During Friday’s Republican Weekly Address, Rep. Brad Wenstrup (R-OH) stated that the U.S. “shouldn’t be funding our adversaries who are engaged in dangerous research that could cause a pandemic.” And many Democrats in Congress “don’t seem to feel the urgency to find the crucial answers” on the origins of COVID-19.

Transcript as Follows: 

“My name is Brad Wenstrup. I represent Southern and Southwestern Ohioans in the Second District, and I’m excited to deliver this week’s Republican Address.

As a doctor and soldier, I have been focused on helping Americans beat the pandemic and restore our way of life.

President Trump’s Operation Warp Speed was a modern-day miracle, and I was honored when his administration called our GOP Doctors Caucus to help explain for the American people the science, safety, and efficacy of our of treatments and vaccines.

Over the past few months, I’ve been in the field, administering vaccines and witnessing the ingenuity, resiliency, and all-around goodness of our heroic doctors, nurses, frontline workers, and volunteers. And, if you haven’t been vaccinated yet, I encourage you to talk to your doctor about what’s best for you – talk to the doctor who you know and trust.

Now that we’re closing back in on normal, we’re turning our focus to uncovering the truth of where this horrible virus originated. We are working to ensure that what happened to hundreds of thousands of Americans and people around the world who lost their lives to COVID, never happens again. We are working to be better prepared to prevent – or fight off — any illnesses that threaten us in the future.

Led by Kevin McCarthy’s sound 8 pillars for transparency and accountability, House Republicans are actively fighting for honesty and responsibility.

As a member of the Intelligence Committee, my Republican colleagues and I have discovered more and more evidence that suggests that the virus known as COVID-19 originated from the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China.

Through our investigations, we’ve uncovered that your taxpayer dollars were funneled to the Wuhan lab – the very lab that was conducting sensitive and dangerous ‘gain-of-function’ research. These experiments are where scientists supercharge pathogens – like a virus – to make them more contagious and dangerous.

As a nation, we shouldn’t be funding our adversaries who are engaged in dangerous research that could cause a pandemic. I’ve introduced legislation to ensure that we do not do that. Unfortunately, many of our colleagues on the other side of the aisle don’t seem to feel the urgency to find the crucial answers.

Our Republican conference has talented members with a broad range of expertise in many fields. House Republicans will continue to pursue truth and justice because that’s the American way. God bless you and be well.”

Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett