Senator Marshall: Congress Must Permanently End Gain-of-Function Research

Senator Marshall Delivers Remarks Urging End to Gain-of-Function Research Washington – U.S. Senator Marshall, M.D. (R-Kansas), today on the Senate floor requested unanimous consent for his Dangerous Viral Gain of Function Research Moratorium Act , urging Congress to permanently end taxpayer funding for dangerous viral gain-of-function research and codify the Trump Administration’s recent executive action into law. In his floor remarks, Senator Marshall reflected on the devastating loss of American life during the COVID-19 pandemic, arguing that Congress has a responsibility to ensure American taxpayer dollars are never again used to support research that could result in another global catastrophe. Click HERE or on the image above to watch Senator Marshall’s full remarks. Senator Marshall’s full speech as delivered: “Mr. President, I rise today to ask this Senate body to join me in stopping the funding of viral gain-of-function research. Viral gain-of-function research is what led, of course, to the COVID virus being developed and, of course, the COVID epidemic. I think it’s important to pause and remember why this is still important, even five or six years later. We all know we lost more than a million Americans to this COVID virus. Twenty million Americans still suffer from long COVID. Many Americans died alone—whether in nursing homes or in their own homes—without being allowed to have their children or their spouses visit them in those final moments of their lives. We had tens of millions of students miss their senior year of high school or college. Maybe it was the state track meet. Maybe it was the state softball championship they had been working toward their entire lives. We still have children with learning deficits, especially in reading, not to mention the lasting effects on their social interactions and emotional development. This COVID virus left a tremendous physical, economic, and emotional scar on America. That’s why I’m asking that we stop this viral gain-of-function research. I’m also proud that the President recently agreed to stop the funding. I’ve been calling for this since 2021. I think it’s important to recognize how Anthony Fauci evaded the intent of Congress and even the policies of his own White House. President Obama directed that this type of viral gain-of-function research be halted, but Anthony Fauci always found a loophole. And when it became more difficult to conduct here, the funding was simply offshored. Make no mistake about it: the United States funded viral gain-of-function research for decades. This was Anthony Fauci’s baby. He believed this research would be his ticket to a Nobel Prize. Whether you’re a physician like myself, a mom or dad, a business owner, or a military officer, you always have to weigh the benefits against the risks. Frankly, I’m not sure what the benefits really are. We were told that if some unknown organism appeared, this research might help us develop a vaccine more quickly. But the downside was always the possibility that a virus created in a laboratory could escape. And history shows that laboratory accidents happen. In 1978, a smallpox virus escaped from a laboratory in the United Kingdom. In 2007, the foot-and-mouth virus was accidentally released from a laboratory in the United Kingdom. In 2014, the CDC experienced an anthrax exposure incident. That same year, unsecured smallpox vials were discovered at an NIH and FDA storage facility. Even laboratory mice infected with these engineered viruses have escaped from research facilities. It simply seemed like we were setting ourselves up for failure. Despite scientist after scientist, president after president, warning Anthony Fauci to stop this research, he persisted, and he persisted, and he persisted until finally COVID-19 was accidentally released from a laboratory in Wuhan, China, and the rest is history. That’s why I believe it’s so important that we stop the funding of this research once and for all. Let’s codify what the President has done and ensure that this policy becomes permanent law—at least until someone can come before Congress and say, “We have developed a foolproof system for safely conducting this type of research.” But when you’re creating monster viruses, the worst-case scenario isn’t just an accidental laboratory leak. It’s terrorism. Once these viruses are created, they can be replicated and potentially turned into biological weapons—posing a far greater long-term threat to America than nuclear warheads. Think about this: this virus alone has been exponentially more lethal than decades of nuclear weapons. This bill does one simple thing: it stops federal tax dollars from funding the kind of research that can turn a virus into a weapon. No more offshoring risk to avoid oversight. No more asking permission from the very agencies that created the problem. Therefore, Mr. President, as if in legislative session and notwithstanding Rule XXII, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions be discharged from further consideration of S. 738; that the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration; that the bill be considered read a third time and passed; and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.” ### Contact: Payton Fuller