On Tuesday, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) formally suspended federal funding for EcoHealth Alliance and recommended it face debarment for its lack of transparency and reckless handling of coronavirus-related research in Wuhan, China. With U.S. taxpayer dollars five years ago and earlier, EcoHealth Alliance funded Chinese research into worsening viruses linked to the Covid-19 outbreak, according to federal reports and independent reporting.
In a letter released Wednesday, Henrietta Brisbon, HHS’s suspension and debarment official, informed EcoHealth President Peter Daszak that the federal government is suspending funds to EcoHealth and proposing the organization be debarred “from participating in United States Federal Government procurement and nonprocurement programs.” The suspension and debarment recommendation took effect on Tuesday.
“I have determined that there is adequate evidence to document that [EcoHealth Alliance] has not been compliant with federal regulations and grant terms and conditions, which affects EHA’s present responsibility,” Brisbon wrote in the agency’s action referral against EHA.
As Helen Raleigh reported at The Federalist, EcoHealth Alliance is a nongovernmental organization that from 2014-2020, sent “more than half a million dollars’ worth of U.S. government grants, including those from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) with Anthony Fauci’s approval, to the Wuhan Institute of Virology to conduct gain-of-function research on bat coronaviruses.” While Trump’s administration axed taxpayer funds for EcoHealth Alliance in 2020, the group has received federal grants since Joe Biden was sworn into office.
In its referral, HHS cited “adequate evidence” documenting what the agency contended “provides cause” for EcoHealth’s funding suspension and potential debarment.
