WASHINGTON
– U.S. Sens. Chuck
Grassley (R-Iowa), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) sent
a follow-up letter to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) demanding answers
to questions that may shed light on data relating to the origins of the
COVID-19 pandemic and NIH’s COVID-19 data retention policies.
This push for answers comes amid
reports that Chinese researchers requested some data be deleted from
NIH-controlled databases. In part, the senators wrote “[o]n June 28, 2021, we
wrote to you requesting answers to seven questions pertaining to the NIH’s role
and responsibility with respect to the Sequence Read Archive (SRA) relating to
COVID-19 data. On September 8, 2021, your office provided a response that
failed to fully and completely answer all seven questions and failed to provide
the requested records.”
The senators went on to say
“[a]s we have made clear to you, Congress has a constitutional responsibility
to engage in oversight of the executive branch and the executive branch has an
obligation to Congress and the American people to substantively respond. In
light of our responsibility and your obligation in that regard, we are reposing
the unanswered questions from our June 28, 2021, letter.”
With more than 650,000
American lives lost and trillions of taxpayer dollars spent to support the
American people, businesses and the economy during the COVID-19 pandemic, the public
deserves to know what their government knows about the origins of this global
illness and the research data that it possesses.
Text of the letter follows or
can be found
HERE.
September 16, 2021
VIA ELECTRONIC TRANSMISSION
Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D.
Director
National Institutes of Health
9000 Rockville Pike
Bethesda, MD 20892
Dear Dr. Collins:
On June 28, 2021, we wrote to you requesting answers to seven
questions pertaining to the NIH’s role and responsibility with respect to the
Sequence Read Archive (SRA) relating to COVID-19 data. On September 8, 2021, your office provided a
response that failed to fully and completely answer all seven questions and
failed to provide the requested records.
As we have made clear to you, Congress has a constitutional
responsibility to engage in oversight of the executive branch and the executive
branch has an obligation to Congress and the American people to substantively respond. In light of our responsibility and your
obligation in that regard, we are reposing the unanswered questions from our
June 28, 2021, letter. If you are unable
to respond to each question and provide the requested records, please explain
why that is the case.
In addition, we’d like to note that in your most recent
letter, you stated that the National Center for Biotechnology Information has
initiated “an independent review of the [Sequence Read Archive] processes and
standard operating procedures” with respect to the withdrawal request relating
to the COVID-19 data.
[1] You also noted that NIH “conducted an
analysis of withdrawal requests from January 2020 through June 2021.”
[2] With that in mind, we request the final
report of investigation, or an equivalent document, for the latter review and
an explanation for why that review was done.
Further, we request that you answer several additional questions,
provide the requested records and schedule a briefing to address your answers
no later than September 30, 2021:
1.
With
respect to deleting data from the NIH Sequence Archive, please name all
personnel that have the authority to do so.
In your answer, please provide the names and titles of the personnel
that were involved in the deletion of SARS-CoV-2 data.
2.
With
respect to the
Wall Street Journal report,
which Chinese researcher(s) requested that the data be deleted from the NIH
Sequence Read Archive?
[3] When did the deletion occur?
3.
After
deletion, does the NIH Sequence Read Archive maintain any accessible back-up of
the deleted data? If so, please provide
all records to us.
4.
Please
list all collaborating partners to the NIH Sequence Read Archive.
5.
In
the past five years, how many researchers and other personnel associated with
the communist Chinese government, as well as those not associated with the
Chinese regime, have requested that data be deleted from the NIH Sequence Read
Archive? Please list by requestor, date,
reason, and the information to be deleted. Please also note whether and when
that material was in fact deleted.
6.
More
specifically, in the past five years, how many researchers and other personnel
associated with the communist Chinese government, as well as those not associated
with the Chinese regime, have requested that data be deleted from the NIH
Sequence Read Archive relating to coronaviruses? Please list by requestor, date, reason, and
the information to be deleted. Please
also note whether and when that material was in fact deleted.
7.
In your letter, you stated NCBI has initiated
“an independent review of the SRA processes and standard operating procedures”
with respect to the withdrawal request relating to the COVID-19 data.
a.
When was that review initiated?
b.
Which unit and personnel will be involved in the
review?
c.
What are the other countries that have requested
withdrawal of data from the database?
d.
Do you plan to analyze withdrawal requests that
occurred prior to the COVID-19 outbreak? If not, why not?
Thank you for your attention
to this important matter.
Sincerely,
[1] Letter from Lawrence A. Tabak, Principal Deputy
Director, NIH, to Sens. Grassley, Blackburn, Marshall (Sept. 10, 2021).
[3] Amy Dockser Marcus, Betsy McKay, Drew Hinshaw,
Chinese Covid-19 Gene Data That Could Have
Aided Pandemic Research Removed from NIH Database,
Wall St. J. (June 23, 2021),
https://www.wsj.com/articles/covid-19-gene-data-that-could-have-aided-research-on-early-epidemic-removed-from-database-11624472105; Amy Dockser Marcus and Drew Hinshaw,
After Covid-19 Data Is Deleted, NIH Reviews
How its Gene Archive Is Handled, Wall
St. J. (Sept. 13, 2021).
https://www.wsj.com/articles/after-covid-19-data-is-deleted-nih-reviews-how-its-gene-archive-is-handled-11631545490