In a letter exclusively obtained by The Post, Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) has demanded information about the Department of Agriculture's decision to spend $1 million in US taxpayer funds on "dangerous bird flu experiments" conducted in cooperation with the Chinese government. The research project involves a highly pathogenic avian influenza virus and includes collaboration with the UK, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and a researcher affiliated with the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

The Biden administration awarded the $1 million grant to conduct "wet-lab virology" experiments from April 2021 to March 2026. The experiments specifically focus on strains of avian influenza virus that pose the greatest risk to both avian and human populations. The Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing will play a role in testing by infecting vaccinated chickens, mallard ducks, species of Chinese geese, and Japanese quail to assess the virus's transmissibility and potential to jump into mammalian hosts.

Senator Ernst has expressed concern about the lack of safeguards in place for these experiments and whether they constitute risky gain-of-function research. Gain-of-function research aims to increase the transmissibility or virulence of pathogens and is meant to understand their potential to cause pandemics. Ernst has questioned the decision to allocate taxpayer dollars for collaboration with the Chinese Communist Party on avian flu research, given the concerns surrounding the Wuhan Institute of Virology and its alleged role in the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ernst highlights that previous viral experiments, including those conducted in China, have led to outbreaks and human fatalities. She raised concerns about the lax safety standards in China's labs, emphasizing the importance of prioritizing the health and safety of Americans in funding decisions.

The bird flu experiments will be conducted not only in China but also at the USDA's Agricultural Research Service in Athens, Ga., and the University of Edinburgh's Roslin Institute will be involved in statistical modeling for the project. The nonprofit taxpayer watchdog group, White Coat Waste Project, alerted Senator Ernst to these concerning experiments. The group's senior vice president, Justin Goodman, suggests that Congress should consider cutting off funding to "unaccountable animal labs" in China and Russia through the upcoming farm bill.

It is worth noting that last year, a federal government report revealed that over $2 million in taxpayer funds were allocated to Chinese research institutions in Wuhan through National Institutes of Health and US Agency for International Development subgrants. This included funding to the Manhattan-based EcoHealth Alliance, which reportedly conducted genetic experiments involving bat coronaviruses and funded research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

Former US intelligence officials, the FBI, Energy Department, and scientific experts have suggested that the COVID-19 pandemic may have originated from a lab leak in Wuhan during gain-of-function experiments.

Senator Ernst, along with Representative Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.), has previously called for a separate investigation by the Pentagon's inspector general into over $50 million in defense grants funding Chinese pandemic research labs. The NIH admitted last October that EcoHealth had violated the terms of its grant to the Wuhan Institute of Virology, resulting in the Department of Health and Human Services barring the lab from receiving US funding for the next 10 years.

The White House has expressed vigilance about potentially dangerous scientific research conducted in China, particularly regarding biosafety and biosecurity. However, Senator Ernst and Representative Gallagher argue that the US continues to fund millions of dollars' worth of viral research abroad. The Department of Defense is currently providing $11 million in grants to EcoHealth for various research projects, including viral spillover studies in the Philippines, biosurveillance in India, and high-risk pathogen research in Liberia.

Senator Ernst's letter to USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack signals growing concerns about the allocation of US taxpayer funds for controversial research projects conducted in collaboration with China. As the debate over gain-of-function research and biosafety standards continues, the transparency and accountability of such collaborations come into question.