III 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 204 

Establishing a Select Committee on the Outbreak of the Coronavirus in 

China. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 11, 2021 

Mr. MARSHALL submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 

Committee on Rules and Administration 

RESOLUTION 

Establishing a Select Committee on the Outbreak of the 

Coronavirus in China. 

1 Resolved, 

2 SECTION 1. ESTABLISHMENT OF SELECT COMMITTEE ON 

3 THE OUTBREAK OF THE CORONAVIRUS IN 

4 CHINA. 

5 There is established a select investigative committee 

6 of the Senate, to be known as the Select Committee on 

7 the Outbreak of the Coronavirus in China (referred to in 

8 this resolution as the ‘‘select committee’’), to investigate 

9 the outbreak of the COVID–19 virus in or around Wuhan, 

10 China. 


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•SRES 204 IS 

1 SEC. 2. MEMBERSHIP. 

2 (a) COMPOSITION.—The select committee shall be 

3 composed of not more than 12 Senators, of whom 6 shall 

4 be appointed by the Majority Leader and 6 shall be ap5 pointed by the Minority Leader. 

6 (b) CHAIRPERSON; VICE-CHAIRPERSON.—The Ma7 jority Leader shall designate 1 member of the select com8 mittee as the chairperson of the select committee, and the 

9 Minority Leader shall designate 1 member of the select 

10 committee as the vice-chairperson of the select committee. 

11 (c) EXEMPTION.—For purposes of paragraph 4 of 

12 rule XXV of the Standing Rules of the Senate, service of 

13 a Senator as a member or chairperson of the select com14 mittee shall not be taken into account. 

15 (d) VACANCIES.—Any vacancy in the select com16 mittee shall be filled in the same manner as the original 

17 appointment. 

18 SEC. 3. INVESTIGATION AND REPORT. 

19 (a) INVESTIGATION.—The select committee shall con20 duct a full and complete investigation and study regard21 ing— 

22 (1) identification of the source of the COVID– 

23 19 virus and the route of human-to-human trans24 mission beginning in or around Wuhan, China; 


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•SRES 204 IS 

1 (2) secret research and gain-of-function zoonic 

2 research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology (re3 ferred to in this section as ‘‘WIV’’); 

4 (3) training operations and safety standards at 

5 the WIV; 

6 (4) cases of researchers at the WIV laboratory 

7 becoming sick or demonstrating COVID–19-like 

8 symptoms in 2019 or 2020; 

9 (5) cables and other communications from 2017 

10 to 2021 from employees of the Department of State, 

11 the Central Intelligence Agency, and the Department 

12 of Health and Human Services regarding activities 

13 and research at the WIV; 

14 (6) response from officials of the Department of 

15 State and National Security Council in Washington, 

16 DC to the cables and other communications de17 scribed in paragraph (5); 

18 (7) funding distributed to the WIV by the Na19 tional Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, 

20 the National Institutes of Health, and institutions of 

21 higher education of the United States; 

22 (8) funding of gain-of-function research by the 

23 National Institutes of Health and the National Insti24 tute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases during the 

25 2014–2017 moratorium on such research; 


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1 (9) research and possible leaks from the Wuhan 

2 Center for Disease Control; 

3 (10) information regarding efforts by the Chi4 nese Communist Party to silence journalists and 

5 doctors, destroy samples of the COVID–19 virus, 

6 and block United States and other foreign investiga7 tors, including investigations surrounding the Chi8 nese Communist Party’s misinformation campaign 

9 through social media, traditional news outlets, and 

10 other propaganda outlets; 

11 (11) the origination of claims that the pandemic 

12 spread from a seafood market in Wuhan, China and 

13 the closure and sanitation of the market; 

14 (12) actions taken by the World Health Organi15 zation, including actions taken by Director-General 

16 Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and other World 

17 Health Organization officials, to spread Chinese mis18 information and the failure of the World Health Or19 ganization to meet the Organization’s charter to pre20 vent the international spread of disease; and 

21 (13) the impact of failing to shut down travel 

22 in and out of Wuhan, China, the Hubei province, 

23 and greater China. 

24 (b) REPORTS.—The select committee— 


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1 (1) shall issue a final report to the Senate of 

2 its findings from the investigation and study de3 scribed in subsection (a) by not later than 1 year 

4 after the date of adoption of this resolution; and 

5 (2) may issue to the Senate such interim re6 ports as the select committee determines necessary. 

7 SEC. 4. AUTHORITIES AND POWERS. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—For the purposes of this resolu9 tion, the select committee is authorized in its discretion— 

10 (1) to make investigations into any matter with11 in its jurisdiction; 

12 (2) to make expenditures from the contingent 

13 fund of the Senate; 

14 (3) to employ personnel; 

15 (4) to hold hearings; 

16 (5) to sit and act at any time or place during 

17 the sessions, recesses, and adjourned periods of the 

18 Senate; 

19 (6) to require, by subpoena or otherwise, the at20 tendance of witnesses and the production of cor21 respondence, books, papers, and documents; 

22 (7) to take depositions and other testimony; 

23 (8) to procure the services of individual consult24 ants, or organizations thereof, in accordance with 


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1 section 202(i) of the Legislative Reorganization Act 

2 of 1946 (2 U.S.C. 4301(i)); and 

3 (9) with the prior consent of the government 

4 department or agency concerned and the Committee 

5 on Rules and Administration, to use on a reimburs6 able basis the services of personnel of any such de7 partment or agency. 

8 (b) OATHS.—The chairperson of the select committee 

9 or any member thereof may administer oaths to witnesses. 

10 (c) SUBPOENAS.—A subpoena authorized by the se11 lect committee— 

12 (1) may be issued under the signature of the 

13 chairperson, the vice-chairperson, or any member of 

14 the select committee designated by the chairperson; 

15 and 

16 (2) may be served by any person designated by 

17 the chairperson, the vice-chairperson, or other mem18 ber signing the subpoena. 

19 (d) COMMITTEE RULES.—The select committee shall 

20 adopt rules (not inconsistent with the rules of the Senate 

21 and in accordance with rule XXVI of the Standing Rules 

22 of the Senate) governing the procedure of the select com23 mittee, which shall include addressing how often the select 

24 committee shall meet, meeting times and location, type of 

25 notifications, notices of hearings, duration of the select 


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•SRES 204 IS 

1 committee, and records of the select committee after com2 mittee activities are complete. 

3 SEC. 5. TERMINATION. 

4 The select committee shall terminate on the day after 

5 the date the report required under section 3(b)(1) is sub6 mitted. 

Æ 


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