Washington, DC - Energy and Commerce Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) sent a letter to Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar today calling for a top-down review of HHS to confront the ethical lapses and conflicts of interest that have plagued the department over the past year. Secretary Azar is scheduled to appear before the Energy and Commerce Committee later today for a hearing on the Trump Administration’s budget proposal.
Under the Trump Administration, multiple senior HHS officials have been forced to resign due to serious ethics violations and conflicts of interest, calling into question Administration officials’ ability to fulfill their obligations to the American people free of undue influence. Last year, former Secretary Tom Price was forced to resign after reports exposed his exorbitant use of taxpayer dollars to charter private planes for his travel. Then, just this month, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Brenda Fitzgerald resigned following reports that she traded shares of tobacco, drug and food companies one month into her tenure as head of CDC.
“It seems likely that Secretary Price and political staff at HHS were in violation of federal travel regulations. This lapse in judgment and respect for taxpayer dollars is troubling, and I remain concerned that the failure to comply with federal travel guidelines may be a broader problem throughout the Department," Pallone wrote to Secretary Azar.
Pallone also expressed concern that Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Seema Verma may be in violation of her ethics agreement, and a promise of recusal, by her apparent involvement in the review process of state waivers that involve former clients of hers.
“The possibility that Administrator Verma is failing to properly recuse herself raises serious concerns regarding the extent to which HHS honors its obligation to serve the American people in a manner that is free of undue influence," Pallone continued in his letter to Secretary Azar,
Pallone also wrote that he was troubled by a report that CMS awarded a contract to a consulting company owned by Merlynn Carson, the daughter-in-law of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Ben Carson, without undergoing a competitive bidding process.
“The Department’s mission touches the lives of every person in this country, and the American people deserve to be served by public officials who have the highest regard for ethics, transparency and accountability," Pallone wrote in the letter to Secretary Azar. “The numerous ethical lapses and potential conflicts of interest described above deserve your immediate attention as the newly-confirmed HHS Secretary. To ensure that adequate measures are taken to restore the integrity of the Department so that it can perform its crucial mission, I request that you commit to performing a top-down review of HHS and each of its operating divisions to determine the extent to which the Department is abiding by all applicable federal ethical regulations and policies."
Pallone is also requesting answers from Secretary Azar to a series of questions, including:
* What measures has the Department taken since Secretary Price’s resignation to ensure compliance with federal travel regulations and the ethical stewardship of American taxpayer dollars at HHS and each of its operating divisions?
* What measures has the Department taken since Secretary Price’s resignation to ensure that HHS and each of its operating divisions are complying with federal laws, regulations, and departmental guidelines prohibiting the use of federal resources to advocate in favor or against legislation pending before Congress?
* What measures are you taking to ensure that public officials at HHS and each of its operating divisions are not subject to conflicts of interest or undue influence as a result of investments, prior work, or affiliation with other Administration officials?
