The House of Representatives on Friday voted unanimously to release information from US intelligence about the origins of COVID-19, an overwhelming show of bipartisan support near the third anniversary of the start of the deadly pandemic.

The 419-0 vote was the final approval of the bill by Congress and sent it to President Biden’s office. It’s unclear if the president will sign the measure into law, and the White House said the matter is under investigation.

We are reviewing the bill, the White House said

press secretary Press secretary

Karine Jean Pierre.

The debate in the House of Representatives was short and sweet: Americans have questions about how the deadly virus originated and what can be done to prevent future outbreaks.

The American public deserves answers to every aspect of the COVID-19 pandemic, Rep. Michael said

R

Turner (R-Ohio), the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee.

That includes, he said, how this virus was made and, specifically, whether it was a natural occurrence or the result of a lab-related event.

Opinion: I called for more research on the COVID ‘laboratory leak theory’. This is what I discovered

The release order targeted intelligence related to China’s Wuhan Institute of Virology, citing possible links between the research conducted there and the COVID-19 outbreak, which the World Health Organization declared a pandemic on March 11, 2020.

US intelligence agencies are divided on whether a lab leak or animal spillover is the likely source of the deadly virus.

Experts say that the true origin of the

coronavirus (COVID-19

pandemic, which has claimed the lives of more than 1 million Americans, may not have been known for years, if ever.

Transparency is a cornerstone of our democracy, Representative Jim Himes of Connecticut, the top Democrat on the intelligence committee, said during the debate.

Led by Republicans, the focus on the origins of the virus comes as the House earlier this week launched a select committee with a hearing that deepened theories about how the pandemic started.

It offers a rare moment of bipartisanship despite the often heated rhetoric about the origins of the coronavirus and questions about the response to the virus from US health officials, including former top health officials.

advisor advisor

Dr Antonius Fauci.

The COVID-19 pandemic most likely started with a laboratory leak, says the US Department of Energy

Senator Josh Hawley’s (R-Mo.) legislation had already been passed by the Senate.

Hawley urged Biden to sign the bill into law. “The American people deserve to know the truth,” he said in a statement.

If the measure is signed into law, all information regarding possible links between the Wuhan Institute of Virology and the origin of the coronavirus disease must be released within 90 days.

It contains information about research and other activities in the lab and whether researchers have fallen ill.

Associated Press writer Seung Min Kim contributed to this report.