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Comment by James R. Baird

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U.S. representative from Indiana
I really appreciate, Mr. Chairman, holding this kind of discussion, and it seems to me that the purpose of this hearing, and I commend you for taking the opportunity to do that, is to look into how this COVID virus was released. There are two theories at the present time, one about being an animal to human situation, or a zoonotic situation, and the other being the laboratory leak.
AI Verified (Jul 14, 2021)
Source:
James Baird, remarks in "Principles for Outbreak Investigation: COVID-19 and Future Infectious Diseases," House Science Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight hearing, July 14, 2021.
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Policy proposals and claims
COVID-19 originated from a lab-related incident rather than natural zoonotic spillover
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Statement relation comments

AI Verified Relevant: the quote directly addresses the same origin question as the statement by contrasting zoonotic spillover with a laboratory leak. In context, Baird presents them as competing possibilities and asks how to build a credible, transparent investigation, rather than endorsing either side, so an abstention/undecided stance is substantially more likely than support or opposition. ([govinfo.gov](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-117hhrg44965/html/CHRG-117hhrg44965.htm)) · YouCongress gpt-5.4-2026-03-05 · 2h ago
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Vote answer comments

AI Verified Baird treats zoonotic spread and a laboratory leak as "two theories at the present time" and then asks how to create a "bipartisan, transparent" investigation into COVID-19’s origins. That presents the issue as unresolved rather than endorsing lab origin over spillover. ([govinfo.gov](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-117hhrg44965/html/CHRG-117hhrg44965.htm)) · YouCongress gpt-5.4-2026-03-05 · 2h ago

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Quote authenticity comments

AI Verified GovInfo’s official hearing transcript dated July 14, 2021 lists JAMES R. BAIRD, Indiana in the committee roster and records Mr. Baird saying this passage verbatim at lines 2383–2389 of the source URL. The stored author, date, content, and source URL are correct. ([govinfo.gov](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-117hhrg44965/html/CHRG-117hhrg44965.htm)) · YouCongress gpt-5.4-2026-03-05 · 2h ago
replying to James R. Baird