Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Thursday, Oct 02, 2025

Congress sends bill to Biden requiring his administration to declassify intelligence on COVID-19's origins

Congress sends bill to Biden requiring his administration to declassify intelligence on COVID-19's origins

Biden has not publicly said whether or not he'll support the bipartisan bill. Some lawmakers on Friday warned against a veto.
Congressional lawmakers ramped up pressure on President Joe Biden to declassify intelligence about the origins of COVID-19, sending a bill to his desk that would require his administration to do so.

The House of Representatives unanimously approved the bill, titled the COVID-19 Origin Act of 2023, in a 419-0 vote on Friday. Every House Republican and Democrat present supported the legislation.

The Senate likewise unanimously passed the legislation, introduced by GOP Sens. Josh Hawley of Missouri and Mike Braun of Indiana, last week.

"Now the American people will be able to see what their government knows about COVID origins — and those who lied about it can be held accountable," Hawley tweeted on Friday following the bill's passage.

Since the start of the coronavirus outbreak in China more than three years ago, the origins of the disease have been theorized and debated, often sparking political feuds. Speculation has swirled that the virus transferred naturally from animals to humans or accidentally leaked from a lab in China. Without conclusive evidence, experts have been unable to reach consensus and determine where COVID-19 came from.

Republican lawmakers have vowed to investigate Dr. Anthony Fauci, the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, who has said that known evidence shows it's likely that COVID-19 originated in nature; he has also said experts must keep an "open mind" about the possibility the virus leaked from a lab.

International investigators have been stymied by China's refusal to provide evidence from the earliest known coronavirus cases, and American intelligence agencies are split on determinations of which origin theory is more likely.

The bill comes after the US Energy Department recently concluded with "low confidence" that the pandemic was likely the result of a lab leak. FBI Director Christopher Wray also recently publicly endorsed the lab leak theory.

The bill would require the director of national intelligence, Avril Haines, to declassify all information related to potential links between China's Wuhan Institute of Virology and the origins of COVID-19, including the lab's activities and research, any researchers who became sick, and the symptoms they experienced, and to submit a report to Congress with the information.

Biden has not publicly said whether or not he'll support the bipartisan bill. Some lawmakers on Friday warned against vetoing the legislation, which would be the first of Biden's presidency if he chooses to.

"Congress has sent a clear message that it's critical to provide full transparency regarding what is known about how this pandemic started, how taxpayer dollars may have been spent on risky research, and if labs performing such research are upholding the highest standards of safety," a group of Republicans said in a joint statement. "The president—should he consider vetoing—ought to consider the irreparable damage it will cause our ability to restore public trust in government."

Indeed, lawmakers could likely override a potential veto with a two-thirds vote in both the House and Senate. A White House spokesperson did not immediately return Insider's request for comment.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
New Eye Drops Show Promise in Replacing Reading Glasses for Presbyopia
Dubai Property Boom Shows Strain as Flippers Get Buyer’s Remorse
Top AI Researchers Are Heading Back to China as U.S. Struggles to Keep Pace
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
UAE-US Stargate Project Poised to Make Abu Dhabi a Global AI Powerhouse
Trump and Starmer Clash Over UK Recognition of Palestinian State Amid State Visit
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Kuwait opens bidding for construction of three cities to ease housing crunch.
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Did the Houthis disrupt the internet in the Middle East? Submarine cables cut in the Red Sea
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
×