WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Senator Rick Scott released the following statement doubling down on his calls for a hearing to find answers on how this virus originated. As more information is revealed daily about the media’s role in downplaying the possibility that COVID-19 came from a lab in Wuhan, families in Florida and across America deserve answers and accountability.

Senator Rick Scott said, “It’s time for the misinformation, unanswered questions and Communist China-driven propaganda to stop. We know this pandemic came from Communist China. We know it’s now killed 595,000 Americans and 3.7 million people worldwide. Washington Democrats and their friends in the media said it was crazy that we’d have a vaccine in record time. Wrong. They said it was racist to call out the Communist Chinese government’s obvious role and responsibility for the international spread and cover-up of this deadly virus. Wrong again. Without evidence to the contrary, they quickly dismissed the possibility that COVID-19 may have leaked from a Wuhan lab. It’s like they caught a man at the scene of the crime and refused to label him a suspect. They were willing to ignore and even conceal crucially important information about the origin and development of the murderous pandemic – all to advance their political agendas. Now, we see the consequences of the blind spots they purposely created. Dr. Fauci and media executives should be called to testify at a bipartisan hearing so the American people can understand why they chose to not take these claims seriously last year. These are serious questions we all need answers to.

“The mainstream news media’s China virus blind spot put politics and ratings above public safety. It was a dangerous politically-driven agenda that put Floridians and all American families at risk. The American people deserve the truth and transparency I’ve been calling for since this pandemic started. We know the Communist Chinese government is responsible for the coronavirus pandemic, and they lied to cover it up with the help of the World Health Organization (WHO). It’s been over a year since I called for a congressional hearing into the WHO and its role in covering up the pandemic. Now, we need answers about how this pandemic got started and who is responsible. These failures costs lives, and it’s time for accountability.”

For more than a year, Senator Scott has been calling for answers and accountability for the WHO:

• On May 27, 2021, Senator Scott and Senator Ron Johnson sent a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken requesting information on the termination of a State Department investigation into COVID-19’s origins.
• On May 20, 2021, Senator Scott joined Senators Ron Johnson, Rand Paul, James Lankford, Tom Cotton and Roger Marshall, and Rep. Mike Gallagher, in a letter to Dr. Francis Collins, Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) requesting information on gain of function research and NIH’s 2014 moratorium on funding for that research. This request follows continued questions surrounding the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• In February 2021, Senator Scott and Senator Hawley introduced the World Health Organization (WHO) Accountability Act to hold the WHO responsible for its role in helping Communist China cover up information regarding the threat of the coronavirus. The WHO Accountability Act withholds U.S. taxpayer dollars from the WHO until the organization replaces its leadership, as of January 1, 2020, and accepts Taiwan as a member state. It also limits U.S. funding to the same or less than the top contributor nation to the WHO each year.
• On April 24, 2020, Senators Scott, Ron Johnson, Thom Tillis, Steve Daines and Kevin Cramer sent a letter to Senate Appropriations Committee leadership requesting that any funding for the World Health Organization (WHO) be withheld pending a Congressional hearing to investigate the WHO’s role in helping Communist China cover up information regarding the threat of the coronavirus.
• On April 17, 2020, Senator Scott sent a letter to the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) Director Dr. Carissa Etienne requesting additional information on PAHO’s response to the coronavirus and any coordination with the WHO and the Communist Party of China, whose efforts to cover up the pandemic cost thousands of lives around the world.
• On April 14, 2020, Senators Scott, Ron Johnson, Martha McSally, Kevin Cramer, Steve Daines, Todd Young and Joni Ernst sent a letter to the WHO requesting information ahead of a Congressional hearing to investigate the WHO’s role in helping Communist China cover up information regarding the threat of the coronavirus.
• On April 10, 2020, Senator Scott wrote an op-ed for FOX News on how the WHO should be held accountable for its role in helping Communist China cover up the coronavirus pandemic, which cost thousands of lives around the world.
• In March 2020, Senator Scott called on Congress to hold a hearing and investigate the WHO’s role in helping Communist China cover up information regarding the threat of the coronavirus. 
• In February 2020, Senator Scott sent a letter to the Director-General of the WHO urging the WHO to do its own in-depth analysis on the extent of the coronavirus.

###