Wenstrup: HHS’s Year-Long Campaign of Stonewalling Congressional Oversight Ends Today
WASHINGTON — Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic Chairman Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio) opened today’s hearing titled “Overseeing the Department of Health and Human Services’ Compliance with Congress” by describing the relentless stonewalling and obstruction of the Select Subcommittee’s investigations by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). HHS has repeatedly produced documents that are illegible, unresponsive, and unnecessarily redacted while simultaneously safeguarding documents that are publicly available. Chairman Wenstrup detailed HHS’s year-long campaign to prevent witnesses — including Assistant Secretary for Legislation Dr. Melanie Egorin — from testifying about the Department’s pandemic response. This persistent frustration of Congressional oversight raises serious questions about the political motivations of the Department and its ability to function on behalf of the American people. Chairman Wenstrup concluded by reminding Assistant Secretary Egorin that compliance with Congress is not voluntary, and she must fully cooperate with the Select Subcommittee’s requests.
We are here today to examine the Department of Health and Human Services’ compliance with the Select Subcommittee’s oversight requests.
It is time the Department answered some questions – we tried once before – as you know we issued a subpoena for your deposition – but the Department assured us things would improve and your testimony was unnecessary.
The Department’s compliance has not improved.
To this day, your Department continues to stonewall this Subcommittee.
The Department has produced documents with unnecessary and illegitimate redactions.
As you can see on the screen, the Department redacted every name in this document – even foreign nationals.
When asked why – we were told it was because of security concerns.
When asked how the Department knew these individuals had security concerns – the Department was unable to provide an answer.
The Department has produced documents that are simply unrelated to our requests.
You have produced documents that are not relevant to our requests or hundreds of pages of news articles; this is unacceptable and simply a tactic to inflate your production page count.
And maybe most shockingly – the Department’s failure to produce documents we know are in its possession.
Again, on the screen is a document that the Oversight Committee made public two years ago.
This email has yet to be produced to this Subcommittee.
I can’t understand why.
You know it exists. You know how to find it.
The fact this hasn’t been produced raises serious questions and implies the Department is intentionally hiding emails.
Regarding interviews, we do appreciate that Department employees have chosen to voluntarily comply with our requests – I will state that the Subcommittee accepted every single date the Department proposed.
Despite this compliance, the Department and all your lawyers have routinely attempted to hinder the witnesses’ testimony.
The night before each interview, you personally issue a memo to the Subcommittee and the witness instructing the witness as to what they can and cannot testify to.
HHS has blocked witnesses from discussing the EcoHealth grant reinstatement. Why?
HHS has blocked witnesses from discussing EcoHealth’s current grant status. Why?
HHS has blocked witnesses from discussing COVID mitigation measures. Why?
HHS has blocked witnesses from discussing internal communications. Why?
And HHS has blocked a witness from discussing anything he did through his official capacity at NIAID. Again, why?
Is HHS funded by someone other than the American people’s tax dollars?
This is acting in bad faith at best and a violation of law at worst.
We have read your opening statement and frankly it is insulting.
There are no significantly relevant facts or data.
There are no explanations for the questions you know we have.
In fact, it raises more questions than answers.
In it, you boast about producing more than 30,000 pages to Congress during the 118th Congress.
Curiously, during the 117th Congress, in a similar amount of time, the Department produced more than 43,000 pages to one Oversight Subcommittee alone.
What changed? – Anything besides the majority in the House?
Was it no longer in the Department’s interest to be overly compliant?
You say the Department has been “exceptionally responsive” to the Subcommittee.
I think we would contest that assertion and perhaps we have different definitions of exceptional.
On February 13, 2023, we sent a letter regarding the origins of COVID-19. It has taken two follow-up letters, two staff meetings, subpoena threats, and scheduling interviews to begin receiving unique documents.
Out of the 10,000 pages produced – of which I would note more than 1,000 were produced last night – the majority of the documents are previously publicly available, some are more redacted than FOIA productions, others are non-responsive, or copies of press articles.
On March 10, 2023, we sent a letter regarding the process of approving the COVID-19 vaccine. We received fewer than 300 pages more than a month later and have not received any documents since. Common sense would suggest there are more.
On March 28, 2023, we sent a letter regarding the Biden Administration’s school opening guidance – it took two follow ups, a subpoena threat, and scheduling transcribed interviews before the Department was compliant.
On August 1, 2023, we sent a letter regarding the implementation of COVID-19 vaccine mandates. You have not produced a single document.
On August 2, 2023, we sent a letter regarding CDC Director Cohen’s statement about annual COVID-19 boosters. Again, you have not produced a single document.
On August 23, 2023, we sent a letter regarding the illegal Chinese lab in California. You produced fewer than 100 pages that were all previously publicly available.
On September 6, 2023, we sent a letter regarding former CDC Director Walensky’s override of booster recommendations. You have produced about 100 pages that are all already available on the CDC’s website. You may as well just have sent us a link.
And on October 13, 2023, we were forced to subpoena records regarding a NIAID employees use of personal email. You said you were prevented from producing documents because it was an internal investigation – an excuse that is not founded in fact.
This is not a track record of exceptionalism. This is not a track record of competence. And this is certainly not a track record of compliance.
Dr. Egorin, compliance with Congress is not voluntary.
Time and time again we hear the Department is providing witnesses or documents “voluntarily;” and while that may be legally accurate, it provides the perception that you believe you have a choice – you don’t.
Congress created your agency.
Congress funds your agency through the generosity of the American people.
And Congress has the absolute right to oversee your agency on behalf of the American people.
Barry Goldwater said, “The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people, it is an instrument for the people to restrain the government.”
I hope we can get answers today and get back to work on behalf of the American people. The same American people who lost 1.2 million loved ones.
This is an after-action review of the government response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
And the Department’s honesty and cooperation is non-negotiable.
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