Cathy McMorris Rodgers - Chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee | Official U.S. House headshot
Cathy McMorris Rodgers - Chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee | Official U.S. House headshot
Washington, D.C. — The House Energy and Commerce Committee released a report titled “Interim Staff Report into Risky MPXV Experiment at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.” The report details the Committee’s investigation, which was initiated following a 2022 Science magazine interview in which Dr. Bernard Moss of the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) revealed plans to insert segments of a lethal strain of MPXV (formerly known as “monkeypox”) into a more transmissible strain. This proposed experiment raised concerns among scientists about the risks of creating an enhanced version of the virus.
For nearly a year and a half, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), NIH, and NIAID misrepresented and deceived the Committee by repeatedly denying that the potentially dangerous experiment was proposed and approved. However, after persistent inquiries from Committee Leaders, HHS admitted Dr. Moss’s research team had been granted approval to conduct a bidirectional MPVX gene-transfer experiment. Documents reviewed by Committee staff confirmed the 2015 approval of the experiment and raised additional concerns.
HHS, NIH, and NIAID maintain that the riskier research project was never conducted but have not provided documentation or evidence to support this claim. NIAID has also failed to explain why Dr. Moss's team supposedly abandoned the bidirectional mpox gene-transfer experiment after receiving approval.
The report concludes with recommendations related to biosecurity to ensure future transparency and accountability for risky research.
Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), Subcommittee on Health Chair Brett Guthrie (R-KY), and Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations Chair Morgan Griffith (R-VA) released a statement regarding the report:
“In order to start rebuilding trust in our government health agency guidance, agencies like the NIH must be honest and transparent with Congress and the American people. This report demonstrates a disturbing lack of judgment and accountability from HHS, NIH, and particularly NIAID. It is unacceptable and demonstrates the clear need for reform.”
CLICK HERE to read the full report.
TIMELINE OF THE INVESTIGATION:
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