Title: Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that all nations should permanently close live wildlife markets and that the People's Republic of China should cease spreading disinformation regarding the origins of coronavirus.
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
This resolution calls on all governments to permanently close live wildlife markets.
The resolution also calls on the World Health Organization to advise member states to close live wildlife markets around the world.
Finally, the resolution calls on the Chinese Communist Party officials and the propaganda organs of the Chinese Communist Party to cease spreading disinformation on the origins of, and initial response to, the coronavirus (i.e., the virus that causes COVID-19).


[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 922 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 922

 Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that all nations 
 should permanently close live wildlife markets and that the People's 
 Republic of China should cease spreading disinformation regarding the 
                        origins of coronavirus.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 14, 2020

    Mr. Chabot (for himself, Mr. Reschenthaler, Mr. Wilson of South 
Carolina, Mr. Guest, and Mr. Yoho) submitted the following resolution; 
which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition 
  to the Committees on Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Energy and 
Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in 
   each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the 
                jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that all nations 
 should permanently close live wildlife markets and that the People's 
 Republic of China should cease spreading disinformation regarding the 
                        origins of coronavirus.

Whereas zoonotic diseases, diseases spread from animals to humans, present a 
        well-known threat for emerging infectious diseases;
Whereas zoonotic spillovers at the wildlife-human interface are not infrequent 
        events, including diseases in the United States such as rabies, West 
        Nile virus, plague, salmonellosis, hantavirus, or Lyme disease;
Whereas the wildlife trade poses a significant risk of disease transmission to 
        people, livestock, and wildlife in countries of transit and import, 
        independent of their origin in the wild or in breeding facilities;
Whereas zoonotic disease and subsequent pandemic threats from commercial trade 
        for human consumption is generally independent of whether an animal is 
        designated as threatened under domestic or international law, whether an 
        animal was removed from the wild or born in captivity, or whether the 
        trade is legal or illegal;
Whereas severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) transferred from a bat to a 
        masked palm civet and then to humans in the context of a live wildlife 
        market in China, causing an outbreak in humans in 2002;
Whereas Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), highly pathogenic avian 
        influenza (HPAI H5N1), and Ebola all transferred from animals to humans, 
        highlighting the threat posed to human health by zoonotic diseases and 
        wildlife consumption;
Whereas live wildlife markets, a type of wet market, sell both live and dead 
        wild animals for human consumption, sometimes including animals such as 
        rats, bats, turtles, snakes, foxes, civets, pangolins, and monkeys as 
        well as cats and dogs;
Whereas at live wildlife markets, animals often are kept in cramped cages and 
        other inhumane conditions, as well as in close proximity to animals with 
        which they would not come into contact in the wild;
Whereas many live wildlife markets sell, kill, and store animals often in 
        unhygienic conditions, in which tables, stalls, and floors are often 
        contaminated with feces, bodily fluids, and blood which are known to be 
        vectors for disease transmission;
Whereas it is widely believed that SARS-CoV-2 originated in an infected bat and 
        may have spread to humans through a second animal and spread within the 
        Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market, a live wildlife market in Wuhan, China;
Whereas SARS-CoV-2 which causes COVID-19 has come to be commonly called by the 
        generic name of ``novel coronavirus'' or simply ``coronavirus'';
Whereas, on April 3, 2020, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the Director of the National 
        Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said, ``I think we should 
        shut down those things right away . . . it boggles my mind how when we 
        have so many diseases that emanate out of that unusual human-animal 
        interface, that we don't just shut it down. I don't know what else has 
        to happen to get us to appreciate that'', and continued ``I think there 
        are certain countries in which this is very commonplace. I would like to 
        see the rest of the world really lean with a lot of pressure on these 
        countries that have that, because what we are going through right now is 
        a direct result of that.'';
Whereas there have been widespread calls for the permanent closure of live 
        wildlife markets from members of Congress, public health experts, 
        wildlife and animal health experts, and animal welfare and conservation 
        organizations;
Whereas the Prime Minister of Vietnam and the Government of Vietnam promptly 
        drafted a directive to prohibit wildlife trade and consumption by April 
        1, 2020;
Whereas, in December 2019 and early 2020, Chinese Communist Party officials 
        initially sought to cover up the outbreak and have not been sufficiently 
        transparent with the global community regarding the emergence and 
        initial spread of SARS-CoV-2;
Whereas Chinese Communist Party officials have spread disinformation to cast 
        doubt on the facts surrounding the emergence and initial spread of SARS-
        CoV-2;
Whereas Chinese Communist Party officials have suggested, without evidence and 
        in opposition to the widespread views of the medical community, that the 
        United States Army brought SARS-CoV-2 to China;
Whereas in response to SARS-CoV-2, the People's Republic of China has taken 
        steps to curtail the wildlife trade, and the Huanan Seafood Wholesale 
        Market has been closed;
Whereas these steps have allowed for the continued exploitation of wildlife for 
        several nonfood purposes;
Whereas there have been reports that wet markets for livestock have been allowed 
        to reopen in China; and
Whereas the People's Republic of China ordered the closure of live wildlife 
        markets following the SARS outbreak, but allowed their reopening as it 
        subsided, leading to another outbreak of SARS later that year: Now, 
        therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) affirms that animals are subject to inhumane treatment 
        in unsanitary conditions at live wildlife markets as well as 
        through the exotic pet trade and other wildlife trafficking, 
        including in the United States;
            (2) affirms the unanimous consensus of the medical 
        community that SARS-CoV-2 emerged in Wuhan, China, and spread 
        through the nexus of the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in 
        that city;
            (3) is encouraged by the People's Republic of China's 
        decision to permanently ban the sale of wild animals for human 
        consumption and calls on it to sustain and strengthen these 
        policies;
            (4) calls on all governments to permanently close live 
        wildlife markets;
            (5) calls on the World Health Organization to advise member 
        states to close live wildlife markets around the world;
            (6) calls on the Chinese Communist Party officials and the 
        propaganda organs of the Chinese Communist Party to cease 
        spreading disinformation on the origins of, and initial 
        response to, SARS-CoV-2; and
            (7) affirms the importance of the link between animal and 
        human health and affirms the importance of continued research 
        regarding zoonotic disease threats to humans.
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