Top Oversight Republicans call on Maloney to investigate WHO Pandemic Response & Relationship with the Chinese Communist Party
Today – Ranking Member Jim Jordan — joined by the five ranking members of the Oversight Committee Subcommittees —sent a letter to Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney urging her to hold hearings on the “Communist Party of China (CCP) and its widely criticized response to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis.”
The lawmakers sent the letter in response to a letter Maloney sent earlier this month in which she expressed concerns about President Donald Trump’s decision to temporarily withhold U.S. taxpayer dollars from the World Health Organization (WHO).
“Given the acknowledgement in your accompanying press release—’the WHO has shortcomings that must be corrected’—the President’s decision was both reasonable and legitimate,” the lawmakers counter.
Other excerpts from the letter:
“The potential misuse of taxpayer dollars is at the heart of the Committee’s jurisdiction, and we owe it to the American people to evaluate how the WHO has been spending their hard-earned money. The American taxpayer is the single largest contributor to the WHO, providing approximately $900 million every two years, ten times greater than China’s contribution.”
“Notwithstanding this drastic imbalance in funding, the United States should not support organizations that promulgate communist propaganda instead of the facts. Our republic is not obligated to hand money to an entity that espouses ideals of international cooperation while furthering the Chinese’s government’s machinations.”
“Thus far, we have discovered China not only disseminated misinformation surrounding the origins of COVID-19 but also attempted to depict the CCP as the global leader in public health. Much like every failed, communist regime that has come before it, the CCP wants to convince the world socialism, communism, and authoritarianism are better than freedom, liberty, and democracy”
“The WHO parroted the regime’s disinformation on multiple occasions, including denying human to human transmission of the virus, prolonged naming COVID-19 a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, chastised efforts to restrict travel, and continued to praise China as a global leader in public health despite mounting evidence to the contrary. The WHO’s inaction and delay undoubtedly cost American lives. For these reasons, we commend the President’s decision to temporarily pause the WHO’s funding.”
Read the full text of the letter here.
What the signers are saying:
Rep Jody Hice, Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Government Operations:
“When it comes to oversight, where there’s smoke, there’s usually fire. Serious flags have been raised regarding potential misconduct, incompetence, and bias at the World Health Organization; particularly with the institution’s relationship with Communist China.
“The American taxpayer is the single largest contributor of funding to the W.H.O., and this Committee therefore has a clear duty to investigate their role in mismanaging the Coronavirus pandemic. I hope that my Democratic colleagues will join us in a bipartisan effort to get to the truth.”
Rep James Comer, Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on The Environment:
“It would be an utter failure of this Committee to not investigate the WHO’s failures to address the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic and its effect on the American people. American tax dollars single handedly contribute 10 times more to the WHO than China alone. Therefore, not only is the President’s decision to withhold funding from the WHO warranted, it is essential in upholding Congress’s duty to protect American interests. Instead of constantly using this Committee to question the President’s every decision to protect American interests, I hope to see the Majority call immediate hearings and briefings to investigate the WHO’s ties to the Communist Party of China.”
Rep. Glenn Grothman, Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on National Security:
“Like many international organizations, it appears that the WHO has been infected by anti-Western bureaucrats. Had they stood up to the Chinese and their wet markets at some point in the last ten years, I believe hundreds of thousands of people would be alive today. I urge chairwoman Maloney to hold a hearing because we need answers as to why the WHO is complacent toward harmful Chinese practices and taking part in spreading CCP propaganda. It is our duty as members of the House Oversight Committee to look into this problem and protect the interests of Americans citizens.”
Rep. Michael Cloud, Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy:
“The United States should not be responsible for funding an entity that does not further the interests of our republic. In this case, American taxpayer dollars have supported an international organization that’s seemingly only turned a blind eye to COVID-19 propaganda from the Chinese Community Party and at times parroted the same talking points to the detriment of millions globally. President Trump’s decision to pause funding is commendable, and the WHO must be held to account.”
Rep. Chip Roy, Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties:
“The World Health Organization deserves a thorough congressional investigation for its mishandling of the coronavirus response and for accepting and promulgating communist Chinese propaganda. America is the largest contributor to the WHO. We — Republicans and Democrats — better make sure that the blood, sweat, and tears of hardworking American citizens (their dollars) are being used efficiently, particularly with regard to a global organization that showed poor judgement during one of the most trying times for mankind in recent memory. I thank my colleagues and I join them in their request.”