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

During Friday’s broadcast of Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends First,” Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA) said that in light of the House vote to stop the sale of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve 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 search for – excuse me, to prevent oil from being released from the strategic petroleum reserve for be sold to China and I think…that’s another area we can look at. But the international community has a vested interest in finding out where the origins of COVID-19 come from for that exact reason. Is there gain of function or unethical research going on and what is the response from the international community are their lab breaks is the right type of research being done in the right biosafety lab so you don’t have biosafety lab research being conducted in an improper facility that could lead to a leak, virus and another pandemic?So these things are very important for the international community to understand, and then the div ulgation, there must be immediate disclosure. And, as we know, probably in the fall of 2019, they knew they had a leaked virus, but yet it was not disclosed and they denied human-to-human transmission.