
A highly politicized debate over the origins of the coronavirus pandemic has continued in Washington since the first human cases were reported in the Chinese city of Wuhan in late 2019. Biden signed the bill amid calls from Democrats and Republicans to counter the growing influence of China.
The debate reignited last month when the Wall Street Journal reported on a US Department of Energy report suggesting the pandemic was likely caused by a leak from a Chinese lab. Beijing denies all the allegations.
US Department of Energy officials made their judgment with a “low degree of certainty” based on classified intelligence reports. The FBI also believes the pandemic likely originated with a leak from a Chinese biological lab. Four other intelligence agencies still believe the pandemic started as a result of natural transmission of the virus from animals to humans, two other agencies have yet to decide their opinion.
Many US officials have said the origin of the pandemic may never be known for certain. China said claims that the lab leak likely caused the pandemic “are not credible”.
Biden noted he had instructed intelligence agencies to investigate the origins of COVID-19 in 2021, adding that work was ongoing. The administration, according to the president, will continue to investigate all classified information, including potential links to the origins of the pandemic with the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
“We need to understand the origins of COVID-19 to better prevent pandemics in the future,” the president said.
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