Hearing Wrap Up: HHS’s Stonewalling Continues, Further Congressional Action on the Horizon
WASHINGTON — The Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic held a hearing titled “Overseeing the Department of Health and Human Services’ Compliance with Congress” to demand accountability from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) following months of deliberate stonewalling and relentless attempts to evade the Select Subcommittee’s investigations. Today’s hearing proved that whether in a public forum, behind closed doors, or in written communications, HHS consistently fails to meet basic standards of compliance with Congressional oversight. HHS Assistant Secretary for Legislation, Dr. Melanie Egorin, furthered the Department’s pattern of obstruction by making illegitimate excuses, feigning ignorance about her oversight obligations, and weaponizing the Department’s incompetence to avoid accountability. Members pressed Dr. Egorin to explain HHS’s willful frustration of the Select Subcommittee’s investigations and questioned whether political motivations were at play. Any further partisan games by the Biden Administration will be met with Congressional action.
Key Takeaways
- HHS’s year-long campaign to delay, confuse, and mislead the Select Subcommittee’s investigations continued at today’s hearing.
- Assistant Secretary Egorin refused to answer questions related to the Department’s oversight efforts approximately 40 TIMES. This raises serious concerns about HHS’s competency, funding, and willingness to be transparent with the American people.
- The Select Subcommittee is aware of additional responsive documents in the possession of the Department. Assistant Secretary Egorin did not confirm if HHS would ever provide the documents to Congress.
- Less than 12 hours before the start of the hearing, HHS scrambled together 1,000 relatively unresponsive documents that Dr. Egorin often cited as evidence of “compliance.” This last-minute document dump was used in bad faith to falsely promote a story of cooperation and is not considered adequate compliance with Congressional oversight.
- If HHS does not sufficiently respond to all questions submitted for the record following today’s hearing, the Department and Secretary Xavier Becerra risk future subpoenas and, if necessary, potential contempt of Congress proceedings.
Member Highlights
Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic Chairman Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio), D.P.M, exposed Assistant Secretary Egorin’s lack of knowledge about the oversight she manages and pressed her to admit HHS may never hand all responsive documents over to the Select Subcommittee.
Chairman Wenstrup: “Pursuant to the Subcommittee’s letter, how many potentially responsive documents has the Department identified?”
Dr. Egorin: “Congressman, I do not have that number in front of me.”
Chairman Wenstrup: “Maybe the next one can be for the record. Let’s just go down this route rather than you giving us the same answer that doesn’t answer the question. How many have gone through a review?”
Dr. Egorin: “Congressman, I do not have that.”
…
Chairman Wenstrup: “Do you commit to produce every responsive document in the department’s possession?”
Dr. Egorin: “Congressman, what I commit to you is to continue to work with the Department to work with the staff’s priorities and to continue to do productions as long as the committee is…”
Chairman Wenstrup: “So you don’t commit to produce every responsive document in the department’s possession? Because that’s not an answer.”
Dr. Egorin: “Congressman, I commit to continue to work with you to make sure that we are producing documents based on the priorities of the Committee, of the Subcommittee, and that we will continue to produce documents and continue to have those conversations.”
Chairman Wenstrup: “But you don’t guarantee that every responsive document in your possession will be produced. Thank you. You’ve answered it. You can say it over and over again. The record is going to reflect your answer.”
Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-Texas) confronted Dr. Egorin about the Department’s deliberate attempt to sidestep document productions by scheduling unresponsive briefings where no documents were provided to Members or staff.
Dr. Jackson: “Were you aware that this letter was sent to Dr. Mandy Cohen, the Director of the CDC?”
Dr. Egorin: “I am aware that letter was sent to Director Cohen. I’m also aware that there was a briefing based on that letter providing information to staff within a month of us receiving that letter.”
Dr. Jackson: “Did you identify points of contact in the CDC to get as a written response to this?”
Dr. Egorin: “We provided a briefing to the staff and based on the prioritization, we have continued to work on other priorities of the Subcommittee.”
Dr. Jackson: “Did you ever intend to send any documents that we requested regarding the CDC booster guidance?”
Dr. Egorin: “We continue to work on productions across all of the…”
Dr. Jackson: “How many documents have you provided so far regarding this topic?”
Dr. Egorin: “We have provided a briefing.”
Dr. Jackson: “How many documents have you provided, as this is a request for documents?”
Dr. Egorin: “Congressman, we have provided a briefing with the information.”
Dr. Jackson: “How many documents?”
Dr. Egorin: “If you follow up, we are happy to work with you.”
Dr. Jackson: “This is not a follow up. This is something we’ve already requested. We’ve already requested documents. We didn’t request a briefing to explain why we can’t have the documents.”
Dr. Egorin: “It was not a briefing to explain why we could not have the documents, it was a briefing to provide the information.”
Dr. Jackson: “But were there documents provided?”
Dr. Egorin: “We are happy to work with you…”
Dr. Jackson: “The answer is no. You did not provide the documents that we requested. You still have not provided those documents.”
Rep. Debbie Lesko (R-Ariz.) slammed Assistant Secretary Egorin for feigning ignorance and furthering the Department’s pattern of obstruction. Americans have questions about the COVID-19 pandemic that HHS is clearly unwillingly to answer.
Rep. Lesko: “Did you ever identify responsive custodians? And if so, when?”
Dr. Egorin: “Congresswoman, we produced responsive documents to that request.”
Rep. Lesko: “Can you answer the question?”
Dr. Egorin: “I’m happy to take that question back.”
Rep. Lesko: “How come you don’t know anything? I mean, aren’t you in charge of this? I mean, when the Chairman asks you questions, you don’t know, you just say ‘I’ll take it back.’ You don’t have a whole staff behind you that can give you the answers.”
Dr. Egorin: “Congresswoman, I am here in my role as the Assistant Secretary for Legislation to talk about the responsiveness overall.”
Rep. Lesko: “Right. So, you would think you’d be prepared? I would think you’d be prepared. Obviously not.”
Rep. Rich McCormick (R-Ga.), M.D., demanded accountability from Assistant Secretary Egorin for her Department’s ill-use of American taxpayer dollars. HHS exists because Congress created it and continues to fund it.
Dr. McCormick: “I think we have an overgrown, unacceptable, and unaccountable bureaucracy right now. You mentioned that we’re overtaxed in this Department, but you also, in the same breath, mentioned you have 90,000 employees. 90,000 employees. There’s 435 congressmen who ask questions and we have 90,000 employees that don’t put priorities on getting the questions that we’re asking specifically from this Department. If that’s not your priority, I don’t know what is. When we have a Congressional investigation, it’s not merely a burdensome task when we ask a bureaucracy a question — it is your priority…I would assume less than half of Congress asks questions specifically. 90,000 employees, employed with a very large budget for one reason — to be accountable to people. We are the people.”
Rep. John Joyce (R-Pa.), M.D., elicited a patently false statement from Assistant Secretary Egorin. Her claim that the Department has provided documents responsive to all requests was inaccurate.
Dr. Joyce: “A simple yes or no. Do you feel that we have the answers to the requests for information that, for the last 13 months, we have been reaching out to you for? Yes or no? Have those been provided?”
Dr. Egorin: “Congressman, we have provided documents to all of the requests.”
Dr. Joyce: “We, on this side, don’t see that responsiveness. We have repeated requests. We have repeated outstanding questions. And we look forward to a productive relationship, but to date, we have not seen that. Assistant Secretary Egorin, are you aware that Congressional oversight is backed by the full force of the U.S. Constitution?”
Dr. Egorin: “Congressman, I am aware.”
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