Republican Lawmakers Push for Halt to NIH Bat Research Funding

In Washington, two Republican lawmakers are urging the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to cease more than $3 million in taxpayer-funded research on live bats, which includes studies related to “SARS-related coronaviruses,” such as the virus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic.

Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) and Representative Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) have reached out to NIH Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, demanding an immediate end to what they describe as “dangerous research.” Their request comes in light of guidance from the disbarred nonprofit EcoHealth Alliance and former NIH officials, including Dr. Anthony Fauci and Dr. Francis Collins, as highlighted in a letter obtained by the Post.

A significant portion of the funding—a $2.2 million grant—was awarded to Colorado State University by the NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). An additional $1.3 million has also been allocated.

Federal records indicate that this funding is designated for research on infectious diseases, particularly zoonotic viruses, including SARS, MERS, Ebola, Sudan, and Marburg viruses. This also involves setting up breeding colonies for Jamaican and Egyptian flying foxes within the continental U.S.

The researchers have indicated plans for experimental infection studies, which involve the collection and storage of tissues, cells, and serum from both uninfected and infected bats. They aim to make these samples available to the research community following the inactivation of the virus.

This research is intended to enhance understanding of how bats can harbor highly pathogenic viruses without becoming ill themselves, potentially shedding light on events that may increase the risk of these viruses spilling over to humans.

Since 2016, taxpayers have contributed over $12.9 million to Colorado State University for the development of an experimental “bat breeding facility,” with plans to house up to 212 yellow bats known to carry viruses similar to SARS.

The Republican lawmakers expressed concern, stating, “It’s entirely possible that laboratory research on bats and bat-borne coronaviruses is behind the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

In their correspondence, Ernst and Gosar stressed that research with such potential for risk, and little advantage for public health, should be conducted only after thorough safety evaluations and under strict oversight.

Both lawmakers are also calling for increased transparency regarding the origins of COVID-19 and how taxpayer funds have been used for “gain-of-function” research, which involves altering viruses to enhance their infectiousness.

Numerous governmental agencies, including the FBI, CIA, and Department of Energy, have suggested that the SARS-CoV-2 virus likely emerged from a laboratory incident in Wuhan, China, in late 2019.

Funding for bat research at Colorado State University has been nearly equally shared between the NIH Office of the Director, where Collins was in charge until late 2021, and the NIAID, where Fauci served until December 2022.

Collins and Fauci previously defended the assertion that the coronavirus was the result of natural spillover rather than laboratory manipulation.

Proposals to establish bat colonies were initially made by CSU microbiology professor Tony Schontz and EcoHealth’s Jonathan Epstein in a 2016 publication that was later disclosed through a Freedom of Information Act request.

In a recent development, the Department of Health and Human Services blocked federal funding for EcoHealth for five years, leading to Colorado State University discontinuing its partnership with them. Nevertheless, Ernst and Gosar have highlighted concerns surrounding EcoHealth’s advocacy for the CSU initiative, referring to past warnings from taxpayer watchdog groups about incidents involving laboratory animals.

Anthony Bellotti, head of White Coat Waste, criticized the NIH’s continued funding for potentially perilous experiments, referring to them as reminiscent of “Dr. Fauci’s cookbook” for disaster.

According to a June 2023 Government Accountability Office report, the NIH and the U.S. Agency for International Development previously allocated over $1.4 million to EcoHealth for experiments that combined naturally occurring bat coronaviruses with strains like SARS and MERS from 2014 to 2019. This funding eased into the well-known Wuhan Institute of Virology, where the pandemic is believed to have originated.

Ernst voiced her concerns, saying, “It’s utterly nonsensical to use tax dollars to replicate the same questionable Wuhan research in America. We’re still uncertain about the real origins of the pandemic, and we shouldn’t be engaging in activities that could potentially spur the next one.”

Lawrence Tabak, a former NIH deputy director, acknowledged in 2024 that the research can be categorized as gain-of-function but previously contended that the strain differed significantly from SARS-CoV-2.

EcoHealth maintains that its studies did not lead to the pandemic, although its former president, Dr. Peter Daszak, conceded that his organization lacked complete access to the genomic data from the Wuhan lab.

Proponents of the “lab leak theory” argue that an unfulfilled 2018 EcoHealth proposal serves as vital evidence that the virus might have been engineered.

Rep. Gosar emphasized, “Taxpayers deserve clarity and accountability regarding the nearly $13 million spent on risky live bat research, especially considering the serious biosafety issues and lingering questions about COVID-19’s origins.”

In response, an HHS spokesperson confirmed that the NIH has received the lawmakers’ letter and will reply directly.

Professor Schontz did not provide immediate comments when contacted.