GOP lawmakers ask Barr, Pompeo to bring case against China to the International Court of Justice

EXCLUSIVE: Indiana GOP Rep. Jim Banks has sent a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Attorney General William Barr urging them to bring a case against China to the International Court of Justice (ICIJ) for the country’s actions during the coronavirus pandemic. The letter, obtained by Fox News on Monday, was co-signed by 22 other lawmakers in the lower house of Congress. It claims that China has violated the 2005 International Health Regulations by suppressing information about the COVID-19 outbreak in the city of Wuhan earlier this year and underreporting the number of infections and deaths caused by the contagion.

“The Chinese state made intentional false claims to its own people and the world about the nature of the virus,” Banks wrote in his letter. “China rejected repeated offers from the [World Health Organization] and [the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] in late January and early February to study the new disease without explanation.” Banks added: “If China fails to submit itself to a fair trial in the International Court of Justice, the Charter of the United Nations gives guidance to injured parties: Articles 49-51 explain how states could suspend their obligations to China as means to induce Beijing to fulfill its responsibility for the calamitous damages inflicted on the world.” China in recent weeks has come under intense scrutiny for its handling of the virus’ outbreak and how it allowed it to spread worldwide. “We know that there is the Wuhan Institute of Virology just a handful of miles away from where the wet market was,” Pompeo said.

U.S. officials say the American Embassy in Beijing flagged concerns about potential safety issues at the lab in Wuhan in 2018, but stressed there's no evidence the virus originated there nearly two years later. According to a recent analysis by the Associated Press, more than 3,000 people had been infected before China’s government told the public what it had concluded six days earlier — that a pandemic was probably coming. Critics have accused Beijing of muffling early warnings, such that the Chinese were assured the risk of sustained human-to-human transmission was low even as infected people entered hospitals across the country and the first case outside China was found, in Thailand. “Doctors in Wuhan were afraid,” said Dali Yang, a professor of Chinese politics at the University of Chicago. “It was truly intimidation of an entire profession.”

The United States, though, has also faced criticism over its response to the pandemic, including over the president's early promises to have ample testing, a key factor in containing the disease. More than 761,000 people in the U.S. have been sickened with COVID-19, not counting large numbers whose illnesses are not being registered, and more than 40,000 have died, according to figures compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/gop-lawmakers-ask-barr-pompeo-to-bring-case-against-china-to-the-international-court-of-justice

Senate sets up Tuesday session to try to pass coronavirus relief deal

The Senate will try to pass a forthcoming agreement on coronavirus aid as soon as Tuesday if negotiators are able to reach a deal. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) amended the Senate schedule to set up the Tuesday meeting; the chamber had previously only been expected to meet this week on Monday and Thursday. The Tuesday meeting will give the chamber another chance to pass a deal on an "interim" coronavirus relief bill, and keep the House on track with Majority Leader Steny Hoyer's timeline of voting as soon as Wednesday. "Since this is so urgent, I have asked that the Senate meet again tomorrow in a new session that was not previously scheduled, and the Democratic leader has agreed to my request. Colleagues, it is past time, past time, to get this done for the country," McConnell said from the Senate floor. Asked about the negotiations by reporters, he added: "We're getting closer and hopefully we'll have an agreement sometime later today."

The initial $350 billion for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ran out last week, adding urgency for Congress to act quickly amid high demand for the financial help as the coronavirus has forced businesses to scale back or close altogether. The decision to schedule another session comes as congressional negotiators and the Trump administration are close to an agreement on more coronavirus aid, with both sides aiming to announce the deal on Monday. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) had hoped to pass an agreement on Monday, but negotiations dragged on through the day, making action by the Senate's mid-afternoon session unrealistic. “It’s now been four days since the Paycheck Protection Program ran out of money. Republicans have been trying to secure more funding for this critical program for a week and a half," McConnell said from the Senate floor. “At this hour, our Democratic colleagues are still prolonging their discussions with the administration, so the Senate regretfully won’t be able to pass more funding for Americans’ paychecks today," he added.

The contours of the deal, according to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, include $300 billion for the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program including money specifically for small banks, $50 billion for the Economic Injury Disaster Loan, $75 billion for hospitals and $25 billion for testing. But how to structure the testing funds was still an open point of discussion Monday. Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) told CNN's "State of the Union" that the federal government had to be coordinating the testing nationwide. "You can't have it state by state. … You need the federal government to focus," he said. Democrats introduced their own plan last week that would require the Trump administration to scale up the ability for a nationwide testing regime. Senate Democrats also fumed during a call late last week with Vice President Pence, with sources telling The Hill that lawmakers felt like they weren't getting answers to their questions on testing.

Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) said Monday that lawmakers on a White House-appointed task force also questioned President Trump during a call last week on testing. "I think the testing issue is what really got hit hard. In other words, 'Mr. President, the American people are not going to feel good and right about opening back up until we have more robust testing,' " Capito said during a radio interview with WRNR, a West Virginia radio station. Public health experts have said widespread, widely available testing is a requirement for starting to lift social distancing requirements put in place to help limit the spread of the coronavirus. But the administration has placed the onus on states to carry out their own testing, positioning the federal government as a backup. "States, not the Federal Government, should be doing the Testing - But we will work with the Governors and get it done. This is easy compared to the fast production of thousands of complex Ventilators!" Trump tweeted on Monday. Republicans have also said that additional money for state and local governments will not be in the bill, a detail that Democrats haven't yet publicly conceded.

https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/493702-senate-sets-up-tuesday-session-to-try-to-pass-coronavirus-relief-deal

Congressional watchdog preparing blitz of coronavirus audits

The congressional watchdog is preparing a wave of audits on the Trump administration’s response to the coronavirus crisis. The Government Accountability Office will conduct at least 30 audits and reviews into the CARES Act by the end of April, according to Politico.

The audits include looking into possible missteps in distributing stimulus payments and medical equipment, as well as the handling of nursing home infections and the nation’s food supply. The office’s top investigator said it has already received a complaint that a dead person received a stimulus check. “We’re moving forward very quickly,” said Angela Nicole Clowers, chief of the watchdog’s healthcare unit. “We’re an existing institution and have a lot of institutional knowledge about all these programs. It gives us sort of a leg up.” The audits could lead Trump to unleash his fury against the watchdog, of which he has little control over because the independent agency works for Congress. Earlier this month, Trump removed Glenn Fine, the acting Pentagon watchdog, who was supposed to oversee the implementation of the $2.2 trillion coronavirus package.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/congressional-watchdog-preparing-blitz-of-coronavirus-audits

https://docs.house.gov/meetings/GO/GO24/20130911/101279/HHRG-113-GO24-Bio-ClowersA-20130911.pdf