Some very powerful forces in play here.
From the text of the National Defense Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2026:
....SEC. 6803. DECLASSIFICATION OF INTELLIGENCE AND ADDITIONAL TRANSPARENCY
MEASURES RELATING TO THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC.
Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this
Act, the Director of National Intelligence shall, jointly with the head
of each element of the intelligence community--
(1) perform a declassification review of intelligence
relating to the origins of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19),
including--
(A) research conducted at the Wuhan Institute of
Virology or any other medical or scientific research
center within the People's Republic of China;
(B) information relating to Gain of Function
research and the intention of this research;
(C) information relating to sources of funding or
direction for research on coronaviruses, including both
sources within the People's Republic of China and
foreign sources; and
(D) the possibility of zoonotic origins of COVID-
19;
(2) perform a declassification review of intelligence
relating to efforts by government officials of entities of the
People's Republic of China--
(A) to disrupt or obstruct information sharing or
investigations into the origins of the coronavirus
disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic;
(B) to disrupt the sharing of medically significant
information relating to the transmissibility and
potential harm of SARS-CoV-2 to humans, including--
(i) efforts to limit the sharing of
information with the United States Government;
(ii) efforts to limit the sharing of
information with the governments of allies and
partners of the United States; and
(iii) efforts to limit the sharing of
information with the United Nations and World
Health Organization;
(C) to obstruct or otherwise limit the sharing of
information between national, provincial, and city
governments within the People's Republic of China and
between subnational entities within the People's
Republic of China and external researchers;
(D) to deny the sharing of information with the
United States, allies and partners of the United
States, or multilateral organizations, including the
United Nations and the World Health Organization;
(E) to pressure or lobby foreign governments,
journalists, medical researchers, officials of the
United States Government, or officials of multilateral
organizations (including the United Nations and the
World Health Organization) with respect to the source,
scientific origins, transmissibility, or other
attributes of the SARS-CoV-2 virus or the COVID-19
pandemic;
(F) to disrupt government or private-sector efforts
to conduct research and development of medical
interventions or countermeasures for the COVID-19
pandemic, including vaccines; and
(G) to promote alternative narratives regarding the
origins of COVID-19 as well as the domestic Chinese and
international response to the COVID-19 pandemic;
(3) release publicly the intelligence products described in
paragraphs (1) and (2) including such redactions as the
Director, with the concurrence of the head of the originating
intelligence community element, determines necessary to protect
sources and methods and information concerning United States
persons; and
(4) submit to the congressional intelligence committees an
unredacted version of the declassified intelligence products
described in paragraph (3).
The big ($900 billion) bill has passed the House of Representatives and is now before the Senate.
