April 26, 2023 Updated:
April 26, 2023
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.)
continued his quest for information on whether the United States helped fund
gain-of-function research in China when he questioned Government Accounting
Office (GAO) Comptroller General Gene Dodaro.
Paul said he has
information that U.S. universities and government agencies have sent money to
fund Chinese military research.
“We’re actually funding
military research. I think there’s a question of whether it’s being done
appropriately, honestly, and, frankly, legally,” Paul told Dodaro during an
April 20 hearing before the Senate Homeland Security Governmental Affairs
Committee.
“I’m equally concerned
about this issue,” Dodaro responded.
Paul’s office did not
return calls and emails seeking more details on his allegations.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) at a hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, on Jan. 11, 2022. (Greg Nash-Pool/Getty Images)
The hearing discussed the
2023 High-Risk List of agencies and programs that need reform. As part of the
information on spending, the GAO released the report “Information on U.S.
Finding to Entities Located in China.”
The information indicates
that much of the money sent to China cannot be accounted for.
A review of the report by
The Epoch Times could not find the specific subawards that Paul mentioned.
According to an email from a GAO spokesman, more information on funding to
entities in China is forthcoming.
“We have some work still
underway on funding to Chinese entities and it’s not due to be completed and
issued for another month or two,” Chuck Young, managing director for public
affairs for the GAO, wrote in an email to The Epoch Times.
“It may be covered in the
new report, but it’s not complete yet, so I can’t say specifically.”
The universities and
government agencies mentioned by Paul did not return emails or telephone calls
from The Epoch Times seeking comment.
According to the report,
$48 million was provided to Chinese entities between fiscal years 2017–2019. Of
this, $22.8 million was assistance awards, and about $25.2 million in
contracts.
To explain the
difference, the GAO reported that the Department of Health and Human Services
obligated funding through assistance awards to study infectious diseases. The
Department of State paid for goods and services through contracts to accomplish
its mission in the country.
Funding was also provided
through subawards from U.S. award recipients to Chinese organizations.
“However, the full extent
of these subawards is unknown because of limitations in the completeness and
accuracy of subaward data reported in government systems,” The GAO report
reads. “GAO is currently examining the state of federal government-wide subaward
data as part of a separate review.”
But the amounts spent and
the reporting requirements were only part of the issue brought up by Paul.
The senator from Kentucky
has been pushing for information about money sent to the Chinese military and
ascertaining whether any U.S. money was sent to the Wuhan lab for
gain-of-function research. He has hit a brick wall each time.
Paul’s quest has resulted
in several high-profile battles with Dr. Anthony Fauci, former director of the
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious diseases.
“We don’t seem to care
that we may well have funded this,” Paul said.
Paul said that he
received information from whistleblowers and the GAO indicating that at least
six American Universities have sent grant money to the Chinese Academy of
Military Medical Research. But, when he tries to get more information on what
that money was used for, “the agencies will give us nothing.”
He told Dodaro that
Congress had declassified the information, which means it should be provided to
any member of the public who asks for it. But, so far, the only documents he
has been given are from whistleblowers or in response to Freedom of Information
Act (FOIA) requests.
“We’ve been asking for
declassified information for two years, and we get squat,” Paul said.
“Government is so
out-of-control that we can’t get information.”
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