FRANK PALLONE, JR.

, NEW JERSEY CATHY McMORRIS RODGERS, WASHINGTON

CHAIRMAN RANKING MEMBER
ONE HUNDRED SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS

Congress of the United States

House of Representatives
COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND COMMERCE
2125 RAYBURN HOUSE O FFICE BUILDING
W ASHINGTON, DC 20515-6115
Majority (202) 225-2927
Minority (202) 225-3641

April 16, 2021

Mr. Peter Daszak, PhD

President
EcoHealth Alliance
460 West 34th Street, 17th Floor
New York, NY 10001

Dear Dr. Daszak:

We write to request information and documents from EcoHealth Alliance (EHA) related
to the origins of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, including possible pandemic
links to the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV).1

EHA has an extensive history with research into bat coronaviruses in China, some of
which are presumed progenitors of SARS CoV-2.2 In addition, EHA has partnered with the
WIV in this area of research, and WIV lists EHA as one of its eight international partners, and
the only one in the U.S. 3 For example, last year EHA, the WIV, and others co-authored an
article on the origin and cross-species transmission of bat coronaviruses in China, and presented
phylogenetic analysis suggesting a likely origin of SARS-CoV-2 in horseshoe (Rhinolophus
spp.) bats.4 Further, for several years, EHA has provided some of its National Institutes of
Health (NIH) federal funding to WIV as a federal sub-award recipient for bat coronavirus
research to conduct high-quality testing, sequencing, field sample analyses, sample storage and

1
All references to the WIV include the former names of the Chinese establishment, that include the Wuhan Institute
of Microbiology, the Wuhan Microbiology Research Laboratory, the Hubei Provincial Institute of Microbiology and
the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Wuhan Institute of Virology, CAS, About WIV (last accessed Apr. 9, 2021),
available at http://english.whiov.cas.cn/About_Us2016/Brief_Introduction2016/.
2
Latinne, A., Hu, B., Olival, K.J. et al., Origin and cross-species transmission of bat coronaviruses in China,
Nature (Aug. 25, 2020), available at https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-17687-3.
3
Id.; Wuhan Institute of Virology, CAS, Partnerships Wuhan Institute of Virology Chinese Academy of Sciences
(last accessed Apr. 8, 2021), available at http://english.whiov.cas.cn/International_Cooperation2016/Partnerships/.
4
Id.; EHA and WIV officials, with others, also co-authored other articles related to Bat SARS-Related Coronavirus.
Wang N, Li SY, Yang XL, et al., Serological Evidence of Bat SARS-Related Coronavirus Infection in Humans,
China. Virol Sin. 2018;33(1):104-107 (Mar. 2, 2018), available at doi:10.1007/s12250-018-0012-7.
Letter to Mr. Peter Daszak, PhD
Page 2

testing, and collaboration on scientific publications and programmatic reporting.5 It has been
reported that EHA’s China bat research project was funded entirely thro ugh NIH awards.6

We believe through its research activities, collaborations, and EHA’s relationship with
the WIV as a federal award subrecipient, that EHA has information and documents that will
provide insight into the WIV’s bat coronavirus information and pathways for further research in
this area.7 We are interested in EHA’s knowledge of and access to the WIV’s virus samples,
genomic sequences, and research afforded to EHA as a NIH federal award recipient who
established a sub-recipient relationship with the WIV for grants including R01AI110964, and as
a subrecipient of NIH awards.8 We are also interested in EHA’s knowledge of and access to a
password-protected virus database for which external access ended on September 12, 2019. The
database is administered by the WIV’s researcher Dr. Shi Zhengli, with whom you and your
team have had professional and financial ties since at least 2003.9 The database is estimated to
contain 500 coronaviruses identified by EHA, and at least 100 unpublished sequences of bat beta
coronaviruses that are relevant to the investigation of the SARS-CoV-2 origin.10

We anticipate that EHA and the WIV share access to samples and virus sequences based
on the terms of the NIH grant and based in part on a recent interview discussing the EHA and
WIV joint effort to capture 10,000 bats, draw and test their blood, and create a catalogue of all of
the viruses, including 50 new coronaviruses.11 You stated that Remdesivir was tested against the
viruses EHA and the WIV discovered through NIH funded research, and that Remdesivir testing
“would not have been able to happen and we wouldn’t have known how good this drug
Remdesivir is” without EHA’s work.12

We are interested in learning about what EHA knows regarding a Chinese national
security review team finding in 2019 that the WIV did not meet national standards in five
categories and when or if those standards were met before 2020.13 Additionally, EHA was
5
USASpending, EcoHealth Alliance Sub-Awards (last accessed Apr. 8, 2021), available at
https://www.usaspending.gov/award/ASST_NON_R01AI110964_7529.
6
Nurith Aizenman, Why the U.S. Government Stopped Funding A Research Project On Bats And Coronaviruses
(Apr. 29, 2020), available at https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2020/04/29/847948272/why-the-u-s-
government-stopped-funding-a-research-project-on-bats-and-coronaviru.
7
USAspending, EcoHealth Alliance Sub-Awards (last accessed Apr. 8, 2021), available at
https://www.usaspending.gov/award/ASST_NON_R01AI110964_7529.
8 Id., USAspending, The Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York – Award U19AI109761, (last

accessed Apr. 12, 2021) available at https://www.usaspending.gov/award/ASST_NON_U19AI109761_7529/.

9
Josh Rogin, Opinion: The coronavirus crisis shows the risks of scientific collaboration with China, The
Washington Post, (Apr. 23, 2020) available at https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/global-opinions/the-
coronavirus-crisis-shows-the-risks-of-scientific-collaboration-with-china/2020/04/23/4ccd5850-85a8-11ea-878a-
86477a724bdb_story.html.
10
Julie Zaugg, The virus hunters who search bat caves to predict the next pandemic, CNN health (Apr. 26, 2020)
available at https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/26/health/virus-hunters-bat-cave-coronavirus-hnk-intl/index.html.
11 Why It Matters That The NIH Cancelled a Coronavirus Research Grant, CBS 60 M INUTES (May 10, 2020),

available at https://www.cbsnews.com/news/nih-cancelled-coronavirus-research-grant-60-minutes-2020-05-10/.
12
Id.
13
John Xie, Chinese Lab with Checkered Safety Record Draws Scrutiny over COIVD-19, VOA News, (Apr. 21,
2020) available at https://www.voanews.com/covid-19-pandemic/chinese-lab-checkered-safety-record-draws-
scrutiny-over-covid-19. EHA’s NIH grant is subject to biosafety requirements pursuant to NIH Grants Policy
Statement and Notice of Award.
Letter to Mr. Peter Daszak, PhD
Page 3

working with the WIV when in 2016, an independent American review found that China’s
biosafety controls had a shortage of officials, experts, and scientists who specialize in laboratory
biosafety.14 As a research partner of WIV, we would expect EHA to have been a first-hand
witness to the WIV operations as the China’s first BioSafety Level-4 laboratory.”15

In July 2020, the NIH sought information from EHA related to the WIV, and suspended
one of EHA’s grants until certain questions were answered and certain conditions were met,
pursuant to EHA’s obligations under the agreement and federal regulations.16 As an NIH federal
award recipient, EHA is required to “monitor the activities of the subrecipient as necessary to
ensure that the subaward is used for authorized purposes, in compliance with federal statutes,
regulations, and the terms and conditions of the subaward.”17 It is EHA’s responsibility to
ensure the WIV met all NIH grant requirements. The EHA grant suspended by the NIH in July
2020 remains suspended per NIH public records, suggesting that EHA still has not cooperated
with the NIH nor met its federal requirements as an award recipient with mandatory terms and
conditions.18 In addition, researchers and scientists in the scientific community have unanswered
questions about the WIV, its operations and research activities, and whether a possible lab
incident at the WIV could have been related to the origins of SARS-CoV-2.19

EHA officials have repeatedly stated that they do not believe the pandemic was caused by
a lab leak and have solicited support for others to advance that position publicly.20 However,
there is substantial and increasing support from the international scientific community and public
health experts, including from the World Health Organization Director-General Tedros, for
further investigation into COVID origins, including the possibility of a lab leak. 21 Since EHA is
14
Id.
15
Gilles Demaneuf, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: a review of SARS Lab Escapes (Nov. 16, 2020) available at
https://gillesdemaneuf.medium.com/the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly-a-review-of-sars-lab-escapes-898d203d175d.
16
Betsy McKay, NIH Presses U.S. Nonprofit for Information on Wuhan Virology Lab, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
(Aug. 19, 2020), available at https://www.wsj.com/articles/nih-presses-u-s-nonprofit-for-information-on-wuhan-
virology-lab-11597829400.
17
45 C.F.R. § 75.352(d).
18
EcoHealth Alliance, Statement on the Latest Development Regarding EcoHealth Alliance’s Coronavirus Research
Funding (last accessed Apr. 8, 2021), available at https://www.ecohealthalliance.org/2020/08/statement-on-the-
latest-development-regarding-ecohealth-alliances-coronavirus-research-funding.
19
Betsy McKay, NIH Presses U.S. Nonprofit for Information on Wuhan Virology Lab, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
(Aug. 19, 2020), available at https://www.wsj.com/articles/nih-presses-u-s-nonprofit-for-information-on-wuhan-
virology-lab-11597829400; Justine Coleman, Scientists call for new investigation into coronavirus origins (Apr. 7,
2021), available at https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/546988-scientists-call-for-new-investigation-into-
coronavirus-origins; Editorial Board, Opinion: The WHO needs to start over in investigating the origins of the
coronavirus, THE WASHINGTON POST (Mar. 6, 2021), available at
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/global-opinions/the-who-needs-to-start-over-in-investigating-the-origins-
of-the-coronavirus/2021/03/05/6f3d5a0e-7de9-11eb-a976-c028a4215c78_story.html.
20
Sainath Suryanarayanan, Emails show scientists discussed masking their involvement in key journal letter on
Covid origins (Feb. 15, 2021), available at https://usrtk.org/biohazards-blog/scientists-masked-involvement-in-
lancet-letter-on-covid-origin/.
21
Emily Rauhala, WHO chief, U.S. and other world leaders criticize China for limiting access of team researching
coronavirus origins, The Washington Post (Mar. 30, 2021), available at
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/who-wuhan-tedros-lab/2021/03/30/896fe3f6-90d1-11eb-aadc-
af78701a30ca_story.html; and Charles Schmidt, Did the coronavirus leak from a lab? These scientists say we
shouldn’t rule it out, Biotechnology (Mar. 18, 2001), available at
https://www.technologyreview.com/2021/03/18/1021030/coronavirus-leak-wuhan-lab-scientists-conspiracy/.
Letter to Mr. Peter Daszak, PhD
Page 4

confident that a lab leak is not the cause, we expect you to welcome the opportunity to share any
and all information, documents, and expertise you have related to bat coronavirus research at the
WIV. Accordingly, to assist our inquiry, please provide the following by May 17, 2021:

Documents and Information Related to NIH Federal Awards

1. Please provide all federal award applications, progress reports, and research or project results
prepared for NIH by EHA related to NIH award number R01AI110964.

2. Please provide all financial conflict of interest disclosures, and disclosures of financial
foreign support or foreign components prepared for NIH by EHA for NIH award number
R01AI110964.

3. Please provide all applications EHA submitted for Potential Pandemic Pathogen research
review and the review results. 22

4. Please provide all letters, emails, and other communications between EHA and NIH
Institutes related to NIH award number R01AI110964, including EHA’s conditions of
awards, requests for information, and responses.

5. Please provide all letters, emails, and other communications between EHA and grant sub-
recipient, the WIV, related to terms of agreements, bat coronaviruses, genome or genetic
sequencing, SARS-CoV-2, and/or laboratory safety practices pursuant to NIH award number
R01AI110964.

6. What does EHA know about research involving bat coronaviruses in the WIV laboratories in
2019, including but not limited to: possible bat coronavirus vaccine development;
pathogenicity studies involving animal experiments; usage of passaging; Dual-Use Research
of Concern; nucleotide synthesis; mutagenesis; genetic manipulation and gain of function
techniques? 23

7. Please identify all federal awards for which EHA has been an award subrecipient and
describe when any of those funds were used to support the WIV or WIV’s activities from
2015 to present.

8. Has any research supported in whole or in part by NIH award number R01AI110964 been
published in Mandarin only and is therefore not readily accessible for use by U.S.
researchers? If so, please identify such research and articles.

22
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Framework for Guiding Funding Decisions about Proposed
Research Involving Enhanced Potential Pandemic Pathogens (2017), available at
https://www.phe.gov/s3/dualuse/Documents/p3co.pdf.
23
U.S. National Institutes of Health, Dual-Use Research (Sept. 9, 2019), available at
https://oir.nih.gov/sourcebook/ethical-conduct/special-research-considerations/dual-use-
research#:~:text=Dual%20Use%20Research%20of%20Concern,to%20public%20health%20and%20safety%2C.
Letter to Mr. Peter Daszak, PhD
Page 5

9. Did EHA or the WIV use translators while conducting NIH award number R01AI110964
together? If so, please describe all procurements and other arrangements for translation
services, including the identity of the translators.

10. For all NIH funded work, please identify all Mandarin-fluent EHA personnel and English-
fluent WIV personnel who worked on the projects related to NIH award number
R01AI110964.

11. Pursuant to 45 C.F.R. sec. 75.352(d), how does EHA monitor the handling and use of
samples by its subrecipient, the WIV, to ensure the sub-award is used for authorized
purposes? 24

12. Of the bat viruses EHA finds in China, where are samples and the genomic or genetic
sequences stored in the United States and how are the samples transported? 25

13. Does EHA have any virus samples or sequences related to the bats or pneumonia-like illness
that sickened six miners in the Mojiang mine in southwestern China’s Yunnan Province,
killing three, after their work removing bat feces?26 If so, please provide the location and
identification information for the samples and/or sequences.

14. In 2020, Dr. Shi Zhengli of WIV published a genomic sequence for RaTG13. According to
available information first published in 2016, RaTG13 is 96.2 percent similar to SARS-CoV-
2 and was gathered in 2012 from bat caves in the Yunnan Province, then.27 This sequence is
the most similar to SARS-CoV2 that is publicly known.

a. Why was the sample sequence not published until 2020?

b. Does EHA have any reason to know if RaTG13 was ever used in research at WIV,
including gain of function studies?

c. Does EHA have any other sequences or samples from the bat cave that were collected
from the Yunnan bat caves in 2012?

24
45 C.F.R. sec. 75.352(d).
25
Nurith Aizenman, Why the U.S. Government Stopped Funding A Research Project On Bats And Coronaviruses,
(Apr. 29, 2020), available at https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2020/04/29/847948272/why-the-u-s-
government-stopped-funding-a-research-project-on-bats-and-coronaviru.
26
Rahalkar MC, Bahulikar RA, Lethal Pneumonia Cases in Mojiang Miners (2012) and the Mineshaft Could
Provide Important Clues to the Origin of SARS-CoV-2 (Oct. 20, 2020), available at
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7606707/.
27
Peng Zhou, et al, Discovery of a novel coronavirus associated with the recent pneumonia outbreak in humans and
its potential bat origin, (Jan. 23, 2020) available at
https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.01.22.914952v2.full.pdf.
Letter to Mr. Peter Daszak, PhD
Page 6

d. Does EHA have the WIV genome that corroborates their renaming of RaBtCoV/4991
to RaTG13? 28

e. Does EHA have the genome or genetic sequences of the eight other related
coronaviruses found in the same mine (the 7896 clade) that can be seen in slides
shown by Dr. Shi Zhengli in webinars?29 If so, please provide.

15. In addition to the eleven SARS-related bat coronavirus sequences EHA and the WIV
discovered in Yunnan Province, have any other genomic or genetic sequences for bat
coronaviruses resulting from EHA’s five-year surveillance of SARS-CoVs in Yunnan
Province bat caves, funded in part by NIH, been deposited in GenBank? If so, what
accession numbers have been assigned to these sequences? 30

16. Does EHA have copies of the virus samples and sequences maintained in Dr. Shi Zhengli’s
database that was taken offline in September 2019?31 If so, please describe what EHA has in
this collection, and to what extent EHA would make this collection publicly available.

17. EHA has stated that it has unpublished data gathered over 15 years of working in China, and
five years under a previous NIH grant. 32 Please describe these records and to what extent
EHA will make these publicly available.

18. Prior to April 2020, did EHA have access to the WIV databases that were made possible in
whole or in part by NIH award number R01AI110964?

19. It was reported that EHA and the WIV caught and sampled the blood of 10,000 bats,
resulting in a discovery of 50 new coronaviruses and creating of a virus genomes catalog. 33
Please produce a copy of this virus genomes catalog created by EHA and the WIV.

28
Liji Thomas, Scientists claim serious data discrepancies in RaTG13 sequence, (Sept. 10, 2020) available at
https://www.news-medical.net/news/20200910/Scientists-claim-serious-data-discrepancies-in-RaTG13-
sequence.aspx.
29
European Scientific Working Group on Influenza, ESWI 2020 keynote lecture Zhengli Shi:From SARS to COVID-
19, understanding the interspecies transmission of SARS-related coronaviruses (Sept. 16, 2020), available at
https://eswi.org/eswi-tv/eswi2020-keynote-lecture-zhengli-shi-from-sars-to-covid-19-understanding-the-
interspecies-transmission-of-sars-related-coronaviruses/.
30
Ben Hu, et al, Discovery of a rich gene pool of bat SARS-related coronaviruses provides new insights into the
origin of SARS coronavirus, PLOS PATHOGENS (Nov. 30, 2017), available at
https://journals.plos.org/plospathogens/article?id=10.1371/journal.ppat.1006698.
31
Nurith Aizenman, Why the U.S. Government Stopped Funding A Research Project On Bats And Coronaviruses,
(Apr. 29, 2020), available at https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2020/04/29/847948272/why-the-u-s-
government-stopped-funding-a-research-project-on-bats-and-coronaviru.
32
Nidhi Subbaraman, ‘Heinous!’: Coronavirus researcher shut down for Wuhan-lab link slams new funding
restrictions, Nature (Aug. 21, 2020), available at https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-02473-4.
33 Why It Matters That The NIH Cancelled a Coronavirus Research Grant, CBS 60 M INUTES (May 10, 2020),

available at https://www.cbsnews.com/news/nih-cancelled-coronavirus-research-grant-60-minutes-2020-05-10/.
Letter to Mr. Peter Daszak, PhD
Page 7

20. The EHA and WIV collected 15,000 bat samples, of which a subset of 50 bat samples “fall
into a category that caused the 2002 outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS),
and, now, the COVID-19 pandemic.”34

a. How many of that 50-sample subset are closely related to SARS-CoV-2?

b. Please provide any identifying information for each sample in this category.

21. External access ended on September 12, 2019, to the WIV password protected
Batvirus.whiov.ac.cn database containing at least 100 unpublished bat virus sequences, for
which Dr. Shi Zhengli is the administrator. 35

a. Did the WIV solely maintain the database related to research conducted under NIH
funding or is the database jointly maintained by EHA and the WIV?

b. Does EHA maintain an independent database from the WIV related to research
conducted under NIH funding?

22. Does EHA have copies of a virus database portal, created by China’s National Virus
Resource Center in Beijing, which is affiliated with the WIV?36 If so, describe these records,
and to what extent EHA will make these publicly available.

23. Please identify research project(s) that tested Remdesivir on the viruses EHA discovered
through its NIH-funded research and identify which EHA-discovered viruses were used.37

24. A patent application related to use of Remdesivir and chloroquine in the treatment for
COVID-19 was submitted jointly by the WIV with the Military Medicine Institute of the
People’s Liberation Army Academy of Military Science in January 2020.38 Were samples or
sequences derived from EHA’s work with the WIV used in research for this patent? If so,
please describe the samples or sequences used.

34
Nurith Aizenman, Why the U.S. Government Stopped Funding A Research Project On Bats And Coronaviruses,
(Apr. 29, 2020), available at https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2020/04/29/847948272/why-the-u-s-
government-stopped-funding-a-research-project-on-bats-and-coronaviru.
35 Julie Zaugg, The virus hunters who search bat caves to predict the next pandemic, CNN health (Apr. 26, 2020)

available at https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/26/health/virus-hunters-bat-cave-coronavirus-hnk-intl/index.html.
36
Editorial Board, We’re still missing the origin story of this pandemic. China is sitting on the answers, THE
WASHINGTON POST (Feb. 5, 2021), available at https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/02/05/coronavirus-
origins-mystery-china/?arc404=true.
37
Why It Matters That The NIH Cancelled a Coronavirus Research Grant, CBS 60 MINUTES (May 10, 2020),
available at https://www.cbsnews.com/news/nih-cancelled-coronavirus-research-grant-60-minutes-2020-05-10/.
38
Mark Terry, China’s Wuhan Institute Files to Patent the Use of Gilead’s Remdesivir for Coronavirus, Biospace
(Feb. 5, 2020), available at https://www.biospace.com/article/china-s-wuhan-institute-files-to-patent-the-use-of-
gilead-s-remdesivir-for-coronavirus/.
Letter to Mr. Peter Daszak, PhD
Page 8

Documents and Information Related to EHA and the WIV Research Facilities

25. Does EHA maintain its own laboratories? If so, what are the biosafety levels (BSL) for these
laboratories, and have researchers from the WIV worked there? If so, please describe the
type of research conducted at these laboratories, and at what BSL.

26. Was the WIV lab work funded by EHA carried out at BSL-2, BSL-3 or BSL-4 level? If
WIV work was carried out at various BSLs, please explain what type of work was conducted
at each of the different BSLs.

27. What types of animal models does WIV work with?

a. Are the animals housed in separate facilities with separate ventilation systems?

b. Was the animal work performed in an Animal Biosafety Level (ABSL) laboratory,
and if so, at what Biosafety Level ?

28. Did the WIV have any laboratory environmental monitoring or surveillance program in place
to minimize hazards to employees in 2019? If so, please provide details and include all WIV
violations for which EHA has direct or indirect knowledge.

29. What engineering and administrative controls as well as Personal Protective Equipment were
observed or leveraged at WIV in 2019? Please provide details and include all times for
which EHA has direct or indirect knowledge when safety protocols were not followed.

30. Please provide a list of all the coronaviruses that the WIV laboratories were working with in
2019 related to NIH award number R01AI110964.

EHA Financial Reporting

31. The Wall Street Journal reported that EHA received a July 8, 2020 letter from NIH
suspending award number R01AI110964 pending seven conditions reported by Nature, but
not all of those demands were specified in the Nature article.39 Did one of the unspecified
conditions of grant reinstatement relate to reporting of subawards or reporting about
subrecipients?

a. EHA is required to file end-of-month reports into the Federal Subaward Reporting
System (FSRS) following its issuance of sub-grant awards, then the report becomes
publicly available on the USAspending.gov website, which is the official open source
of federal spending.40 Five days after the NIH July 8, 2020 letter, according to

39
Betsy McKay, NIH Presses U.S. Nonprofit for Information on Wuhan Virology Lab, The Wall Street Journal
(Aug. 19, 2020), available at https://www.wsj.com/articles/nih-presses-u-s-nonprofit-for-information-on-wuhan-
virology-lab-11597829400; Niddhi Subbaraman, ‘Heinous!’: Coronavirus Researcher shut down for Wuhan-lab link
slams new funding restrictions, NATURE (Aug. 21, 2020), available at https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-
02473-4.
40
USAspending.gov, About (2021) available at https://www.usaspending.gov/. See Attachment A to this letter.
Letter to Mr. Peter Daszak, PhD
Page 9

USAspending.gov records, EHA entered multiple years of reports all on July 13,
2020, for NIH award number R01AI110964 subrecipients into the FSRS.41 Does
EHA’s July 13, 2020 data modifications in USA Spending reflect actions taken in
response to the July 8, 2020 NIH letter requesting EHA’s compliance with its award
terms and responsibilities?

32. EHA reported a $195,498 cash award disbursed by wire to “Institute of Microbiology of
Chinese Institute of” for “Grants and Assistance to Individuals Outside the U.S.” on its IRS
Form 990, calendar year 2019. 42 Please provide the full name and address of this recipient
institution, the nature of its relationship with EHA, and whether this institution has any
relation to the WIV.

a. Please identify U.S. government source(s) or agency for the $195,498 award, if
applicable.

33. EHA reported a $319,570 cash award grant and a $126,792 cash award grant disbursed by
wire to China for the purpose of “[u]understanding the risk of bat coronavirus emergence” on
its IRS Form 990, calendar year 2016. 43 The name of the organizations receiving the awards
were left blank.44 Please provide the full name and address of the organization(s) that
received these cash award grants.45

a. What is relationship between these organizations and EHA? Are these organizations
related to the WIV?

b. Please identify the U.S. government source(s) or agency for the $319,570 award and
the $126,792 award, if applicable.

34. EHA reported a $291,507 cash award disbursed by wire transfer to an unnamed recipient in
China for “Grants and Assistance to Individuals Outside the U.S.” on its calendar year 2016,
IRS Form 990.46 The grant assistance was described as “Coronavirus & Emerging
Diseases.” 47 Please provide the full name and address of the recipient, the relationship
between the recipient and EHA, and whether the recipient has any relationship to the WIV.

a. Please identify the U.S. government source(s) or agency for the $291,507 award, if
applicable.

41
USAspending.gov, EcoHealth Alliance Sub-Awards (last accessed Apr. 8, 2021), available at
https://www.usaspending.gov/award/ASST_NON_R01AI110964_7529.
42
Jessica Newman, Preventing the next global pandemic with EcoHealth Alliance, Global Impact (Aug. 31, 2020),
https://charity.org/give-global-blog/preventing-next-global-pandemic-ecohealth-alliance.
43
EcoHealth Alliance, EHA 990 final 2019, Schedule E, Parts I and II (Feb. 2018), available at
https://www.ecohealthalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/EHA-990-final-2016.pdf.
44
Id., Schedule F, Part II.
45
Id.
46
EcoHealth Alliance, EHA 990 final 2019, Schedule F, Part III (Feb. 2018), available at
https://www.ecohealthalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/EHA-990-final-2016.pdf.
47
Id.
Letter to Mr. Peter Daszak, PhD
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After the requested information has been provided, we ask that EHA provide a briefing to
Minority Committee staff to discuss the information that EHA has related to COVID-19 origins
and WIV. Your assistance with this request is greatly appreciated. If you have any questions,
please contact Alan Slobodin or Diane Cutler of the Minority Committee staff.

Sincerely,

__________________________________ __________________________________
Cathy McMorris Rodgers Brett Guthrie
Republican Leader Republican Leader
Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health

__________________________________
H. Morgan Griffith
Republican Leader
Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations

Attachment

CC: The Honorable Frank Pallone, Chairman

The Honorable Anna Eshoo, Chair, Subcommittee on Health
The Honorable Diana DeGette, Chair, Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations