{"id":2283413,"date":"2024-06-25T16:13:02","date_gmt":"2024-06-25T20:13:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ernst-demands-defense-department-release-unredacted-report-on-funds-to-chinese-labs-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2024-06-25T16:15:46","modified_gmt":"2024-06-25T20:15:46","slug":"ernst-demands-defense-department-release-unredacted-report-on-funds-to-chinese-labs-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ernst-demands-defense-department-release-unredacted-report-on-funds-to-chinese-labs-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Ernst demands Defense Department release unredacted report on funds to Chinese labs &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">30<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fernst-demands-defense-department-release-unredacted-report-on-funds-to-chinese-labs-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2283413&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA)\u200d is pressing the Department\u200c of Defense to release an unredacted version of a report that details\u2062 the\u200c <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/nfl-giving-thousands-to-defund-the-police-groups-through-its-inspire-change-program\/\" title=\"NFL Giving Thousands to 'Defund the Police' Groups Through its 'Inspire Change' Program\">funding allocated<\/a> \u200bto Chinese laboratories for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/white-house-releases-list-of-president-trumps-accomplishments-and-it-is-historic\/\" title=\"White House Releases List of President Trump\u2019s Accomplishments \u2013  And It Is Historic!\">virus research<\/a>.\u200d The request \u2062comes after the Department \u200cof Defense\u2019s Office of \u2064Inspector\u200b General issued a report, \u2064as required by the fiscal 2024 National \u2063Defense Authorization Act. This report, \u200cwhich discusses monetary contributions \u200dto Chinese labs, including\u200b some used for enhancing pathogens of pandemic \u2063potential, concluded that it \u2064could \u200bnot fully\u2062 account for the extent of\u200b the funds due \u200bto limitations in\u2063 the DoD\u2019s systems for tracking contracts and grants. The report contained several redactions, including entirely censored pages, leading Senator Ernst to criticize the Pentagon for \u2062what she perceives as\u200c obfuscating \u2063the flow \u200bof millions of dollars \u200dto potentially <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/lawmakers-unveil-bipartisan-bill-to-freeze-funding-for-gain-of-function-research\/\" title=\"Lawmakers Unveil Bipartisan Bill to Freeze Funding For Gain-of-Function Research\">risky research<\/a> \u2063endeavors in China. Ernst contends \u2064that the American\u200c public deserves\u2064 clarity on how their taxpayer \u2062dollars are being spent.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Sen. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/joni-ernst\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Joni Ernst\">Joni Ernst<\/a> (R-IA) is demanding that the <a href=\"https:\/\/washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/defense-department\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Department of Defense\">Department of Defense<\/a> release the unredacted version of a report detailing funds given to Chinese laboratories for virus research.<\/p>\n<p>The Defense Department\u2019s Office of Inspector General <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/3054842\/pentagon-does-not-know-how-much-money-went-to-chinese-labs-including-wuhan\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"issued\">issued<\/a> a report last week, as mandated by the fiscal 2024 National Defense Authorization Act, on the funds directly and indirectly given to Chinese laboratories for research or related to enhancement of pathogens of pandemic potential, but it concluded it was unable to determine the full extent of the funds given due to \u201climitations in the DoD\u2019s systems used to track contracts and grants.\u201d The report also featured several redactions, including the censoring of full pages.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot only did the DoD OIG report confirm that the Pentagon is sending millions to China for risky research, but the agency is attempting to cover it up,\u201d\u00a0Ernst said in a statement to the <em>Washington Examiner.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt should not take years of me demanding investigations for the American people to know how Washington is spending their tax dollars,\u201d she continued. \u201cI am calling on the Pentagon to stop playing procedural games and release the entire report, unredacted, and start tracking every penny sent to China so there is accountability for how those tax dollars are being spent.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The provision in the NDAA mandating the report was the effort of Ernst and former Wisconsin Rep. Mike Gallagher, a Republican, both of whom have pushed for transparency on funds given to pathogen research in Chinese labs since the coronavirus pandemic. Ernst sent a letter on Tuesday to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin asking for answers on why the report was \u201cinexplicably redacted\u201d and seeking the release of an unredacted version of the report.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWith DoD secretly funding risky research on dangerous pathogens and diseases in China, this alarming Inspector General investigation demonstrates Washington hasn\u2019t learned any lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic,\u201d Ernst wrote in the letter obtained by the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Pentagon should allow the OIG to immediately release, in full, an uncensored and unredacted version of the report,\u201d she continued. \u201cThere is no reason for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/las-vegas-man-who-leaped-over-bench-to-attack-judge-reportedly-wanted-to-kill-her\/\" title=\"Las Vegas man attempted to attack judge, aiming to kill her\">playing hide-<\/a>and-seek with how and where the hard-earned money provided by taxpayers is being spent.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>She asked for explanations on why information was redacted and who recommended the redactions, along with why expenditures in the report were not included in USAspending.gov and why the Navy did not cooperate with the report. Ernst also requests an explanation for why the Defense Department was \u201ccollaborating with a Chinese company affiliated with the [People\u2019s Liberation Army] that poses a potential threat to U.S. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/we-got-it-newsmax-reporter-emerald-robinson-national-security-source-confirms-a-piece-of-hardware-has-been-secured-in-germany\/\" title=\"We Got It! - Newsmax Reporter Emerald Robinson: National Security Source Confirms \"A Piece of Hardware Has Been Secured\" in Germany\">national security<\/a> and intellectual property.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ernst said she is requesting a response from Austin by Aug. 1.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) is urging the Department of Defense to disclose an unredacted report on funds allocated to Chinese labs for virus research. This follows a report issued last week by the Defense Department\u2019s Office of Inspector General, as required by the fiscal 2024 National Defense Authorization Act, detailing these financial transactions<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2638,"featured_media":2283414,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/joni-ernst-senate-iowa.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[32685,11232,32686],"class_list":["post-2283413","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-defense-department","tag-ernst","tag-unredacted-report"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/joni-ernst-senate-iowa.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2283413","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2638"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2283413"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2283413\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2283414"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2283413"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2283413"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2283413"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}