Mr. Williams said DTRA reviews all activities related to NGOs “to make sure that the risk for government funding is minimalized and in keeping with the traditions and the boundaries of the federal acquisition process but equally in policy as well.”
Ms. Vann, the acting assistant defense secretary, added that other defense agencies involved in nuclear, chemical and biological (NCB) programs reviewed funding of EcoHealth Alliance research and found no links to the Chinese lab.
“We also across the NCB did a thorough review to identify any potential access or investment into the Wuhan laboratory, and we have not identified any,” she said in response to questioning from Mississippi Rep. Trent Kelly, the ranking Republican member of the subcommittee. “It is something that we continue to watch to ensure that our investments are not going to places where they should not be,” she noted.