Dear Mr. Chairman:
On Dec. 1, 2011, the Committee is scheduled to hold a hearing entitled "HHS and the Catholic Church: Examining the Politicization of Grants." Although you have invited officials from the Department of Health and Human Services, you have invited no witnesses who work for organizations directly involved with combating human trafficking.
I believe the Committee would benefit greatly from hearing testimony from a second panel of witnesses who can discuss their experiences working with trafficking victims and the need for a full range of services under the National Human Trafficking Victim Assistance Program. For these reasons, I respectfully request that you invite the following individuals to
testify at the hearing:
* Dr. Susie Baldwin
Chief, Health Assessment Unit, Office of Health Assessment and Epidemiology
Los Angeles County Department of Public Health
* Andrea Powell
Executive Director and Co-Founder
FAIR Girls, Washington DC
Both of these witnesses have confirmed that they are able and willing to appear at the hearing, and I believe the hearing would be much more productive and insightful with their participation. Thank you very much for your consideration of this request.
Sincerely,
Elijah E. Cummings
Ranking Member
