EcoHealth Funding Suspension Is Pure Theater

Peter Daszak and the EcoHealth Alliance

Peter Daszak, the President of EcoHealth Alliance, is a key figure in the potential lab leak at the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) that may have triggered the Covid crisis. The US House Committee on Oversight and Accountability has conducted extensive research on Daszak and EcoHealth, and on May 1, 2024, they published a report. The report highlighted "serious and systemic weaknesses" in the federal government's grant-making processes, particularly those of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The report suggests that these weaknesses could potentially risk the national security of the United States and waste taxpayer dollars.

Committee's Recommendations

The Committee recommended some broad actions based on its findings. They suggested that Congress should control the unelected bureaucracy, particularly within government-funded public health. They also recommended that the Administration should recognize EcoHealth and its President, Dr. Daszak, as bad actors and ensure that they do not receive any more funding, especially for dangerous and poorly monitored research. Following these recommendations, the Health and Human Services (HHS) announced on May 15, 2024, that they had begun efforts to cut off all U.S. funding to EcoHealth. This decision was due to EcoHealth's alleged violation of multiple requirements of its multimillion-dollar NIH grant and supposed false statements to the NIH.

2020 Funding Suspension

It is important to note that this is not the first time EcoHealth's funding has been suspended. On April 24, 2020, the NIH canceled funding for WIV's gain-of-function research led by EcoHealth Alliance. This decision was due to suspicions that such research may have contributed to the Covid pandemic. However, the scientific community protested this decision, and in August 2020, the NIH reversed the cancellation and resumed funding for EcoHealth and WIV.

Current Suspension of Funds

Despite the strong language used in the announcement of the funding suspension, it appears that no actual funds have been suspended. The notice of suspension and proposed debarment sent to EcoHealth Alliance by HHS reassures the organization that these actions are not punitive. In fact, the notice states that if the head of the agency taking the contracting action determines there is a compelling reason to contract with Ecohealth, then the suspension and debarment are moot.

EcoHealth's Funding Sources

EcoHealth Alliance receives most of its funding from the State Department and the Pentagon. Since 2002, the organization has received more than $118 million in grants and contracts from federal agencies, with $42 million coming from the Department of Defense. Most of this funding was awarded through programs focused not on health or ecology, but on the prevention of biowarfare, bioterrorism, and other misuses of pathogens.

Questions for Peter Daszak

If the Committee were serious about investigating Peter Daszak and EcoHealth Alliance, they would ask questions about the organization's non-public health funding sources and projects, their involvement in biodefense/biowarfare research, and their role in the development of mRNA vaccines.

Conclusion

The US House Committee on Oversight and Accountability's investigations, reports, recommendations, and notices regarding Peter Daszak and EcoHealth Alliance seem to be purely performative. They impose no real consequences and ignore the fact that most of Daszak and EcoHealth’s funding comes from military and State Department sources for work on biodefense/biowarfare-related projects. Is the Committee's work just another example of bureaucratic incompetence and waste of taxpayer dollars? Or is it a deliberate diversion to distract us from the work the US government was funding at bioweapons labs like the one in Wuhan? What do you think about this matter? Share your thoughts with your friends and sign up for the Daily Briefing, which is everyday at 6pm.