If we want to ban SPR exports to China, we must also consider banning research funding

On Friday’s broadcast of Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends First,” Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA) that in light of the House vote to halt the sale of Strategic Petroleum Reserve oil to China, Congress should also consider restrictions on research funding in China.

Co-host Todd Piro asked: [relevant exchange begins around 2:50] “Bigger question, Congressman, why are we still funding our main adversary in this world, China?”

Miller-Meeks replied, “Well, that raises a very broad question, we’ve already passed a bill to prevent the — excuse me, seeking oil from the strategic petroleum reserve for sale to China and I think … that’s a another area we can look at. But the international community has every interest in finding out where the origin of COVID-19 comes from precisely for that reason. Is there a gain in function or unethical research and what is the reaction of the international community? Are their lab breaks the right type of research being done in the right biosafety lab so that biosafety lab testing is not conducted in an inappropriate manner? facility that could lead to a leak, virus and a new pandemic? So these things are very important for the international community to understand, and then the disclosure, there has to be immediate disclosure. And, as we know, they probably knew in the fall of 2019 that they had a leaked virus, yet it was not revealed and they denied human-to-human transmission.