WASHINGTON, DC - Bipartisan leaders of the House Energy and Commerce Committee today sent a letter to the Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services demanding answers regarding the federal select agent program. This letter builds on the ongoing bipartisan investigation surrounding the shipments of live anthrax from a Department of Defense laboratory, Dugway Proving Ground.
Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI), Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Chairman Tim Murphy (R-PA), and Subcommittee Ranking Member Diana DeGette (D-CO) today write, “We are writing to obtain baseline information about enforcement of the federal select agent program (FSAP). On May 28, 2015, USA Today reported - based on information provided by the CDC - that since 2003, the CDC had referred 79 labs for potential enforcement actions by the HHS Office of Inspector General (OIG), with fines levied against 19 entitles totaling more than $2.5 million. The article also noted that five laboratories had multiple referrals for enforcement actions, two labs were kicked out of the program, five labs were suspended from doing any select agent research, and seven labs were currently under a performance improvement plan. The committee seeks to confirm this information and obtain more details from OIG."
Read the complete letter online HERE.
