Ernst, McClain Halt Tax Dollars to China

WASHINGTON - As Americans fork over their hard-earned money to the government on Tax Day, U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) and House Republican Conference Chairwoman Lisa McClain (R-Mich.) are introducing the Accountability in Foreign Animal Research Act (AFAR) Act to end the insane practice of funding sketchy animal experiments in China with American tax dollars.

The bill would ban the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) from funding experiments similar to the gain-of-function research on bat coronaviruses at the Wuhan Institute of Virology that many experts believe led to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We should have learned our lesson after COVID-19," said Ernst. "Whether creating zombie cats in Russia, supporting risky research in Wuhan, or funding sketchy experiments on animals in foreign labs, I am cutting off the money for this madness and ensuring that taxpayers no longer foot the bill for crazy pseudoscience overseas."

"American taxpayer dollars should never fund dangerous, cruel experiments in animal research labs - much less in China or other adversarial countries," said McClain. "This common-sense legislation ensures taxpayer dollars are not wasted on reckless research."

"White Coat Waste applauds Sen. Joni Ernst for reintroducing the AFAR Act just in time for Tax Day because Americans' hard-earned money shouldn't be wasted on funding foreign adversaries' animal labs," said Justin Goodman, Senior Vice President at government watchdog White Coat Waste. "As White Coat Waste first exposed in Wuhan five years ago, shipping taxpayer dollars to unaccountable animal testing labs in China and other adversarial nations is a recipe for disaster. Despite our progress since 2020 and in the first few months of the new Trump Administration, we've uncovered how twenty Chinese animal labs are still eligible to receive taxpayers' money, including one that's currently abusing 300 beagles a week in wasteful and cruel NIH-funded drug tests. Cutting cash for foreign enemies' animal labs is common sense, consistent with Trump priorities, and backed by over 70 percent of taxpayers. Stop the money. Stop the madness!"

Background:

Ernst has long fought to stop tax dollars from being sent overseas for risky research.

An Ernst-requested investigation exposed how EcoHealth sent over $1 million U.S. taxpayer dollars to the Wuhan Institute of Virology for risky experiments on bat coronaviruses. She also secured an audit by the Department of Defense's Inspector General of risky research in China paid for by the Pentagon and hidden from the public.

She led the charge to permanently debar the Wuhan Institute of Virology and defund EcoHealth Alliance from receiving U.S. taxpayer dollars.

Ernst efforts also led to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) defunding EcoHealth and promising to cut off any taxpayer dollars used for research of pandemic potential.

In her $2 trillion blueprint to slash waste in Washington, Ernst pointed to the millions being sent to China for secretive risky research.

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