EXCLUSIVE — Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) is introducing a bill demanding annual reports into U.S.-funded research in China.
The Chinese Laboratory Accountability and Watchful Spending Act, otherwise known as the CLAWS Act, would require the Office of Management and Budget to submit annual reports on biomedical research funded by the United States and performed in China.
“Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are undervaluing our heroes and underwriting our adversaries,” Ernst said in a statement to the Washington Examiner. “When you ask why there are millions for the Taliban and China but not enough for veterans, it appears the cat has this administration’s tongue. We can claw back taxpayer dollars by ending support for terrorist groups, exposing all funding for batty experiments in China, and giving our veterans the highest quality of care.”
The Washington Examiner reached out to the Biden-Harris administration for comment on the allegations.
The CLAWS Act would require the OMB to give a detailed report on every aspect of funding to Chinese biomedical research, including its purpose, the exact location where research is being carried out, whether the research is supported by or affiliated with the Chinese military or intelligence, the start and end dates of the projects, and the rationale for why the research is being funded.
Ernst issues a “September Squeal Award” every September, which is intended to expose government waste, fraud, or abuse. She awarded this year’s Squeal Award to the Biden-Harris White House, specifically over findings that Veterans Affairs saw a $15 billion shortfall, while an estimated $293 million allegedly went to the Taliban and millions more to China.
“If Americans must report every dollar earned to Washington, then the same level of
accountability needs to apply to spending those dollars so we can stop Washington from
underwriting our adversaries at the expense of our nation’s real priorities,” she said while issuing her award.
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“Once the expenditures required by CLAWS are showing, then we will claw it back,” Ernst added.
She cited the CLAWS Act alongside a letter she sent to the administration demanding an end to all alleged funding of the Taliban as her response to the Squeal Award.