Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) and Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) have introduced legislation in both chambers of Congress that would eliminate the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) — the agency that was led by Anthony Fauci from 1984 to 2022.
To ensure that ineffective, unscientific lockdowns and mandates are never foisted on the American people again I’ve introduced this bill to eliminate Fauci’s previous position as Director of the NIAID and divide the role into three separate new institutes. https://t.co/zCWlfZu7ds
— Senator Rand Paul (@SenRandPaul) March 23, 2023
The NIH Reform Act, which was introduced in both chambers on Thursday, would eliminate the NIAID and replace it with three separate national research institutes — the National Institute of Allergic Diseases, the National Institute of Infectious Diseases, and the National Institute of Immunologic Diseases. Each of these institutes would have a different director that would have to be confirmed by the Senate, and the directors would all be limited to a maximum of two five-year terms.
The text of this legislation was first obtained by The Daily Caller, which reported that the Senate version of the bill already has four co-sponsors — Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Sen. Mike Braun (R-IN) and Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO).
Paul discussed the bill and the motivations behind it in a statement to The Daily Caller.
“We’ve learned a lot over the past few years, but one lesson, in particular, is that no one person should be deemed ‘dictator-in-chief,’” the Kentucky senator said. “No one person should have unilateral authority to make decisions for millions of Americans.”
“To ensure that ineffective, unscientific lockdowns and mandates are never foisted on the American people ever again, I’ve introduced this bill to eliminate Dr. Anthony Fauci’s previous position as Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and divide the role into three separate new institutes,” Paul explained. “This will create accountability and oversight into a taxpayer-funded position that has largely abused its power and has been responsible for many failures and misinformation during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
@RandPaul on Fauci cashing in off the Covid vaccine: $400 million in total goes to the NIH and even if it’s goes back out in grants, it’s still self-interested. Fauci was in charge of dispensing all this money while being a policy maker. pic.twitter.com/7DjXvinvHk
— Jesse Watters Primetime (@jesseprimetime) March 23, 2023
“[L]ikely there is no public figure or public health figure that has made a greater error in judgment than Dr. Fauci,” the senator said in December 2022. “The error in judgment was to fund gain of function research in a totalitarian country. Fund research that allowed them to create super viruses that, in all likelihood, accidentally leaked into the public and caused seven million people to die.”
Rep. Roy, who introduced the House version of the bill and has also been a longtime critic of Fauci, also spoke with The Daily Caller about the bill:
“From the earliest days of the pandemic, unaccountable public health bureaucracies proved themselves far more adept at ruining lives than saving them,” the Texas congressman said. “Never again should a single individual, like Dr. Anthony Fauci, wield unchecked power and influence over the lives of the American people. Breaking up Dr. Fauci’s taxpayer-funded bully pulpit into three separate agencies — and requiring Senate confirmation for all their future directors — is one of many actions necessary to allow the American people to hold public health agencies accountable.”
