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■n[cheering] [speaking french])$ announcer: and during president

biden's state visit to france he and president macron on spoke on the french u.s. relations and welcome the news of four israeli hostages who were rescued from hamas. >> [speaking french] mr. president, ladies and

gentlemen, ambassadors. ladies and gentlemen, mr. president, you are honoring us with the state visit to france after your wife, dr. joe biden after the day in enormity. the allies were honored by your presence, and that of other leaders on june 6. another warm welcomeenjoyed whi, but this is a lot about the strength of foreign alliance and what brings france and the united states of america.

this is a unity of blood shed to address of theit is this bloodle connection between our two flags, our two nations, so thank you again for your presence. together with the president we discussed the great issues that we are facing, the first of which being ukraine. today in ukraine, men and women are fighting with remarkable courage, determined not to given face with the russian aggression, the unjustifiable aggression. jointly we have responded to extend support to this european nation, which is fighting for its survival and freedom and we will continue to do this as intensely and as lonnecessary, o thank you, sir, for the commitment of the united states

of america and the recent came to our side and played a critical role in this conflict. this conflict is all about the security and stability of all of europe. many thanks again, and i think we see eye to eye on this war raging in ukraine. we took joint decisions authorizing ukraine to fight back, strike its aggressor when defending its territory. we are, of course, making great efforts to arm, train, equip the ukrainian army, and we made remarkable decisions. we mentioned throughout the details of the war, as i said, reaching out there, during the g7 we both hope that all members of the g7 will agree to a $50

billion security fund and in the peace conference in switzerland, you will be represented there. this will be a critical stage as well, and of course the nato summit in washington, d.c. as regard to the ukrainian issue, we do see eye to eye. respect for international law, the freedom of peoples to determine their own future, through self-determination, and thank you for being at europe' aside. this close cooperation between france and united states concerns oer well. although there are many crises around the world we are still applying the selfsame principles with the same self determination. in gaza, we want to claim the immediate liberation of hostages, and weekend only welcomed the liberation of four hostages by the israeli army. we want to achieve an immediate

cease-fire and open up the prospect of a politica solution, which is the only one that can bring about a fair and lasting peace enemy the concern and security of both people, and th supporting the comprehensive proposes of the united states of america. after nine months of conflict the situation in rafah and human consequences are not acceptable. it is not acceptable that israel should not open all checkpoints to human humanitarian aid as requested by the united international community for months. u,israeli operations should stop and the united nations security council has a role to play. jointly we will double down to avoid regionalparticular in lebe are working on de-escalation and

on the institutional aspect into both countries working with both and indeed all stakeholders to ensure that all parties come back to their senses. regarding iran, we know the same thing. there is an all out escalation, unprecedented attacks against israel. operations of destabilization and the iranian nuclear program. both countries are determined to bring pressure to bear to counter this trend, and this was demonstrated recently a few days ago by jointly adopting a resolution at the international atomic energy agency, the selfsame determination is there. standards, and that is why we coordinate our efforts in africa, the crisis in sudan, the crisis in the east. the democratic republic of congo

, throughout the region. se of leadership will address the challenges of our time, especially those touching the most vulnerable countries. we do wish to achieve a fair international order. that is the meaning between the paris fact independent but also efficiencies for more efficient tech system. we are stepping up from coal energy. there will be the conference on the ocean, and we are mobilizing efforts on global health, and, indeed, we will be both involved in organizing the conference in paris. that is also what lies behind ■wthis proposition of an olympic truce, which wasposed just a couple of days ago.

on the economic front we are both concerned about china's unfair trade practices which bring about overcapacity. this is of such importance for the global economy that we have to act in a coordinated fashion. during in december 2022, i explained the reduction act on the european economy. we express of this again that this legislation is useful because it makes it possible -- indeed, it sets up the decarbonization of the american economy and the implementation of the paris agreements, but, of course, we want to reset as it were both of our economies. that is the european econo athef america in terms of regulation, investment, and at on such issues as clean tech, artificial intelligence, and food issues. we went to work on a bilateral level for better cooperation.

american students, scientists, entrepreneurs are more than welcome in this country. we wish there would be more of them. we also have cooperation since the state visit of december 2022 aroundhe civilian nuclear industry and the space industry. a number of agreements were signed. the artemis program and also proud to announce that the first american high-speed train built will be commissioned in the united states by years end, and that is also a sign of increased cooperation between our railroad industries, and this is a sign of economic cooperation, but also a step toward the energy transition to resorting to france's technological excellence. i would also like to signal the

importance of american investment in france. france will start a new foundation worth 100 million euros to promote university exchanges and exchange programs of research between our two countries. in particular, was very much involved. this comes after the success of a project where several cities in your country received as many as 180 creative's and intellectuals in about 50 cities. i would speak longer, but i would like to say that regarding the wars around the world, inflicting pain around the world, on the big international issues and on the bilateral front, together with presint biden we want to have a joint roadmap. we need to trust in the future, trust in progress, trust in

innovation. the determination to create jobs not just in the u.s., but europe as well. we won't be there when the economy is properly decarbonize d. we must not be naive. we need to find demanding solutions, but i would like to thank you, sir president, not just to be the greatest world power, but you being clear and loyal partner who respects europeans and to wants to build on these agreements from the ukraine through the middle east, to what we are picking up today on the economic front. thank you. thank you for being with us today, and thank you for hori paris, normandy, and ng these celebrations with your state visit.

thank you. pres. biden: mr. president, thank you. it has been a great honor to be here. in normandy, but it was a moving experience for a student of french history to be there. it was a moving experience for us, the whole delegation. you know, friends is our -- france is our first friend and remains one of our best friends. meaningful way, but before i begin my remarks i went to welcome president macron's remarks welcoming the news of the four hostages rescued. we will not stop working until all of the hostages are rescued and a cease-fire is reached. together the allied operation

saved europe and incredible heroes carried it out. ie this week 180 brave men who with such pride and a sense of devotion. i don't think anyone who got to meet them, shake their hands or hear their stories will never forget their stories or the look in their eyes and the pride they took of what they did, but you could also see the lost comrades at the same time. and the fact is i know i won't forget it. i want to thank president macron and the people to friends for our heroes feel so welcome, because they did feel welcome. you could feel it. you could see it. and we will never forget what they did. and this week we have shown the world once again the power of allies, what we can achieve when we stand together.

this relationship between france and the united states exemplifies this. we see ukraine, our two countries are standing with ukrainian people as they find out putin's -- fight off putin's brutal aggression. the sixsince we signed the natil security legislation earlier this year. i wish we could've done it when we want to do six months earlier, but we got it done. with $61 billion in additional aid in grain, and i commend france and our european allies for their leadership as well. the eu has provided over $107 billion in assistance ukraine since the war began because we know what happens if putin succeeds in subjugating ukraine, and it won't stop -- boudin -- putin is not going to stop it

ukraine. all of europe will be threatened. we will not let that happen. at the united states is standing strong with ukraine, we are standing with our allies and we are standing with friends. we will not -- i will say it again, walk away. another world and friends and united states are working together to and insecurity. in the indo pacific we stand together for freedom of navigation, transparent governance as well as fair economic practices. with north africa we were together on issues critical to peace and stability like security and counterterrorism. and the existential threat of climate change, which is just growing greater while working together to accelerate the global transition to net zero. it is the existential threat to human dignity -- humanity. i could go on. every day the french people and

american people are connected in countless ways through economic ties, collaboration in science and technology, educational exchanges. we have more americans coming here and we are afraid they will not come home. this is a tiful country. the fact is the cherished ties between our family and friends continues to grow. the bond between our nations are strong, fast, and rooted in the most important element. shared values. that is true today as it is been from the very start. in a few weeks the united states will celebrate the fourth of july, our day of independence. that day would not have been possible -- not hyperbole, not have been possible were it not for friends coming to our aid. we are a nation in large■s part because of friends. you stepped up when we needed help.

that would not have been possible without your support, without french support. today i proudly stand with friends to support freedom and democracy around the world. at that is what this particular week is all about. mr. president, there is much more we have a chance to talk about. i appreciate your cooperation and your insights. thank you, thank you, thank you. >> messy beaucoup -- [speaking french] thank you, mr. president. announcer: president biden and

his party were later guessed at a dinner with french president macron in here is a look. [speaking french] ♪

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>> good evening, mr. president.

>> thank you very much. [laughter] thank you very much. [speaking french] >> mr. president, dear joe, madame first lady, dr. joe biden -- jill biden. ladies and gentlemen, dear friends, my wife and myself are

very honored to be hosting you today with all of your delegation and all of our guests, because every time there is an occasion to celebrate that brings together americans and french people, the of 1776 is never far conjuring what is best between both of our countries. these warm feelings warned of a long deep friendship is further enhanced by the joy today of posting you official state visit to france. with a very present feeling of deja vu, indeed at .5 years ago you were hosting me washington d.c. in december 2022. thus demonstrating through regular visits how close we are in the reciprocal interest of our countries, and this year,

2024, foor all people who are attached to the franco-american relationship there is something to celebrate, because there is a reciprocal sacrifice for our independence and our freedom. indeed, this year we will celebrate the 200th anniversary of the farewell tour of the american revolution. i know that he is close in the hearts of all americans. we also commemorate the 80th anniversary of the landings in normandy. we stood side-by-side then as we did two days ago in normandie for the ceremonies on june 6 to bow our heads in the peaceful cemetery to remember their courage on the omaha beach we are so many of your countrymen gave their lives for a country

they had never been to before. never will we forget these from normandie to berlin helped to free up a continent in our country. their sacrifice has camongst ths a young man. will terrence. he was 18 when pearl harbor happened. at the age of 20, he was a radio operator working with your air force. he was at his duty post on d-day and the war led him everywhere in france, morocco, and all the way to ukraine. today harold has chosen our country. they are with us today, and they are just making their marriage

vows, so let us congratulate the young newlyweds. [applause] ■we are very pleased to here for your wedding, and so many relations have developed from sentiment to music, from literature to space, from energy

to transport, agriculture, and health. so many partnerships that have served to consolidate our literal relationship that we have further strengthened recently. this relationship makes it possible to affirm values. faced with a war of aggression by russia and ukraine and of the war in gaza. thank you for the initiative you have taken and that we support to be united in spite of our differences when the main values are at stake. this is what is our line across the atlantic. when it comes to defending our values it is special, because of course there is something special in our relationship. and there is something of a mutual fascination you find from

de tocquil miller. we love the american dream and you like the french lifestyle. we tend to besingularities, buth other for what we are, and it is to surprise to each and every one of us. when you see the affection you have for france, the way you have prepared to attend to the olympic and paralympic games, you remain our best allies, united. this is enshrined in the very name of the country. there should be a philosophy that inspires us, that inspires us to pay tribute to the greatest generation, and that is what binds us together today.

we will remain allies, and these are the values which 80 years down the road to keep us together, and this is why, mr. president, dear joe, dear jill, it is such an honor to have you in france on the occasion of this state visit that is in opportunity to celebrate our nd this very special relationship between our two nations, and indeed, our love for freedom. if i toast to the united states of arica, to friends, and indeed to the friendship between the united states and france.

[applause] >> mr. president, distinguished guests, one of the things that is been a legend in myamily. allegedly, i have been told by my grandfather that this was established. i have not found this yet. i am a son of the amerinrevolute

and never left so it makes me a son of the american revolution. maybe when of you genealogists can figure it out for me. france was her first ally, so that is not insignificant. the fact of the matter is you were with us to help us secure our freedom, and we are with you 170 years later to do the same. and ever since we remainnited, unyielding and unwavering in our partnership. that is what democracies do. it is been an extraordinary we care for us. i have been here a number of times over the years. i know i don't look at, but i am only for the years old. this is been the most remarkable trip i have ever made. together we celebrated d-day, the heroes, the story of the alliance and how together we

saved europe. and the people of france came to personally honor our veterans with such warmth and dignity. on all of the american people, we want to say thank you from the bottom of our hearts. when the american troops came to the shores 80 years ago on an audacious mission to liberate the continent, they each carried a book. and the book was called a pocket guide to frienfrance. it included hints like this. no bragging, the french do not like it. be generous, it will not hurt you. avoid controversial topics even if you took french in high school. and tried to follow at least one of those. the french are alls quote

happen to speak democracy in a different language. democracies are not just doing favors. we are fighting for each other. we all are in the same boat. the united states and france have always been there for one another. we stand together when the going gets tough. we stand together to defend the values that lie at the very soul of both of our nations, and i believe that to be the case today. liberty, equality, brotherhood. generation, people across both our nations have upheld these ideals, because we know when we stand as one hour countries are stronger, and literally the world is you have heard me say it before.

we stand at an inflection point in history. the decisions we make now will determine the course of our future for decades to come. we have a lot of opportunity, but a lot of responsibility, and we hope to know that france and the united states stand together w and always. as the pocket guide for france to americans might say we are rowing in the same boat. two france, the united states, may we continue to embrace democracy and may we always stand together. it has been an honor to be here. i am going to raise my glass. [applause] ■'♪

announcer: tune into c-span's live coverage of the 2020 for national political convention starting with the republican event in milwaukee on july 15. catch of the democrats as they can in chicago kicking off on august 19. stay connected to c-span forderd -- and unfiltered glimpse of democracy at work. watch on c-span, c-span now, and

online at c-span.org. c-span, your unfiltered view of politics powered by cable. announcer: next week on the c-span networks, the house and senate are in session. the house plans to bring a contempt of congress resolution against attorney general merrick garland for refusing to release audio interviews between special counsel and president joe biden. thjne house will take up the 205 defense programs and policy bill. the senate will vote on whether to protect access to in vitro fertilization. on thursday the administrator of the edible aviation administration testifies before the senate commerce committee on the manufacturing process and production quality. also on thursday at the microsoft vice chair brad smith testifies before the house homeland security committee on cyber security and implications for u.s. policy.

watchingexweek lives oc-span now, our free mobile video app. head over to c-span.org for scheduling information or to watch live and on-demand any time. ♪ >> the house will be in order. announcer: this year c-span brates 35 years of covering congress like in the weather. since 1979 we have been your ary source for capitol hill providing balanced, unfiltered coverage of government, taking you to where policy is debated and decided with the support of america's cable companies. c-span, 45 years and counting, powered by cable. announcer: dr. anthonyci is the former director of the national institute of allergy and infectious diseases. he testified on his role in overseeing the response to

covid-19. he wassk rollout of the covid-19 vaccine, the effectiveness of public health guidelines, and the origins of the virus. this runs about 3.5 hours. response to covid-19. he was asked about the rollout of the vaccine. the effectiveness of public health guidelines and the origins of the virus. this oversight hearing was held by the house select subcommittee on the coronavirus pandemi it runs about three and a half hours.

[inaudible conversations] >> my grandmother is dead because of you. >> trader. >> the select subcommittee on the coronavirus pandemic will come to order. i want to welcome everyone this morning. pursuant to committee on oversight and accountability rule 7b, members of the committee may participate in today's select subcommittee hearing for purposes of questions. at the discretion of the chair and%e on energy and

commerce, the chairman and ranking member of the committee on energy and commerce, subcommittee on oversight and investigations, mr. morgan griffith and miss kathy castor are permitted to participate in today's hearing for the purposes of questions, and give three minute opening statements.tion o clause 4a, three af house resolution five in clause 2j to see of house rule 11, the china recognize staff of the select subcommittee for questions for equal periods of time not to exceed 30 minutes here pursuant to rule 7d of the committee on oversight and■ accountability, mr. jordan and miss mosque which members of full committee may participate in today's hearing for the purposes of questions. i would like to remind members that the issues we're debating today are important ones and members feel deeply about. while vigorous disagreement as part of the legislative process,

members are reminded we must do enter to established standards of decorum and debate. there is reminder that it is a violation of house rules and the rules of this committee to engage in personalities regarding other members, or to question the motives of a colleague. remarks of that type are not permitted by the rules, they are not in keeping with the best tradition of our committee. the chair will enforce these rules of decorum at all times and urges all members to be mindful of their remarks. finally, without objection the chair may declare a recess at any time. i now recognize vessel for the purpose of making an opening statement. good morning and welcome, dr. fauci. first, i want to thank you for your decades of public service. you served your country through multiple epidemics, pandemics,

and health crises. i do want to say i'm sorry about the threats you have received. as someone who has been shot at and received threats as well, my heart goes out to you. this should never happen in america. regardless they need to scream have, you chose to serve, , ando what extent our appreciation and gratitude. i want to thank you publicly for working with our doctors caucus during operation warp speed and the time you spend with us and dr. collins. also want to thank you for your willing cooperation with the select subcommittee. you have voluntarily set for more than 14 hours of testimony, and are appearing voluntarily today. this is more than we can say about other witnesses we have called, and we appreciate it. dr. fauci, we here to investigate the covid-19 pandemic and to explore lessons learned. positive or negative, and to better prepare for future

pandemics. simply put, , america cannot moe forward though■1 without looking back. we must know what went right and what went wrong in order to best ingrain proficiencies, and remedy decisions. in 15 months the select subcommittee has spent more than 115 investigative letters, conducted 30 transcribed interviews, resulted in hundreds of hours of testimony, hel including today 27 hearings are briefings, and reviewed more than 1.5 million pages of documents. we are not here to throw the baby out with the bathwater. that's not the intent. we are following facts, holding wrongdoers accountable, and planning for a better more prepared future. beginning early in 2020 20u became the figurehead of public you.th. you got bobbleheads made in your like this.

you were on cover of "vogue." through out the first pitch at a washington nationals game. almost overnight, you became a celebrity and a household name. in addition to being a public health official. americans from coast to coast and beyond listened to your words, and this is what i think we could've done better. and this goes to both sides of the aisle. we should've been more precise we should've used words and phrases that are accurate and not misleading. and we should have an honest, spatial about what we didn't know. dr. fauci, i'm not a virologist bought him a physician. like most physicians we are constantly learning which is why we do continuing medical education and would always seek new information. we learn new things based on new data, i want to get our patients the best possible care based on new findings and improvements in science. at a time when you were

prompting proximal origin paper whose focus was to, call, disproves the lab leaked three, end quote, i was in lockdown researching with another physician in ohio to try to understand the pathology, the effected physiology, and what treatments worked, and even how to diagnose covid before we had specific covert tests. my friend even made a phone call to an infectious disease doctor in china, looking for help. as well during that time we discovered the barrett sheet 2015 particle in creating using gain of function type technology. while policy decisions should have been based on scientific data, some frankly were not. the burden some six-foot social distancing rule did not have sufficient scientific report. in your words, , it just sort of distancing made sense but the 16th was arbitrary.

even doctor called and said he still hasn't seen any empirical evidence to support the six-foot rule. a will that shut down schools and businesses, rule that will have negative ramifications for decades. as a pandemic war on, more mandates also just sort of appeared. see the scientific datadidn't to support these mandates. americans were aggressively bullied, shame, and silenced for merely questioning or debating issues such as social distancing, masks, vaccines, or the origins of covid. many americans were willing to comply with the 15 days to slow the spread, and understood the necessity of banning travel from certain countries in attempt to slow down the virus.

but many americans became very frustrated when components of those 15 days stretched into years. and it should not have been the case that americans were forced to comply with the press of mandates when those who chose to illegally across our southern border were not. or in governor newsom, governor whitmer, were throwing parties nice restaurants. not a good look. americans do not hate science, but america no hypocrisy when they see it. dr. fauci, under your leadehip the united states health agencies adopted specific policy aims at the single dogmatic truth. without the benefit of debate, out of desire for a single narrative. dr. fauci, you once said if you disagree with me, you disagree with science. science doesn't belong to any one person. i was never taught that side turns a blind eye to hypotheses.

they served to be proven or disproven, and done so with irrefutable facts, if able. it was interesting that you chose not to pursue an aggressi and transpant scientific investigation of both natural spillover and lab leak. we've been investigating both hypotheses. you testified before the select subcommittee in your transcribed interview that the lab leak theory was not a conspiracy theory. you embraced the proximal origin letter. it wasn't necessarily a full peer-reviewed research paper, but you embraced the lid and shared it with the public from the white house lawn. you stated during your transcribed interview that you articles that considered a potential lab leak of covid-19. this is especially concerning if the works in question were conducted at a more risky and less safe bsl two lab.

nevertheless, any dissent from your chosen scientific position was immediately labeled as anti-science. anything less than completely submission to the mandates could cost you your livelihood, your ability to go into public, your child's ability to attend school. families were thrown off planes and shame when their two-year-old struggled to wear a mask. children with disabilities lost access to therapies that they and their families depended on. students were out of the classroom and told to attend school remotely, even when the science clearly demonstrated it was safe for them to go back in the classroom. this harm low income students most. and how were single-parent household supposed to teach their own children and work at the same time?

dr. fauci, you oversaw one of the most invasive regimes of domestic policy the u.s. has ever seen, including mass mandates, school closures, vaccination, social distancing of 60 and more. we learned many lessons. our early fear and confusion was understandable. covid-19 was clearly a novel virus. under your leadership niaid allowed disgrace characters like dr. peter does it to use millions in taxpayer dolrs gainn experiments in wuhan, china. the actions of eco-health and doctor dynastic call into question thef niaid policies and procedures as a whole as well as your role, dr. fauci, as the director. you did cite off on his research

grant. we need to know why doctor david aboard your direct report from other two decades assisted dr. daszak and avoiding oversight and scrutiny and said that you were involved. your senior advisor and seemingly your chief of staff repeatedly attempted to evade transparency laws to shield information from public scrutiny. we have senior officials from the office in their own writing discussing breaking federalial d sharing private government information with grant recipients. the office you directed and those serving under your leadership chose to flout the law, and bragged about it. why did you allow your office to be unaccountable to the american people? you with a highest-paid person in the government. this makes you more accountable to the people, , not less. dr. fauci, whether intentional or not, he became so powerld wid

censored on social and most legacy media time and time again. this is why so many americans became so angry, because this was fundamentally un-american. when i make a mistake i answered the people of our religion into my own conscience. when you and your agency made mistakes, dr. fauci, what happened? we all need to be held accountable.pí sometimes it's a simply saying we were wrong. you took the position that you presented the science. your words came across to so many people as final and as infallible in matters pertaining tohe pandemic. but such rigid demands of an ideologically diverse people like americans shattered public trust and american health

institutions. because i said soz2 has never bn good enough for americans, and it never will be. it's built into the american spirit. we have a thirst for information, a dry for advancement. americans were first in flight. we landed on the we have cured diseases. you have been part of that. and when made innumerable discoveries in expirations that forever changed humanity. americans do not want to be indoctrinated. they want to be educated. and they prefer to make their health decision in conjunction with the doctor that they know and trust. to be successful our federal public health institutions must be accountable to the people again. to beealthzations must do what y are supposed to do, protect

americans. i look forward to a robust and on-topic discussion. i thank you. i would now like to recognize ranking member ruiz for the purpose of making and opening statement. >> thank you, mr. chairman. hello, dr. fauci, and thank you for being here. when i was named ranking member of the select subcommittee last february i made a■■ commitment o follow the facts and objectively analyzing the origins of the covid-19 pandemic. i may be promised to keep an open mind about how the pandemic started because understanding whether the novel coronavirus emerge from your lap or from nature it is essential to better preventing and preparing for future public health threats and to better protecting the american people. and as of the origins of the novel coronavirus still remain inconclusive, i stand by these commitments to this day. but nearly a year and effort into house republicans extreme and chaotic majority, i believe we need to take stock of what the select subcommittee has accomplished and whether it is meaningful improved our proper

disk for the next public health threat in our nation. under the guise of investigating the pandemics origins, housens republicans have advocated their responbicame to be and instead weaponized concerned about a lab related origins to fuel sentiment against our nation scientists and public health officials for partisan gain. they have done so with one particular public health official in mind, dr. anthony fauci. and they've done so in an effort to deflect blame and anguish for the damage the -- away from the former president who stole the pandemic response by some estimates led to 400,000 unnecessary covid-19 deaths, , d doctor dr. fauci who worked tirelessly to stem the crisis. over the past 15 months the sele over more than 425,000 f documents, provided to us i government agencies,

universities and private citizens. we've contacted more than 100 hours of closed-door interviews with 20 20 current and former federal officials and scientists. and what we have found is a following. dr. fauci did not find research to the alliance grant the costa covid-19 pandemic. dr. fauci did not lie about gain in function research in wuhan, china, and dr. fauci debt orchestrated campaign to suppress the lab leaktv theor after 15 months the select subcommittee does not possess a shred of evidence to substantiate these extreme allegations that republicans have levied against dr. fauci for nearlyr years. now i want to make something very clear. in the past month the select subcommittee has held hearings where we have examined various serious issues of misconduct.

following the fact subcommittee democrats have found troubling by dr. daszak including potential efforts to mislead the federal government about the nature of its work through the evasion of reporting and transparency requirements. in less than two weeks away from dr. david about his flagrant violation of the freedom of information act transparency requirements at the potential destruction of federal records. both doctors deserve to be held accountable for betraying the public's trust. to hold them accountable is not anti-sites but it is the defense of our federal scientific and research institutions decades long legacy of a dancing e scientific enterprise to safeguard human health. but baselessly suggesting without evidence that these discrete instances of misconduct are equivalent to our nation scientists and public health officials causing the covid-19 pandemic, which is killed more

than 1 million americans and afflicted immeasurable toll honor society is also a betrayal of the public's trust, which each of us are stewards of as elected members of this body. today's hearing comes at a pivotal moment for our nation's public health. with the darkest days of the covid 19 pandemic behind us, thanks to the biden administration's leadership we are now faced with a crisis of declining confidence in the very sites and public health intervention that lifted our society from one of the most our nation's history. and as a look to the future we find yourselves at a fork in the road. we can go down the path of fueling mistrusts and interventions that they does like vaccines, a social distancing and the public health officials like dr. fau who worked tirelessly and with was extremely limited and evolving

information about a novel virus to save lives during one of the greatest crisis of our times, or we can work constructively on the forward-looking policies and solutions we know are necessary to prevent and better prepare us for the public health threats that are yet to come. since my first day as ranking member i set out to take the latter path, the path the putting people over politics and prioritizing solutions to better prepare us for the next pandemic. and it has been my hope the republicans which would js in the forward looking work that will better protect our constituents. potentially risky research domestically and abroad is an essential part of this conversation and so is closing pathways for zoonotic treasures of viruses in nature and investing in our public health infrastructure to ensure the future viruses arrive we are ready. when democrats were in the majority we made forward strides

in the subjects of bypassing the consolidated appropriations act of 2023 which strengthens protections against undue research, improved training and transparency for the handling of select agents, paved the way for the editor agency fortify zoonoe in our infectious disease workforce, and enhanced our supply chain preparedness and ability to rapidly develop and deploy medical countermeasures. and ahead of today's hearing more than 90 health and medical organizations, including the american public health association, the american college of physicians, the american academy of family physicians, infectious disease society of america, the association of state and territorial health officials, at the national association of county city health officials wrote to the select subcommittee urging us to, quote, stand

against efforts to weaken the ability of the nation's public health agencies to protect the nation's health.p■ and to take additional action to fortify our nation's public infrastructure.e i seek in an the consent to enter this letter into the >> without objection. >> as we center today i have not lost hope that in the remaining months of the select subcommittee we can work together to build on this lac og the origins of the novel coronavirus a part of this forward-looking work. i stand by mike commitments i madeer to make a series bows look at all possibilities for the origins of covid-19 pandemic. every member of this select subcommittee on this critical important mission so that we can save future lives. and i believe i still have some time left so with that i would

like to recognize mr. raskin with the remaining time. >> thank you, doctor rees. public health is a matter of urgent and comprehensive public concern. under donald trump when the covid-19 pandemic began and spun out of control, , we came closeo becoming a failed state which the political scientist defined as a state that cannot deliver the basic goods of the distance to its people. according to dr. deborah birx, donald trump's own covid-19 advisor, america and the sister lost hundreds of thousands of people because of the recklessness and indifference of donald trump and his administration. now the people who brought you the political big lie claimant absurdly that trump won the 2020 than 7 million votes, now bring you the medical big lie, making the almighty claim that dr. fauci was responsible for causing covid-19 come using the

select subcommittee as a platform for this disinformation, house republicans do find themselves in a similar position where the ow investigation debunks that runaway political rhetoric. just like the product to his impeachment drive proved only that there were no presidential crimes, much less high crimes and■8 misdemeanors at rebuttal o joe biden, investigation of dr. fauci shows he is an devoted his entire career to the public health and the public interest, and he is not a comic book super villain. he did not find research to create the covid-19 pandemic. he did not lie to congress about gain of function research in rouhani committee did not organize a lab leak suppression can -- wuhan. his testimony along with the thousands of pages of documents and dozens of closed-door testimony provided to house republicans as part of the covid origins investigation will dispel these hysterical claims

and revealed that the people bowing down to a twice impeached convicted felon who told americans to inject themselves with a bleach now want you to believe not only a big political lie but a big medical lie, too. i hope that this committee will be able to correct all of the propaganda of disinformation today and we will be able to actually return to what the good ranking member has said, which is an authentic investigation of the origins of the pandemic. and i will yield back to the gentleman. >> i yield back. >> i now recognize mr. griffith for three minutes statement. >> good morning. i want to again thank the leadership of this committee for including the energy and commerce committee in this hearing. dr. fauci, the recent revelations that a senior advisor and a chief of staff greg routinely evaded federal records laws including the freedom of information act or foia and those were a shock. it was a shock that i've been

doing oversight now forve at 14d the skill of the effort to evade institute of allergy and infectious disease or niaid surprised even me. these men were among the most senior and trusted staff at an agency you lead for nearly 40 years. there worked for you for decades. your calendars show you met with the multiple times a week during the pandemic. you co-authored dozens of papers with doctor moran's. he directly implicates you en the head of the niaid for the office was apparently an on some of this conspiracy. adenoma called on the other side led to say were always talking conspiracy, or when the facts lead you there, what you knew about it or not, when the facts lead to the to 82 was involved in some form of a conspiracy related to covid origins, we have to follow those facts. it is hard to believe that all of this occurred without your

knowledge and for approval. in civil law when one party h destroyed or refused to produce evidence that's within its possession, a jury is allowed to draw an adverse inference that information destroyed or not produced was unfavorable, therefore, to we get a full accounting of all of the committee geisha and among niaid leadership it's reasonable for us to assume that missing information would mirror the private doubts expressed by some of virologist and of the scientists related to your public position. while telling the public and media and congress that covid-19 merge from nature, experts you convened privately worried that her research with incident was a possible if not the probable origin of the virus. dr. anderson visit in

february 2020 quote, i think the main thing still in my mind is the lab escape version of this is so frickin' likely to have happened because they're already doing this type of work and molecular data is fully consistent with that scenario. further, while you end of the niaid officials were ushering as the virus could not have come from the wuhan institute of virology, niaid actually had i guessed what the full scope of wuhan screen virus research was or even the trajectory of its gain of function research. that may because eco-health was giving you the reports a a grh that by this joint investigation has shown just how little oversight niaid does a risky experiments involving potential pandemic pathogens. niaid said the system is deniede night agreement risky expense, while avoiding hhs department level review. the same program officers who act as advocates for their

scientific area are responsible for assessing whether a limit is too dangerous. that creates a conflict of interest. i think that means that when we the final approval we ought to take a final approval away from agencies like niaid that find it. on one. i yield back. now recognize ms. castor for three-minute statement and i will apply shoe another 30 seconds as well. thank you, dr. fauci for your appearance today and for your decades of service to our country. during your 39 years at the helm of america's leading health research institute, a national institute of allergy and infectious diseases, you tackle some of the most serious health threats including aids, zika, a bola, sars-cov-2 on and covid-19. your leadership and service to republican and democratic administrations and all americans saved countless lives and resources. we owe you a debt of gratitude.

while the evidence today points to covid-19 having originated from an animal market in china, the chinese, his party has blocked access to important information that could help confirm the origin of the virus. this committee should be doing more to fight for those answers, but instead is wasted significant time and taxpayer money fueling conspiracy theories and ignoring the importance of preparing for the next deadly pandemic. some gop members falsely claim you thickly broke into ciars an. others claim you committed crimes. america's adversaries like china, russia and iran love it when americans are divided and distracted. it provided fertile ground for the spread of misinformation about covid-19 by our adversaries. and, unfortunately, fringe far right conspiracy theories have permeated even mainstream media

outlets, and some republican members of congress have played along. i regret that many of the conspiracies have smeared you, dr. fauci. as you and our top scientist did eryt americans safe during the deadly days of covid-19. over 1.1 million americans lost lives to covid-19, and today it is still more deadly than the flu. as we learned from zika and ebola, the ways viruses are transmitted are not obvious at first. and the development of treatments and vaccines take time. what you and your team did to speed the development of the safe and effective covid-19 vaccine was remarkable. that fast timeline was only possible due to use federal investment if the national institutes of health, and support for medical research from the united states. ■p so one of the lessons learned from the pandemic is a need to

continue to invest in medical health research in the u.s. for cancer, for heart disease, for diabetes, but also to prepare for the next pandemic. we must learn from the past so we can keep americans safe. that's what democrats have worked hard to update america's pandemic preparedness law, the pandemic and all hazards preparedness act, two short public health and make us more prepared to tackle the next pandemic threat. it's not too late for republicans to join u least pron modern history into one where we are all focused on solutions for the american people, to make our country safer and stronger. democrats were able to prevent harmful rollbacks in medical research last year, and to urge my gop colleagues to join us and move away from threatening and undermining american medical research at every turn. public health threatsre constantly emerging.

in the past month alone we have been tracking new strains and variants of h5n1, mpox and sars-cov-2. dr. fauci, i'm sorry for the personal attacks you have received and may have to deal with today, but while y are here i want you to know that the vast budget of americans appreciate your work over the years. i look forward to continuing to learn from you, to learn everything possible to how we can take the next, take the pandemic lessons learned and put them to use to help keep our communities safe and healthy. thank you and i yield back. >> thank you. our witness today is dr. anthony fauci. dr. fauci was the root of the national institute of allergy and infectious diseases from 1984-2022. 2022. and chief medical advisor to president joe biden from 2021-

2021-2022. pursuant to committee on oversight and accountability g, the witness will please stand and raise his right hand. do you solemnly swear or affirm that the testimony that you are about to give is a truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you god?■s thank you. let the record show that the witness answered in the affirmative. the select subcommittee certainly appreciate you for being here today and we look forward to your testimony. let me remind the witness that we have read your written statement and it will appear in full in the hearing record. as requested please limit your oral statement to six minutes. as reminder please pass the button on the microphone in front of you so that it is on and the members can hear you. when you begin to speak the light in front of you will turn green. after five minutes the light will turn yellow, and when the red light comes on your six

minutes has expired and we would ask you please wrap up. i never recognized dr. fauci to give an opening statement. >> mr. chairman,, ranking member ruiz, members of the subcommittee, thank you for this opportunity to testify. prior to my retirement from federal service in december 2022, i have been have been at the nh for 54 years and director of niaid for#w■ore than 30 years. in this post deeply involved in scientific and publicealth response through several infectious diseases outbreaks including hiv/aids, pandemic flu, ebola and zika, and so under my leadership we were well position to respond to covid-19. for at least two decades prior to the covid outbreak wet niaid had invested billions of dollars in research on mrna technology and image and designed both of which led to the swiss government of covid vaccines. less than 11 months after the identification of this new virus, safe and highly effective vaccines were widely available

and unprecedented aomhment in history of vaccinology that sit ins of millions of lives worldwide. i will now use my remaining time to directly address certain issues that have been seriously distorted concerning me. the first issue concerns my actions regarding the possibility that sars-cov-2 might've resulted from a lab leak. on january 311, 2020, i was informed in phone calls from jeremy farrar, the direct of the wealthy trust in the uk and did with christian andersen a highly regarded scientists at scripps research institute that they and 80 homes, and world-class evolutionary for a legit from concerned that the genomics sequence of sars-cov-2 suggested the virus could of beenlated in. i participate in the conference call the next day with about a dozen international virologists to discuss this possibility

versus the spillover from an animal reservoir. the discussion was lively with arguments with both possibilities. two two participants have tesd before this subcommittee that i did not try to steer the discussion in any direction. participants with more carefully examine the sequence. after this further examination several, who at first were concerned about lab manipulation, became convinced that the virus was not deliberately manipulated. they concluded that the most likely scenario was a spillover from an animal reservoir, although they still kept an open mind. they are properly published opinion in the peer-reviewed literature. the accusation being circulated that i influenced these scientists to change their minds by bribing them with millions of dollars in grant money is

absolutely false, had no input t of the published paper. the second issue is a false accusation that i tried to cover up the possibility that the virus originated from the left. in fact, the truth is exactly the opposite. i now quote from an email t i sent to professor for our on february one, 2020, quote, jeremy, , i just got off the phe with christian anderson and he related to me his concern about the mutation in the bike protein in the virus. i told him that as soon as possible he and eddie holmes should get a group of evolutionary urologist together to carefully examine the data to determine if his concerns are validated and they should report it to the appropriate authorities there i would imagine in the usa this would be

the fbi, and in the uk it would be mi-5. in the meantime, i will alert my u.s. government official colleagues of my conversation with you and christian, and determine what further investigation they recommend. let us stay in touch. best regards, unquote. it is inconivable that anyone who reads■b this email e-d conclude that i was trying to cover up the possibility of a lab leak. i have always kept an open mind to the different possibilities. another issue is that the dr. david morens who has the title of senior advisor to the niaid director, and he recently began, has been investigating after investigating for conduct unbecoming a government official. naturally given his title, a connection is made to me. with respect to his recent testimony before this subcommittee, i knew nothing of

his actions regarding dr. daszak, eco-health, or his e-mails. it is important to point out for the record that despite his title, it even though he was helpful to me in writing scientific papers, dr. morens was not an advisor to me on institute policy or other substantive issues here at niaid weed weekly executive committee meetings of the institute leadership and daily morning meetings of my staff. and to the best of my recollection he attended neither of these. furthermore, his office is located in a different blding from that of the niaid director. finally, in a majority staff memorandum of may 22, 2024, there was a statement, quote, dr. fauci myth conducted official business by a personal

e-mail, unquote let me state for my knowledge i have never conducted official business using my personal e-mail. thank you for listening. i would be happy to address these and any other issues in the discussion period. >> thank you. i now recognize myself as much time as a may consume for questions with equal time being forwarded to the ranking member. dr. fauci, february 1, 202100 call with dr. bera, dr. collins and others regarding potential to covid-19 with engineered. was cdc director raphael arbuckle. >> was brokers no, he was not. >> dr. fauci, yet said you had to rely on virologists and evolutionary biologists regarding or just because you are not an expert. this dr. redfield virologist? >> i believe he is. >> he is.

>> prior to the pandemic niaid awarded at least three grants via the new york blood center to a doctor. are you already. >> funds are, to doctor. >> are you aware of those grants? [inaudible] >> doctor use and is now. i've expert mike focus not on, doctor. >> i'm not familiar with that name. >> okay. well, niaid awarded at least three grants via the new york blood center to that scientist. high-ranking chinese pla facial director of for lf the chinese academy of military medical science. does it concern you if you taxpayer dollars are funding someone like this? >> grants that are submitted to

the niaid goes through a very speedy does it concern you? on the part process. does it concern you that u.s. taxpayer dollars would be going to someone was a high-ranking chinese pla facial? yes or no? >> i would to know more about that, mr. chairman, because of even know who you talk about. >> are your we ever were that the u.s. state department in 2005 issued warnings that the chinese government was working on the creation of bioweapons? >> i was not aware of that. >> did you ever discuss the chinese bioweapons program with anyone in the intelligence community? >> i never discussed the chinese bioweapons program to my nose with anybody. >> before during or after the covid-19 pandemic did you speak to the fbi, cia, dia or any use intelligence agencym& concerning viral research of any kind? >> what, what time frame are you talking about. >> as i said befor covid-19 panu

speak to the cia, dia, or any use intelligence agency concerning viral research of any >> i can't give you specifics of it, but not in the type of the had a number of briefings of, by agency that were intelligence agencies, i don't know who they were. it could've been any of the above that you mention, about the possibility that there were bioweapons that followed it the fans of i.e., terrorists, that might've beentr attack. that was at a a time when we d thought that the anthrax -- >> i appreciate that. appreciate your expertise in that. >> that's the answer.

>> but did you at any time talk to concerning viral research of any kind? >> again, i time that there was concern about the fact that al-qaeda may have been using a potential using bioweapons, we had discussions with intelligence agencies about that but not as related speedy but not as related to covenanting. >> was not to my knowledge to covid but let me make sure we get the facts. after the investigations began about covid, i was briefed by intelligence agencies about possibilities of their activities going on in different laboratories. i was briefed by intelligence agencies. >> thank you. science is always open to debate and it's a benefit.

science supported restricting travel from certain countries at the beginning of the pandemic, and after these orders went into racist and xenophobic. dr. fauci, you said in your transcribed interview that you supported those orders. dr. fauci, were those orders racist in the xenophobic? >> no, they were not. >> thank you. vaccines save millions of lives and want to thank you for your support and engagement on that. however, despite statements to p transmission of thethe covid-19n of the virus? >> that is a complicated issue because in the beginning the first iteration of the vaccines did have an effect, not 100%, not a hot effect, they did prevent infection and subsequent obviously transmission.

however, it's important to point out something that we did not know early on that became evident as the months went■+ bys that the durability of protection against infection and hence the transmission was relatively limited, whereas the duration of protection against severe disease, hospitalization and death was more prolonged. we did not know that at the beginning. in the beginning it was felt that, in fact, it did prevent infection and thus but that was proven as time went by to not be a durabztle effect. >> didn't have a positive effect for many people especially those who are vulnerable but we knew from the trials the people thatt to getting covid. so wasn't the covid axing 100% effective? >>s 100% effective. >> i now recognize the ranking

member dr. ruiz from california for five minutes of questions. >> thank you. over the past year and half my coat on the other side of the aisle have relentlessly vilified dr. fauci under the guise of investigating the origins of the covid-19 pandemic. but after reviewing nearly half the main pages of documents contacting 20 20 closed-door interviews and receiving testimony from nearly a dozen witnesses brought before this select subcommittee for public hearing, theye empty-handed for evidence of their extreme allegations that dr. fauc lied about gained a function research at the want institute of virology and cause the covid-19 pandemic. so i'd like to address both of the republican claims in turn. throughout the madurese investigation the select subcommittee hazard three definitions for gain of the thre republicans have relied heavily on it overly broad definition

that has no regulatory significant. let me repeat that. no regulatory significance. in fact, their definition is so broad it would include the mafa flu vaccines as gain of function. because it is so broad, the national institute ofjh health o set using that definition when assessing whether proposed research is or is not quote-unquote gain of function research. for those assessments and ihs is set to properly use the definitions provided in regulations and to be clear, the select subcommittee has been reminded by witnesses after witness that nih at all times referred to regulations for the definition of gain of function s expansive definition with no legal bearing, that is so broad it could apply to again the manufacturer of flu vaccine.

dr. fauci, according to the regulatory definitions for example, in that nih applied to propose research, did nih ever fund gain of research in wuhan, china? >> as youegulatory and operative definition of p3co the nih did not fund gain of function research at the wuhan institute of virology. thank you. despite my republican colleagues effort to fit a square peg into a round hole, it seems to be that you've been consistent on this issue from the beginning of the pandemic. and they know this but they still use the terms gain of function loosely. and with respect to niaid staff assessment of whether proposed research was or was not gain of function research, were you personally involved in those assements,r were those assessments made several levels removed from you and by subject

matter experts? >> those assessments were done by highly qualified and experienced program people several levels below me. >> thank you. and your public statement that nih did not find gain of function research in wuhan made by night subject matter expert applying a definition found in the regulation note as the p3co raymer, is that correct? >> that is correct. >> thank you. thank you for clarifying that. in fact, all of that is abundantly clear in your 2021 senate testimony on this matter when asked by the said about gain the function research you testified, quote, that is why we have committees. we have a p3co committee. he also testified in 2021, quote, gain the function is a very nebulous term. we have spent, not as but outside bodies, a considerable amount of effort to giving more precise definition to the type

of research that is a concern that might lead to a dangerous situation. you are aware of that. that is called p3co. that was back in 2021. at the time of your may 2021=p testimony, p3co have been the operative definition of gain of function research for several years, correct? >> that is correct. >> so i will note that at your transcribed interview in january the majority conceded that nih did not fund research in wuhan, that met the criteria of p3co. i encouraged the audience to read the transcript of that interview see you can evaluate a of the majorities claims for yourselves. so now if we could quickly turn to the irresponsible and false accusation that you created sars-cov-2, the virus responsible for the covid-19 pandemic. to this accusation centers on a grand niaid awarded to ecohealth alliance with a sub award to the

wuhan institute of virology. and we been entertained earlier about the suggestion that this funding could've possibly gone to a bioweapons research capacity as well. so i want to be clear, no evidence provided to the select subcommittee demonstrates that the work performed under nih funding incdi the wuhan institute of virology led to the creation of sars-cov-2. the majority has failed to demonstrate or even credibly suggest that any of the viruses studied under the grant could even possibly have been the progenitor virus. dr. fauci, could you briefly explain why none of the viruses studied under the echo health alliance grant could've been the progenitor virus of the sars-cov-2? >> when you're talking about the evution of a virus from one to another, the viruses that were studied under the sub award to the one institute that have been

reported in progress reports in the literature and published papers, those viruses were genetically so far removed from sars-cov-2 that it is molecularly impossible for those viruses to have evolved or being made into sars-cov-2. it's just a very logical fact. they were so far removed that it could not possibly be a progenitor of sars-cov-2. so want to be very clear on this point that the funding in the research conducted by ecohealth did not produce sars-cov-2. that doesn't negate that this lab could come another lab could've been doing research and it could've leaked from a lab is still a possibility but it was not directly -- it was not funded by niaid or nih and just for the record, this information

was ovided by nih to the oversight ranking member james comer nearly three years ago and october 2021. so despite the clear evidence that dr. fauci and his agency did not find gain of research under the c-3po definition of the virus instead of the federally funded grant ecohealth alliance grant could not have been the progenitor virus for sars-cov-2, republicans have levied these unsubstantiated allegations going very well that they are not true. they've doneh their extreme partisan narrative that public health officials caused the covid-19. covid-19 pandemic. >> yield back? >> yes. >> not reckon is the chairman of the full committee mr. comer from kentucky for five minutes for quite a. >> thank you. dr. fauci, in the opening statement you attempt to distance yourself from yourdvisr marines. you say dr. morens title was just make up, that he was not

and if i should do and that his office was in a different building. to you? >> actually i'm not sure exactly what the on paper report is. he is senior advisor to the director but it is conceivable we can give information. he might have reported through someone lower like -- >> so your senior advisor did not report directly to? >> there were very few people report directly to me okay. could walk and your office anytime he wanted to get is that you? >> no. that's not true. you don't just walk into the office running, he's up there. i mean it's conceivable speedy did he ever wanted your office?é >> i was a did occasionally but the idea -- can finish the >> no, because i'm a lot of questions. did you ever delete an official record? >> no. >> dr. fauci, did you ever conduct official business via email? >> to the best of my recollection and knowledge i have never conducted official

business via my private e-mail. >> so there's a troubling pattern of behavior from your in a circle. not just dr. morens but also your chief of staff. do you agree that violates niaid policy views persona purp? >> the dr. morens issue that was discussed by this committee violates nih policy, yes. >> is using official e-mail, using a personal email for official business come to zap eyelet policy using a personal e-mail for official business violence in eight policy. >> does it violate in a, niaid policy to delete records and to avoid for you? >> yes. >> okay. on april 20, 202020, dr. morens

edited and eco-health s release regarding the grant termination. does that violate policy? >> that was inappropriate for him to be doing that for a grantee as a conflict of interest among other things. .. is that riley policy? >> it was wrong and inappropriate violated policy. >> doctor moran spoke to the board of directors to put in a word, does not violate policy? >> should not have done that, i was wrong and i like policy. >> i imagine it does highlight policy.

in addition to all those■ actions, and comments to they are trying did you talk about this? >> i never spoke about protecting him. we knew it was a grantee so i may have mentioned and■ discussed. >> he just made that up >> i don't know where the hot but that's not true. >> so with these e-mails were written, he should have known two years late on the progress report conducting an experiment that resulted showing excess

growth that they failed to report that and was protecting the lab not sharing and failed to disclose conflicts of interest so why were you trying to protect? >> i repeat i've not tried protect and that's number one. said something that's not true because i did not know about the compliance issues until well after the fact when i was briefed before a congressional committee so i w not as these things were going on. >> did you know? >> made it clear it was his friend, i did not

them. >> you testified in answer determines question you never had any communication with the intelligence community grunted i understand? >> you heard wrong. i said i did have communication briefed by the intelligence community multiple times during the covid issue. >> i now recognize for marylands a question. >> thank you for your service, is there anything you wanted to clear up? >> i made it clear talking about lack of compliance, it became clear well after the fact. i was not monitoring for noncompliance, i did know until

it was done. >> you been scientist 54 years, correct? your director of the national institute of infectious diseases for more than three decades, is that i assume you've never been accused of trying to start a disease before, is that right? >> you devoted your life to fighting infectious diseases, is that right? >> i want toé& go back to e-mail because it goes to the heart this claim, you tried to cover up the possibility having been a

laboratory just possible and we be working to advance the up this possibility.hey would here is the e-mail you sent on february 11238 a.m. i just got off the phone relayed to me concern about the spike protein circulating 2 a group of together to determine if concerns are validated if everyone agrees they should report it to appropriate authorities. out imagine fbi uk it would be

important to get by experts in the concern of the evolutionary biology. i will alert my colleagues to determine what further investigation they recommend. was is the e-mail you are trying to cover up the possibility of a lab leak? >> yes, i mentioned in my opening statement it is inconceivable and what could get out of the house covering anything up. >> would you have reason to cover up new scientific evidence relating to the origins of the covid-19 origins? >> absolutely not and that's why it's important to get this together and discuss in a transparent way. >> is like trying to determine causes of infectious diseases

stopped to check the american people. >> i want to join my colleagues across all of our colleagues want to drag her name through the mud, they are treating you like to lick the felon probablyy were. that's with love and admiration. is there anything else you would like to say to the american people about your service to america during the course of the covid-19 pandemic? >> my main job was to play a role with my team■p vaccine research development a safe and effective vaccine and we did that unprecedented short period of time never before seen like

that. as we all know those vaccines resulted saving hundreds of thousands of lives in the united states and millions of lives throughout the world. >> you have aids and hiv and covid and fearless, you have any reason to be afraid of scientific evidence or data or the truth? >> model. >> djokovic from virginia for five minutes. >> my questions change sometimes annoying to follow and there is no gotcha, i'm just trying to figure this out. it was impossible for any of the

viruses you■ k. are funding soue kobe to what was done it at the same time said you didn't know about it until after the effect it was already out there, however it got. part of that was a report covered(g and related to the experiment mike you never got wound institute virology.

can you understand some of us doubt now that you had a hand in it so you can say with certainty that it was impossible because they might have been doing something you didn't know about? >> it is not on all. the viruses with you did or did not get a report on time was so viruses that would be impossible to be the precursor so completely compatible the statement i made. >> is accurate as well knowing they were gone and >> this difference between viruses hundred i the nih versus

doing. >> you are talking about what you funded. >> i thought you might go there and i appreciate that because in 2022 i asked about the likelihood and nature of a coronavirus takes the change to make it viral as this was going on and you said to me what you said and confirm it for the record being done it wasn't us. saying is i cannot account nor can anyone other things what might be going on i will say, i keep an open mind

what the origin is but one thing i know is viruses funded by the nih not be the precursor of stars kobe to. >> i appreciate that because i never thought nih would have to create this but i think you just made it clear sometimes people missus from one side says one thing and one side says the other ef the fact may be that maybe they use get started or maybe they didn't scientist came together said see what happens if we go over here and do block not that nih funded by is that possible? >> i also want toay one thing

we should put out on the table talking about $120,000 a year $6 billion budget so they do something aside from a they have plenty it and wouldn't have to use or $20000 nih grant to do it. >> i want to ask this battle thing, will done any research and what they be successful? is it accurate they might do that? >> i can't really answer the

special investigative committees unteed outset to bring light to difficult matters a coe than like in one example nearly five months ago doctor fauci set for involuntary interview, i was there for the interview and research and safety on covid and vaccine development and systems in local granaries to discuss pandemic preparedness stockpiling supply for hospitals but i want to : gino up for five months republicans sat on the transcript could have the 60 anytime. if the public had seen a five

months ago republicans failed to find a shred of evidence of their conspiracy linking doctor fauci talk about. republicans contorted and it was twitter and conspiracies about nih role in the pandemic. started lastly leases, i want to make sure you have an opportunity to clear anything up. does anything come to mind having cherry picked the transcript? >> i cast stones

but there are a couple of things that come to mind. i made a statement that it appeared, it actually came from the cdc, responsible for those guidelines not me so when i said it appeared, it appeared. there wasn't any variance it wasn't a controlled trial pair . what i believe the cdc used years ago dealing with droplets which at the time the cdc made that recommendation the

transmission was primarily droplets and not aerosol which is incorrect now, aerosol does play a role. that's the reason they did it. it has little to do with me since i did make the recommendation saying there was no science means there's no clinical trial that proved that. that's just one thing that was a little distorted. >> and left learned what i have to go back to zika outbreak, we know how it was being transmitted and at one time we went to where ellie transmitted and that's an example with the public health■ñ threats you lean as we go along.

talk about the zika and we didn't know what was happening. >> i'm glad you brought that up because it is reflective vote what was going on dealing with an outbreak, it's an novel outbreak. that was novel clinically never seen that before. when dealing with a new outbreak, things change, collect the information that would allow you at that time to make a determination recommendation or guideline. as things evolve and change and get more information, it is important to use the scientific process gain that information and perhaps change the way you think of things and guideline

and recommendations and that goes across the board because you are dealing with something that needs modified because it is a moving target. covid was a moving target. >> i want to thank democratic staff for your report. if not already submitted, i like unanimous consent to offer into the record the democratic staff report will failed to find evidence of claims linking fauci covid-19 and it is an outstanding report.government ra

and circle but information did you release any reference but you might and make 2021 e-mail he people in a secret back channel, do you know what he was referring to? >> i don't have any idea what he was about what there was no back channel. >> also no worry about freedom of information private e-mail. did you communicate with anyone regarding nih on a private

e-mail? >> i do not discuss private business on my private e-mail. >> have you communicated with doctor maria private e-mail? even if it wasn't -- >> it might have been because i mentioned in my opening statement one of his functions medical side to doctor so it is conceivable i communicated with him many private e-mail writing the chapter on to clarify for the co not suppress the lobby the class you said it is distortion of reality thursday and it is justt you told the american people so would you like to clarify? >> something very clear except multiple times i don't think the

concept of there being a lab leak isnherently the conspiracy theory. what is conspiracy is the distortions of that subject like it was a lab leak and i was parachuted into the cia told they should not be talking about a lab leak. >> appreciate that. doctor fauci, how much have you earned from pharmaceutical companies in 2021? >> zero. >> assist nih scientists paid ten linking royalties. dressing you didn't receive any of the $710 million? >> on covid, i received 122 i made 27 yearsgo. >> so in general how much -- not

related to covid, just in general the receiving royalties between 2021 and 23? >> done. >> somebody receivede met but not me. >> you didn't receive any text. >> no royalties associated with covid. among the record and want to make sure this is clear i developed monoclonal antibody about 25 years ago the use as a diagnostic that has nothing to do with covid and an average of $120 a year from that. >> so the bottom line is scientists did receive $710 million in royalty. don't you think these experiments are made using tax dollars should be going back to the taxpayer enough back to the scientists? do believe that is a lot we should consider changing? >> if you want to change patent

loss in covid. that's not for me to say. >> moving on, i want to say billions of dollars funding these troubled by the animal research and check cares billions of dollars from a they are after. research on

not trying to complicated, i'm not sure what you're talking about the experiment nih funded go through strict processes of the treatment of animals. >> they are not very mean and signed off on these experiments so muc expired. >> i signed up. >> instead of taking a serious

look at the serious ways, they could have emerged in a lab, my friend and colleague spent time pinning blame on and specifically doctor portugal covid-19 pandemic and now let's bring everyone in but i want to be clear to select committee has seen no evidence of. allegations by my republican colleagues led to tangible consequences for doctor fauci's personal life away that should be unacceptable will americans.

what we are doing. i think is important to make clear because of the irresponsible accusations because you are human. doctor fauci, could you show the natures that since the start of the covid pandemic? >> i think from harassment by e-mail, text■q myself, my wife d

three daughters. credible death threats leading to the arrest of two individuals, somebody cle o their way to kill me is required protective services while it is troublesome to me because they've involved my wife and three daughters. >> how do you feel?,v do you continue to get threats today? >> i do. every time somebody gets up and says i'm responsible for the deaths of people throughout the world, chestnuts go up the successes that your life to

science and research you deserve better. every human being deserve better and am afraid a■ttribute have received for far-reaching consequenc for the public go good. how you think the product for you and other public health officials have received will impact young scholars thinking about going into public■l servie science? you think they will want to follow in your footsteps? >> i think this is a powerful disincentive for young peopl to want to go into public health and maybe in the public arena because it is clear that not only i because i am very much if

you look at figure but many of my colleagues one of a speak up in defense of the things we're . why should i get involved? and important to maintain integrity in the best people coming in because they put themselves and their families what they see their colleagues being put through. >> you are not alone. ahead of today's hearing subcommittee received a letter from the association in public health officials and communities of all detailing harassment,

intimidation that the violent death threat numbers faced during the pandemic. once you just say as many as 40% of public health work-only) or arrest the public health issue doctor country from the national virology fund potentially dangerous central janik function research is a brooklyn institute virology? >> covered not characterize it the way you did wrong the

national institute of health to the wuhan subdued of virology and funded research on the surveillance and possibility of emerging infections, but not characterize it as they just cannot function research. >> you are saying no? >> i say no because i said no multiple times may 16, 2024 that i can tell you a failure of lowballing data locally for perfect impeded our abi t what g on with experiments we have been discussing this morning. my question to you, ifhe

didn't and nih didn't receive the lab data from china and reports from equal health alliance submitted, they relate, how can you definitively say nih did not want dangerous cannot function research? >> i go back to what i said, picking up function research by the regulatory definition does not include irises studied the mccarty unit know that if there were no lab work from china? >> we know they were studying. >> how do you know? >> the nih hundred research on these viruses. if someone else china was doing something else -- >> nih didn't go there long i

would you know? >> you are not hearing. >> for senior advisor for ove 20 years stated february 24, 2021 i learned from the lady how to make e-mails disappear but be starts, i think we are safe plus i deleted these earlier e-mails and i forgot to say there is no worry, i can send it tony private e-mail or handed to him, too smart to let trouble. engaged in freedom of information act and release of public documents? >> no. [screaming] did communicate with you on

official business using his private e-mail? >> official business, no. [screaming] did you encourage use his private e-mail address for business? >> no. >> my next question is february 1, 2020 mark you, the nih director and 11 other scientists on a conference call to discuss the origins of covid and scientists said they were concerned covid was result of the lab leak concerned a revelation of the lab leak. dird that he was not invited on a conference call and he believed the lab leak theory was possible. three days later in the conference call other paper do

you editing. you push the natural origin for. nih director doctor collins e-mailed you expressing this article based on the origins didn't suppress the lab leak. as you for more public pressure to suppress the lab leak theory. the very next day in response to the request for mike you cited the nature medicine article which discusses the lab leak theory from the lobby podium. did you cite this article because director asked you to suppress the lab leak. >> i did not do that in response to anybody suggesting, it was in

response to what someone asked the podium and i did not edit any paper so you said about four or five things that were just not true. >> we have the e-mail to prove it. >> but you don't. >> is now recognized -- >> no we don't have it. i get tired of hearing the got more outback. we do not have it, doctor fauci. so that is incorrect. we say a couple things because the watch one conspiracy theory after another get devoted the gentleman from new york who wanted to argue we should worry

about testing and human, let's talk about the biomedical research in the united where 100 black men in this country were injected with syphilis and allowed to die slowly over 40 years without anyone to help them condoned by the u.s. public health service ended want to talk about te well. i'm going to talk about covid right now. i have the floor, mr. chairman. >> i want to remind the audience of the bottom. >> thank you, mr. chairman

doctor fauci, we owe you an apology for the way we have drug into the mud and here is where you go get your name and reputation got there were evidence and facts, i would like to see we haven't seen anything to suggest this is accurate. you've been a hero 54 years and you help lead this country through aids and ebola and zeke a and covid-19. we owe you a collective thank you, world renowned scientists enter a make american patriot and whether or not people want to believe that, that sometimes but those facts are indisputable. are your to have republican majority on this committee

recognized genuine scientific questions over covid-19 and vilify public health officials and nation scientists unsubstantiated with allegations that cannot and the light of day so they do that with covid-19 and we are here now as a result of aggravated amounts of foolishness taking place in my voice said from let's go back to the heart of the when family members and friends and coworkers were dying left and right, afraid and wanted to wash down groceries and wling to put on a mask or headgear and returned to our leaders and health for answers and we got some but then we didn't

and then we got some later by doctor deborah burks, donald trump's expert on the virus who said no, bleach will do it, don't inject yourself with the end said publicly on the record that thousands of american lives could have been spared we had done but we are being told. at least one thing is clear that is conspiracy theory will never come back and those families will have empty seats at the table and if we don't acknowledge the harm done to their families and learn to find a way going forward in this country.

having a meeting with the cia to discuss away to make sure covid is in this country. >> that is incorrect. >> the headquarters but when i went to the cia during the anthrax attack discussed the possibility of terrorist attacks. >> i wanted to get that on the record you into cia director and it's foolishness. think about it if it were one of us, we be jumping up and down so on behalf of us part of a

grateful nation, thank you for your service. i yield back. >> thank you, mr. chairman for being here and i want to echo because we need to focus on the people and that is really the angst left with the american people, what they had to walk through. i going to go down thewhat you a yes or no. business closures? >> i'm not sharing you at all, could you speak louder? >> i'm going to go supported and a yes or no whether you believe they are justified. business closures? >> one 1000 people were dying a

day. >> church closes. >> same thing remarked schooure. >> again. >> these were important are trying to stop the tsunami of that crime early on. follow going, that's debatable. >> for children, children under five. >> going back, all that is in the context of 45000. >> mask mandate for children under five? the mark know study on kids will report to the study, you have to respond. >> vaccine mandates for employees and students and military? >> vaccines save lives, it's very clear vaccines save

hundreds of thousands of americans -- >> i'm not debating elected do the vaccines stop anyone from getting public? >> i entered that to the chairman. early on it became clear -- no, it clearly prevented infection in a certain percentage of people but the durability of its ability to protect infection was not long. >> at they didn't stop you from spreading it either. >> early on it did if it prevented infection but what became clear he did not prevent transmission from the ability to prevent infection -- >> was struggling is when the american people look at the certainty in the case in which people lost jobs and

livelihoods, i have rural hospitals in my area that did not have a single case of covid and rural community that had to shut down and what they did need for cancer, some passed away because of those things and time after time people's lives were destroyed and we have not seen the same, once new data become available, we did not change course and usa the cdc put out the guidelines but we know the guidelines end up being production from lawsuit so they are nots, theyurn out to be such a mandate and when the science changes -- we all understand the first few weeks, we were all trying to figure out. the conce became

available, maybe we should consider the gladly theory, natural immunity. we never heard this messaging from you or anyone else who stood on the sidelines talking about these things and that the american people to my understanding her testimony the advisory council will if the group focus on and it ends up on your desk for signature. he said the grants are often approved in mass when voted on . >> correct. >> this is troubling because they look at their lives being

destroyed and they need someone held accountable because of deniability so on every grant you any responsit committee thaa number of so there is no accountability for anything on the taxpayer dollars. >> i disagree because you look at the number, we can't thousands of grants. it would be physically impossible for me to go through every single grant in a detailed way to understand not only for me but virtually every institute. >> then why does your signature go on it? >> somebody has to sign off and you trust the confidence of the staff.

>> are recognized for five minutes of questioning. >> i want to thank you for your voluntary testimony today a gra4 hours of testimony. i want to thank you for your service and your patience, it is truly remarkable. because it bears repeating, let me remind everyone to 15 months republican colleagues extreme allegations against remain unsubstantiated. now bring your injury in january discussed a number of topics regarding public health response to covid-19 zero two dog a little deeper. we discussed glenn and here the

recommendation we maintain 6 feet of distance from one another and discussed social distancing recommendations you yourself didn't pick this and it was really just a guideline. in your deal, social distancing recommendations and other public health measures to reduce transmission save lives? >> definitely. >> i like to go back and take a deeper dive into the covid vaccine discussion which is had and you asked during your interview in the select subcommittee with suggestions the vaccine was ineffective

perhaps the strongest measure is the reduction of severe disease and death. >> looking at covid rop vibrio, early on there's not as much protection against infection. unfortunately about protection for transmissibility and infection with the ability to prevent someone from hospitalization and that is

stunning when you look at deaths and hospitalization of people were unvaccinated people who said, it's profound. it is less because of the waning of protection. >> the report that came out years after the biden administration's effort that prevented more than 3 million deaths and averted 18 million hospitalizations seems to corroborate what you're saying. >> $1.15 trillion. >> thank you for that.

>> the american academy pediatrics and more. vaccine requirements clinically tools for including saving the exit vaccines. >> you like people to get vaccinated voluntarily realizing the effect on the fact that people were vaccinated so whatever motivation, clearly saved many lives. >> with 17 seconds i have what steps can public health officials take to bolster confidence in these interventions there has been so much information circulating.

because there's so much, who got a do a better job reaching out trying to get the correct information but it's difficult we have an election spreading myths and establishing's about we have to do more proactive with the facts and data and information that is correct. >> thank you for your testimony. >> one of the regulations was the 6-foot distancing role in this became an important policy consideration. you testified recentlyhis role sort of disappeared.

getting to just sort of disappeared the regulations we saw based upon that role thank you. i answered that but i will summarize briefly for you. when saying it just appeared, it came from cdc the mark you said that earlier, but was the regulation? >> when i say not based in science, prospective clinical trials knows better than three, letter of intent. >> once we realized the virus was not scrubbed five droplets, cdc based onan indication to go science? the 6-foot, americans suffered

and continued spectrum trust and american scientists to this the obligation not just sort of appeared going back to the cdc spaces on what we know. >> was part of the coronavirus response team. >> providing with misinformation and discussions in the white house about that. the cdc's decision and their decision to make and they made it. >> you challenge them might is not appropriate to quickly

challenge. >> do you agree americans now have lost trust in science from government because of misinformation like this? >> when you talk about misinformation, you have to be careful. it was information that proved -- >> it was not an effective role. >> let's move on. april 21, there is no worry that neither some stuff on the private e-mail around the houser i think it is your lead trusted researcher who works with you, do you realize the impact of

back? >> recently and op-ed yesterday, raise concern in the house committee? what involvement you have an hhs not responding to the request? he. >> i had no role in anything to do with the request. go directly to a person like me, i goes to the department takes care of it. >> were you aware conducting official work on unofficial e-mails thing a time as director? that obviously came up in the

committee hearings. demonstrates for more accountability and i believe it was in outlier. the individuals at the nih are committed group of individua out in outlier. >> and advisor for 20 years my senior advisor, we will scientific papers together. he didn't advised me -- are your senior advisors not jus the best? i told you we but he's not an advisor on policy. ...

i now recognize mr. garcia from california for -- he left? i now recognize ms. greene from georgia for five minutes of questions. >> thank you, mr. chairman. mr. fauci, you were quoted on cbs's face the nation saying it's easy to criticize but they're really criticizing sides. because i represent science. you represent science, mr. fauci? >> i am a scientist who uses the scientific method to gain information. >> yes. you said you represent science. do you represent science, mr. fauci, yes post request no, the thought he has been a -- >> it is a yes or. >> i don't think it is okay. we will take that as a you don't know what you represent.

>> all, i speeded as director you did sign off up on these so-called scientific experiments. as as a dog lover i would tellu this is disgusting and evil what you sign off on at these experiments that happened to be goals paid for by the american taxpayer. and what you do know americans don't pay their taxes for animals to be torturedike this. so the type of science that you are representing, mr. fauci, is abhorrent and it needs to stop. mr. fau, you also represent the type of that, you >> i didn't hear what you said. >> six feet social distancing msk of job. >> i never said make anything up. >> you admit it. >> i didn't say i made it up. >> are you saying this is fake news? >> i didn't say i make anything up. >> what did you say? >> i said that it is not based

insights and it just appeared. >> but this is science. >> what do dogs that you think >> us these are scientific experiments. this is what you signed off on. but you told the american people they had to distance by six feet. they had to wear masks. let's also talk a little bit further about the type of size that you represent. nih scientists made $710 million in royalties from just drugmakers hear a fact that's been hidden. let's talk about the fact about is it right for scientists and doctors getting paid by the american people, , government taxpayer paychecks to get patents where they are paid millions and hundreds of millions of dollars and royalty fees? especially when the nih governmt powerful agencies in our country are recommending medical suggestions and advice?

and making up guidelines like 60 distancing and masking of children. do you think that's appropriate? to the american people need to be -- you are not a dr. pry don't need your edge, to talk right here. >> mr. chairman, abjection. objection. >> i reclaim my time. i reclaim my time. >> the gentlelady will -- >> mr. chairman, terms of the rules of the court are we allowed to deny that a doctor is a doctor just because we don't want them to be a doctor? >> yes, because in my time that man does not deserve to have a license as a matter-of-fact it should be revoked and he belongs in jail. >> suspend. >> the gentlelady to recognize the doctor as a doctor.wç■? >> thank you. >> tragic is this what we have become? this is what we have devolved into? notochord. >> you know what? we can d