WASHINGTON (TNND) — Lawmakers say it’s disgraceful that Americans still know so little about the origins of COVID-19.

A House Committee tasked with oversight on the U.S. government's response to the pandemic held its final hearing on the matter Thursday. Committee members also outlined lessons learned to try to prevent the next pandemic.

"One thing I think there’s bipartisan agreement: there were a lot of mistakes made during the Covid pandemic," said Rep. James Comer, the Republican chair of the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability.

Rep. Jill Tokuda, D-Hawaii, asked, "Right now, are we prepared for what will come next given our current capacity?"

Dr. Henry Walke, Director of the CDC Office of Readiness and Response answered, "We’re better prepared. We're more prepared than we were, absolutely."

How it started is the key question that has gone unanswered.

It took China more than a year before allowing a World Health Organization team into the country - a visit tightly controlled by China.

One scientist insisted the team was pressured to omit mention of the lab leak theory , instead making this public statement.

“The laboratory incident hypothesis is extremely unlikely," Dr. Peter Ben Embarek, a former World Health Organization Scientist said in a February 2021 news conference.

However, Republican Kentucky Senator Rand Paul insisted for years the U.S. also had a role in funding research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, in the same city where the virus is believed to have started.

He told New York Post he plans to target the "Covid coverup." Earlier this year, a bill called the Risky Research Review Act, was put forth following years of contentious fights with Doctor Anthony Fauci.

During a May 2021 hearing, Paul said, "Dr. Fauci, do you still support funding of the NIH funding of the lab in Wuhan?"

Fauci responded, "The NIH has not ever and does not now fund gain of function of research in the Wuhan."

Several reports since that time have suggested otherwise.