The House voted unanimously on Friday to declassify U.S. intelligence information about the origins of COVID-19, a sweeping show of bipartisan support near the third anniversary of the start of the deadly pandemic.

What You Need To Know

  • Congress passed a bill to declassify U.S. intelligence information about the origins of COVID-19

  • The measure, introduced by Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley, was passed unanimously by both the House of Representatives and the Senate

  • The order to declassify focused on intelligence related to China's Wuhan Institute of Virology, citing "potential links" between the research that was done there and the outbreak of COVID-19

  • It offers a rare moment of bipartisanship despite the often heated rhetoric about the origins of the coronavirus and the questions about the response to the virus by U.S. health officials, including former top health adviser Anthony Fauci

The 419-0 vote was final approval of the bill, sending it to President Joe Biden's desk to be signed into law.

Debate was brief and to the point: Americans have questions about how the deadly virus started and what can be done to prevent future outbreaks.

"The American public deserves answers to every aspect of the COVID-19 pandemic," said Rep. Michael Turner, R-Ohio, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee.

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

The order to declassify focused on intelligence related to China's Wuhan Institute of Virology, citing "potential links" between the research that was done there and the outbreak of COVID-19, which the World Health Organization declared a pandemic on March 11, 2020.

U.S. intelligence agencies are divided over whether a lab leak or a spillover from animals is the likely source of the deadly virus.

Experts say the true origin of the coronavirus pandemic, which has killed more than 1 million Americans, may not be known for many years — if ever.

"Transparency is a cornerstone of our democracy," said Rep. Jim Himes, of Connecticut, the top Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, during the debate.

Led by Republicans, the focus on the virus origins comes as the House launched a select committee with a hearing earlier in the week delving into 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 the questions about the response to the virus by U.S. health officials, including former top health adviser Anthony Fauci.

The legislation from Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., was already approved by the Senate.

"Today the House passed my COVID origins bill with bipartisan support, sending it to the president’s desk," Hawley wrote in a statement. "This is a great first step in holding China accountable for this crisis, and I urge President Biden to sign it immediately. The American people deserve to know the truth."

Hawley also penned a letter to China's President Xi Jinping to notify him that his bill was passed by both chambers of Congress.

"Today the U.S. House of Representatives followed the Senate in unanimously adopting my bill to declassify U.S. government intelligence on the origins of the COVID virus," the Missouri Republican wrote to the Chinese leader. "I know you are keenly interested in this bill."

"The bill will soon be law - unless you can convince President Biden to veto it," the letter continues. "Time is up. Come clean about your role in spreading COVID to the world."

If signed into law, the measure would require within 90 days the declassification of "any and all information relating to potential links between the Wuhan Institute of Virology and the origin of the Coronavirus Disease."

That includes information about research and other activities at the lab and whether any researchers grew ill.