INSPECTOR GENERAL

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
4800 MARK CENTER DRIVE
ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA 22350-1500

April 2, 2024

The Honorable Joni K. Ernst

United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable Michael J. Gallagher

United States House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20510

Dear Senator Ernst/Representative Gallagher:

Thank you for your letter on January 25, 2024, regarding the requirement in Section 252
of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2024 (H.R. 2670) for the
Department of Defense Office of Inspector General (DoD OIG) to identify diversion of DoD
funding provided to China’s Research Labs.

On February 1, 2024, we requested information from the DoD on any DoD funding
provided to the People’s Republic of China or its affiliates for research activities relevant to the
NDAA reporting requirement. More recently, on March 8, 2024, the DoD OIG formally
announced an audit that will determine the extent to which the DoD awarded Federal funds
directly or indirectly through grants, contracts, subgrants, subcontracts, or any other type of
agreement or collaboration, during the 10-year period from 2014 through 2023, to Chinese
research labs or to fund research or experiments in China or other foreign countries designed to
enhance pathogens of pandemic potential. Copies of the DoD OIG’s request for information and
subsequent audit announcement are enclosed for your convenience.

We will keep you apprised of our progress on this reporting requirement. If you have
further questions, you may contact me or my Assistant Inspector General for Legislative Affairs
and Communications, Jaryd Bern at [email protected], or (703) 699-7372.

Sincerely,

Robert P. Storch
Inspector General

Enclosures:
1. Request for Information, dated February 1, 2024
2. Announcement memorandum, dated March 8, 2024
 OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
4800 MARK CENTER DRIVE
ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA 22350-1500

February 1, 2024

MEMORANDUM FOR DISTRIBUTION

SUBJECT: Request for Information Related to DoD Funds Provided to the People’s Republic of
China or its Affiliates for Research Activities

The purpose of this memorandum is to request information in response to Public Law 118-31,
“The FY 2024 National Defense Authorization Act,” section 252, “Audit to Identify Diversion of
Department of Defense Funding to China’s Research Labs. Section 252 requires our office to
identify and report to Congressional Defense Committees:

…the amount of Federal funds awarded by the Department of Defense (whether directly or
indirectly) through grants, contracts, subgrants, subcontracts, or any other type of
agreement or collaboration, during the 10-year period immediately preceding such date of
enactment, that—
(1) was provided, whether purposely or inadvertently, to—
(A) the People’s Republic of China;
(B) the Communist Party of China;
(C) the Wuhan Institute of Virology or any other organization administered by the
Chinese Academy of Sciences;
(D) EcoHealth Alliance Inc. for work performed in China on research supported by
the Government of China, including any subsidiaries and related organizations that
are directly controlled by EcoHealth Alliance, Inc.;
(E) the Academy of Military Medical Sciences or any of its research institutes,
including the Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology; or
(F) any other lab, agency, organization, individual, or instrumentality that is owned,
controlled (directly or indirectly), or overseen (officially or unofficially) by any of
the entities listed in subparagraphs (A) through (E); or
(2) was used to fund research or experiments that could have reasonably resulted in the
enhancement of any coronavirus, influenza, Nipah, Ebola, or other pathogen of pandemic
potential or chimeric versions of such a virus or pathogen in the People’s Republic of
China or any other foreign country.

Section 252 also requires our office to identify “(1) the countries in which the research or
experiments described in subsection (a)(2) was conducted; and (2) the pathogens involved in such
research or experiments.”

As a result of this request for information, we may initiate an audit or evaluation, make
investigative referrals, or issue management advisories or other products depending on the issues that
we identify.

We may contact senior officials and managers at various offices within the DoD to obtain
additional information related to our request and we may identify locations to visit.

We request that you designate a staff member to serve as our point of contact for this request
within 5 days of this memorandum. The point of contact should be a Government employee—a GS-
15, pay band equivalent, or military equivalent—and knowledgeable about the subject matter
outlined in Section 252, Public Law 118-31, and the systems and databases related to the objective.
Send the contact’s name, title, grade/pay band, phone number, and email address to
[email protected].

The Inspector General Act of 1978, 5 U.S.C. §§ 401-424, as amended, authorizes us to have
access to personnel and materials as we determine necessary to perform our oversight in a timely
manner. You can obtain information about the DoD Office of Inspector General from DoD Directive
5106.01, “Inspector General of the Department of Defense (IG DoD),” April 20, 2012, as amended,
and DoD Instruction 7050.03, “Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Defense Access
to Records and Information,” March 22, 2013, as amended. Our website is www.dodig.mil.

If you have any questions, please contact Mr. Ted R. Paulson at (317) 715-1152/
[email protected] or Mr. Taylor D. Heim at (703) 604-8923/ [email protected].

FOR THE INSPECTOR GENERAL:

Lorin T. Venable, CPA

Assistant Inspector General for Audit
Financial Management and Reporting

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DISTRIBUTION:
UNDER SECRETARY OF DEFENSE (COMPTROLLER)/CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER, DOD
ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF DEFENSE FOR HEALTH AFFAIRS
DIRECTOR, DEFENSE ADVANCED RESEARCH PROJECTS AGENCY
DIRECTOR, DEFENSE THREAT REDUCTION AGENCY
ADMINISTRATOR, DEFENSE TECHNICAL INFORMATION CENTER
AUDITOR GENERAL, DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY
AUDITOR GENERAL, DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY
AUDITOR GENERAL, DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE

3
 OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
4800 MARK CENTER DRIVE
ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA 22350-1500

March 8, 2024

MEMORANDUM FOR DISTRIBUTION

SUBJECT: Review of DoD Funds Provided to People’s Republic of China and

Associated Affiliates or Any Foreign Countries for Pathogen Research
(Project No. D2024-D000FL-0095.000)

The purpose of this memorandum is to notify you that we plan to begin the subject
review in March 2024 as required by Public Law 118-31, “The FY 2024 National Defense
Authorization Act,” section 252.

The objective of this review is to determine the extent to which the DoD awarded Federal
funds directly or indirectly through grants, contracts, subgrants, subcontracts, or any other type
of agreement or collaboration, during the 10-year period from 2014 through 2023, to Chinese
research labs or to fund research or experiments in China or other foreign countries designed to
enhance pathogens of pandemic potential.
We may revise the objective as the review proceeds and will consider suggestions from
management for additional or revised objectives. We plan to perform this review in accordance
with Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency, “Quality Standards for
Federal Offices of Inspector General.”

We will perform the review at the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Acquisition
and Sustainment), Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller)/Chief Financial
Officer, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Research and Engineering), Defense
Advanced Research Projects Agency, and Office of Naval Research in Arlington, Virginia;
Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Health Affairs) and Defense Health Agency in
Falls Church, Virginia; Defense Threat Reduction Agency at Fort Belvoir, Virginia; U.S. Army
Medical Research and Development Command and U.S. Army Medical Research Acquisition
Activity at Fort Detrick, Maryland; Walter Reed Institute of Research and Naval Medical
Research Command in Silver Spring, Maryland; Naval Research Laboratory in Washington
D.C.; and Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. We may
identify additional DoD Components during the review.

We request that you designate a staff member to serve as our point of contact for this
request within 5 days of this memorandum unless you have provided a point of contact in
response to our “Request for Information Related to DoD Funds Provided to the People’s
Republic of China or its Affiliates for Research Activities,” February 1, 2024 (enclosure). The
point of contact should be a Government employee—a GS-15, pay band equivalent, or military
equivalent—and knowledgeable of contracts and grants awarded for medical research, and the
systems and databases related to the objective. Send the contact’s name, title, grade/pay band,
phone number, and email address to [email protected].
 The Inspector General Act of 1978, 5 U.S.C. §§ 401-424, as amended, authorizes us to
have access to personnel and materials as we determine necessary to perform our oversight in a
timely manner. You can obtain information about the DoD Office of Inspector General from
DoD Directive 5106.01, “Inspector General of the Department of Defense (IG DoD),” April 20,
2012, as amended, and DoD Instruction 7050.03, “Office of the Inspector General of the
Department of Defense Access to Records and Information,” March 22, 2013, as amended. Our
website is www.dodig.mil.

If you have any questions, please contact Mr. Craig W. Michaels at (317) 715-1136/
[email protected], or Mr. Ted R. Paulson at (317) 715-1152/[email protected].

FOR THE INSPECTOR GENERAL:

Lorin T. Venable, CPA

Assistant Inspector General for Audit
Financial Management and Reporting

Enclosure:
“Request for Information Related to DoD Funds Provided to the People’s Republic of China or
its Affiliates for Research Activities,” February 1, 2024

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DISTRIBUTION:

UNDER SECRETARY OF DEFENSE (ACQUISITION AND SUSTAINMENT)

UNDER SECRETARY OF DEFENSE (COMPTROLLER)/DEPUTY CHIEF FINANCIAL
OFFICER, DOD
UNDER SECRETARY OF DEFENSE (RESEACH AND ENGINEERING)
ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF DEFENSE (HEALTH AFFAIRS)
DIRECTOR, DEFENSE ADVANCED RESEARCH PROJECTS AGENCY
DIRECTOR, DEFENSE HEALTH AGENCY
DIRECTOR, DEFENSE THREAT REDUCTION AGENCY
AUDITOR GENERAL, DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY
AUDITOR GENERAL, DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY
AUDITOR GENERAL, DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE