{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.hawley.senate.gov/hawley-braun-slam-biden-administration-failure-release-all-information-covid-19-origins-demand-full/", "Hawley, Braun Slam Biden Administration for Failure to Release All Information on COVID-19 Origins, Demand Full Report", "2023-06-27", "2023", "2023-06", "Republican", "Senate", "MO", "Josh Hawley", "H001089", "www.hawley.senate.gov", "hawley", "https://www.hawley.senate.gov/press-releases/page/", "scraper", "Today U.S. Senators Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Mike Braun (R-Ind.) sent a letter to Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, after the Director and the Biden Administration failed to comply with the Senators\u2019 COVID-19 Origin Act of 2023, by releasing an incomplete report on the origins of COVID-19 well beyond the statutory deadline. The Senators demanded that Director Haines provide a new, complete report including any and all information pertaining to the origins of COVID-19, within seven days.\n\n\u201cOn March 20, President Biden signed the COVID-19 Origin Act of 2023, which we introduced in the Senate to help get to the truth about China and COVID-19,\u201d the Senators wrote. \u201cThat law required the Director of National Intelligence to \u2018declassify any and all information\u2019 relating to links between the Wuhan Institute of Virology and the origin of COVID-19. It also required that you \u2018submit to Congress\u2019 all of this information \u2018not later than 90 days\u2019 after the law\u2019s enactment. You failed to comply with both requirements.\u201d\n\nThey continued, \u201cYou\u2014and the rest of the Administration\u2014appear to be refusing to provide information about China\u2019s role in and responsibility for the COVID-19 pandemic in order to avoid upsetting Beijing. We invite you to try again. Within 7 business days, provide to Congress documentation that fully complies with the letter of the law to disclose \u2018any and all information\u2019 related to the origins of COVID-19 and a lab leak with minimal redactions.\u201d\n\nOn Monday, March 20, 2023, President Biden signed into law Senator Hawley\u2019s COVID-19 Origin Act of 2023. It was re-introduced in February of this year and unanimously passed in the Senate that same week. The bill was originally introduced in April 2021 and unanimously passed the Senate in May 2021.\n\nRead the full letter here or below.\n\nJune 27, 2023\n\nThe Honorable Avril Haines\n\nDirector of National Intelligence\n\nOffice of the Director of National Intelligence\n\nWashington, D.C. 20511\n\nDear Director Haines:\n\nOn March 20, President Biden signed the COVID-19 Origin Act of 2023, which we introduced in the Senate to help get to the truth about China and COVID-19. That law required the Director of National Intelligence to \u201cdeclassify any and all information\u201d relating to links between the Wuhan Institute of Virology and the origin of COVID-19. It also required that you \u201csubmit to Congress\u201d all of this information \u201cnot later than 90 days\u201d after the law\u2019s enactment.\n\nYou failed to comply with both requirements. The deadline was June 18, 2023. Well past the statutory deadline, your office published a declassified report after business hours on June 23. And the report itself was a paltry five pages of information, plus a cover page and appendix. Obviously, the U.S. government is in possession of more information than that. This half-baked effort falls woefully short of the statutory requirements and undermines congressional intent.\n\nYour failure to comply with the law is especially worrisome in light of recent events. The Biden administration, including ODNI, has exhibited a concerning level of deference towards China, including obfuscating the extent of China\u2019s intelligence cooperation with Cuba and downplaying the seriousness of China\u2019s intelligence collection activities over U.S. airspace. You\u2014and the rest of the Administration\u2014appear to be refusing to provide information about China\u2019s role in and responsibility for the COVID-19 pandemic in order to avoid upsetting Beijing.\n\nWe invite you to try again. Within 7 business days, provide to Congress documentation that fully complies with the letter of the law to disclose \u201cany and all information\u201d related to the origins of COVID-19 and a lab leak with minimal redactions. If you fail to do so, we would welcome your testimony before Congress on this matter so you may answer questions under oath. The American people deserve to know the truth about China\u2019s role in the origins of COVID-19.\n\nSincerely,\n\nJosh Hawley\n\nUnited States Senator", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T18:15:57Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.hawley.senate.gov/hawley-braun-slam-biden-administration-failure-release-all-information-covid-19-origins-demand-full/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.7252898067235947, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}