,,iv #aafth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,h4 ,,con4 ,,res4 #ig ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,april #ag1 #bjbj,mr4 ,barr submitted the following concurrent resolution2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,rules ,,concurrent ,,resolution ,establishing the ,joint ,select ,committee on the ,events and ,activities ,surrounding ,china's ,handling of the #bjai ,novel ,coronavirus4 #a4 ,establishment ,there is hereby established in the ,senate and the ,house of ,representatives a joint select committee to be known as the ,joint ,select ,committee on the ,events and ,activities ,surrounding ,china's ,handling of the #bjai ,novel ,coronavirus 7hereafter referred to as the 8,joint ,select ,committee074 #b4 ,membership 7a7 ,selection and appointment 7#a7 ,in general ,the ,joint ,select ,committee shall be composed of #bj ,members of the ,house of ,representatives and ,senate1 of whom-- 7,a7 #aj shall be ,members of the ,house of ,representatives1 of whom #e shall be appointed by the ,speaker of the ,house of ,representatives and #e shall be appointed by the minority leader of the ,house of ,representatives2 and 7,b7 #aj shall be ,senators1 of whom #e shall be appointed by the majority leader of the ,senate and #e shall be appointed by the minority leader of the ,senate4 7#b7 ,treatment of ,delegate and ,resident ,commissioner ,for purposes of this section1 a ,member of the ,house of ,representatives includes a ,delegate or ,resident ,commissioner to the ,congress4 7b7 ,co-chairs ,two of the members of the ,joint ,select ,committee shall serve as co-chairs of the ,joint ,select ,committee1 and shall be appointed as follows3 7#a7 ,one shall be a ,member of the ,house of ,representatives1 who shall be appointed as co-chair by the ,speaker of the ,house of ,representatives in consultation with the minority leader of the ,house of ,representatives4 7#b7 ,one shall be a ,senator1 who shall be appointed as co-chair by the majority leader of the ,senate in consultation with the minority leader of the ,senate4 7c7 ,vacancies ,a vacancy in the membership of the ,joint ,select ,committee 7including a vacancy resulting because a member ceases to be a ,member of the ,house of ,representatives or a ,senator7 shall not affect its powers1 and shall be filled not later than #ad calendar days after the date on which the vacancy occurs in the same manner as the original appointment was made4 7d7 ,deadlines ,members of the ,joint ,select ,committee and the co-chairs of the ,joint ,select ,committee shall be appointed not later than #ad calendar days after the date of the adoption of this concurrent resolution4 #c4 ,investigation and report on the events surrounding ,china's handling of the #bjai novel coronavirus 7a7 ,investigation and report ,the ,joint ,select ,committee is authorized and directed to conduct a full and complete investigation of1 and to issue a final report to the ,house of ,representatives and ,senate regarding1 the following3 7#a7 ,the origins and causes of the #bjai novel coronavirus4 7#b7 ,all policies1 decisions1 and activities by ,china regarding the origins and causes of such coronavirus4 7#c7 ,all policies1 decisions1 and activities by ,china in response to the initial outbreak and spread of such coronavirus4 7#d7 ,all policies1 decisions1 and activities by ,china to suppress facts and information regarding the spread1 origins1 causes1 and transmission of such coronavirus1 including efforts to silence those making early warnings1 punish whistleblowers1 and restrict freedom of information about such coronavirus4 7#e7 ,all policies1 decisions1 and activities by ,china to spread misinformation regarding the origins and causes of such coronavirus1 including accusations and misinformation that the coronavirus was brought to the city of ,wuhan by the ,united ,states military4 7#f7 ,all policies1 decisions1 and activities by ,china to sideline1 deny1 and suppress charitable service organizations1 institutions of civil society1 secular and faith-based non-governmental organizations1 international humanitarian organizations1 and foreign governments offering to provide information1 expertise1 resources1 and assistance to ,china and the ,chinese people to combat such coronavirus4 7#g7 ,accountability for policies1 decisions and activities related to influencing the ,world ,health ,organization's response to the outbreak of such coronavirus1 including individuals and entities responsible for those policies1 decisions1 and activities4 7#h7 ,all policies1 decisions1 and activities by ,china to manufacture1 produce1 procure1 possess1 or hoard personal protective equipment and critical pharmaceutical components to manipulate or weaponize the supply chain against the international community1 including the ,united ,states4 7#i7 ,vulnerabilities in the ,united ,states domestic and global supply chain to combat a global pandemic due to reliance on ,chinese manufacturing and recommendations for decreasing dependence on ,chinese manufacturing by improving and securing a domestic supply chain for antibiotics1 viral drugs1 critical pharmaceutical components1 masks1 and other personal protective equipment4 7#aj7 ,information related to lessons learned from ,china's handling of such coronavirus4 7#aa7 ,any other relevant issues relating to ,china's actions that led to further spread of such coronavirus1 ,china's response to such coronavirus1 or the investigation by the ,joint ,select ,committee into ,china regarding such coronavirus4 7#ab7 ,any recommendations to ,congress and the executive branch regarding actions the ,united ,states government should take in response to ,china's handling of such coronavirus4 7b7 ,transfer of records ,at the request of the co-chairs of the ,joint ,select ,committee1 any standing committee of the ,senate or ,house of ,representatives having custody of records in any form relating to the matters described in subsection 7a7 shall transfer such records to the ,joint ,select ,committee4 7c7 ,interim reports ,in addition to the final report issued under subsection 7a71 the ,joint ,select ,committee may issue such interim reports as it considers necessary4 7d7 ,classified annex ,the ,joint ,select ,committee may include a classified annex in any report issued under this section4 7e7 ,definitions 7#a7 ,china ,in this section1 the term ,china means the ,government of the ,people's ,republic of ,china and any of the following3 7,a7 ,an official of the ,chinese ,communist ,party4 7,b7 ,an official of the ,government of the ,people's ,republic of ,china4 7,c7 ,an agent or instrumentality of the ,government of the ,people's ,republic of ,china4 7,d7 ,any other person owned or controlled by or acting on behalf of any person described in subparagraphs 7,a7 through 7,c74 7#b7 #bjai novel coronavirus ,in this subsection1 the term #bjai novel coronavirus means the coronavirus disease 7,,covid-#ai7 and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus #b 7,,sars-,co,v-#b74 #d4 ,powers 7a7 ,hearings and other activities ,for the purpose of carrying out its duties1 the ,joint ,select ,committee may hold such hearings and undertake such other activities as the ,joint ,select ,committee determines to be necessary to carry out its duties1 whether the ,congress is in session1 has recessed1 or has adjourned4 7b7 ,authority ,to use subpoenas ,the ,joint ,select ,committee may require by subpoena the attendance of such witnesses and the production of such books1 papers1 and documents1 as it considers appropriate4 7c7 ,access to legislative branch services ,the ,joint ,select ,committee shall have access to the services of the ,government ,accountability ,office1 the ,congressional ,budget ,office1 and the ,congressional ,research ,service in the same manner and under the same terms and conditions as any standing committee of the ,house of ,representatives or ,senate4 7d7 ,adoption of ,rules ,not later than #g days after all of its members have been appointed1 the ,joint ,select ,committee shall adopt rules governing its operations1 including rules governing the issuance of subpoenas and rules governing the use of official funds for travel by members and staff1 and shall submit such rules to the ,clerk of the ,house of ,representatives and ,secretary of the ,senate for publication in the ,congressional ,record4 #e4 ,staff2 funding 7a7 ,staff 7#a7 ,use of existing staff ,to the greatest extent practicable1 the ,joint ,select ,committee shall utilize the services of staff of employing offices of the ,senate and ,house of ,representatives4 7#b7 ,authority to appoint staff 7,a7 ,in general ,each of the co-chairs of the ,joint ,select ,committee may appoint1 prescribe the duties and responsibilities of1 and fix the pay of such staff as the co-chair considers appropriate to assist the ,joint ,select ,committee in carrying out its duties1 so long as the number of staff appointed by one of the co-chairs does not exceed the number of staff appointed by the other co-chair4 7,b7 ,detail of congressional employees ,upon the joint request of the co-chairs1 the head of an employing office of the ,house of ,representatives or ,senate 7including a joint committee of the ,congress7 is authorized to detail1 without reimbursement1 any of the staff of the office to the ,joint ,select ,committee to assist the ,joint ,select ,committee in carrying out its duties4 7#c7 ,experts and consultants ,section #bjb7;i7 of the ,legislative ,reorganization ,act of #aidf 7#b ,u4,s4,c4 #dcja7;i77 shall apply with respect to the ,joint ,select ,committee in the same manner as such section applies with respect to a standing committee of the ,senate1 except that any consultant whose services are procured by the ,joint ,select ,committee shall be selected jointly by the co-chairs of the ,joint ,select ,committee4 7b7 ,funding 7#a7 ,vouchers ,payments for expenses of the ,joint ,select ,committee shall be made using vouchers authorized by the ,joint ,select ,committee1 signed by co-chairs of the ,joint ,select ,committee1 and approved in a manner directed by the ,committee on ,rules and ,administration of the ,senate and the ,committee on ,house ,administration of the ,house of ,representatives4 7#b7 ,source of ,funds ,there are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary for the operation of the ,joint ,select ,committee1 of which-- 7,a7 #ej percent shall be derived from the applicable accounts of the ,house of ,representatives2 and 7,b7 #ej percent shall be derived from the contingent fund of the ,senate4 #f4 ,termination 7a7 ,termination date ,the ,joint ,select ,committee shall terminate #cj days after filing the final report required under section #c4 7b7 ,transfer of records ,upon termination of the ,joint ,select ,committee1 the records of the ,joint ,select ,committee shall be transferred to-- 7#a7 such committee or committees of the ,house of ,representatives as may be designated by the ,speaker of the ,house of ,representatives2 and 7#b7 such committee or committees of the ,senate as my be designated by the ,president pro tempore of the ,senate4