NE Washington News

House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers, along with Subcommittee on Health Chair Brett Guthrie and Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations Chair Morgan Griffith, have penned a letter to Government Accountability Office Comptroller General Gene Dodaro. In the letter, they call for an examination of the National Institutes of Health's (NIH) safeguards against national security threats and unethical research practices, especially those involving China.

“We write to request that the Government Accountability Office (GAO) examine the extent to which the National Institutes of Health (NIH) adequately safeguards research funds from national security concerns related to the Chinese military or over the unethical use of human beings in research studies, especially from entities of concern in China,” the Chairs stated in their letter.

The Chairs specifically highlighted concerns regarding NIH funding linked to researchers affiliated with the “Seven Sons of National Defense,” questionable Chinese research entities like BGI, and the unethical use of data from Chinese ethnic minority populations such as Tibetans or Uyghurs.

Recent reports have underscored worries about the NIH's ability to detect national security issues. A Vanity Fair investigation revealed a decade-long history of warnings from the Department of Energy to the NIH regarding the potential misuse of U.S.-funded biology research by foreign partners. Additionally, reports from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General and GAO have pointed out problems with NIH safeguards concerning foreign grant recipients.

The letter comes on the heels of incidents like a Chinese student being detained at Dulles Airport due to suspicions of ties to the Chinese government or military, as well as concerns raised during the Committee's investigation into the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The request for a GAO study aims to shed light on the potential exploitation of NIH research by China for military advantage and unethical purposes, urging for increased scrutiny and safeguards to protect national security and ethical research practices.