E&C Republicans Signal Intent to Issue Subpoenas as Biden Admin Stonewalls Crucial Investigations into Government Health Agency Actions
Washington, D.C. — House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), Subcommittee on Health Chair Brett Guthrie (R-KY), and Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations Chair Morgan Griffith (R-VA) recently sent letters to Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra and the Acting Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Lawrence Tabak. In the letters, the members outline requests for documents and information that have gone unfulfilled by the administration. In a rare move from the Energy and Commerce Committee, which has seldomly had to use compulsory measures, the Chairs note that these are the final warnings before the Committee is forced to issue subpoenas.
1) Letter to Dr. Tabak regarding documents signed by former NIH Director Francis Collins related to reappointment of NIH Institute and Center Directors.
KEY EXCERPT:
“This failure to respond is part of a larger pattern from HHS and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) since March 2022 to make assertions that appointments or reappointments of NIH institute and center directors have been lawful, without producing substantiating evidence on which to evaluate this claim.”
CLICK HERE to read the letter.
Previous requests include:
2) Letter to Secretary Becerra regarding documents related to the appointment of Jeanne Marrazzo to serve as Director of NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
KEY EXCERPT:
“We sent you a request letter on August 9, 2023, requesting this document, but HHS has failed to respond to this request. This failure to respond is part of a larger pattern from HHS and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) since March 2022 to make assertions that appointments or reappointments of NIH institute and center directors have been lawful, without producing substantiating evidence on which to evaluate this claim.”
CLICK HERE to read the letter.
Previous requests include:
3) Letter to Dr. Tabak regarding documents related to early SARS-CoV-2 sequences and data from early cases.
KEY EXCERPT:
“Nearly three months later, with no meaningful evidence that the NIH is responding to this request, we sent a follow-up letter on August 9, 2023, requesting that the NIH provide responsive documents by no later than August 31, 2023. We alerted you that in the event the NIH did not provide documents by that date, the committee would consider compulsory process to secure production of the requested documents. NIH continues to not be responsive in a meaningful way.
“Over the last four months, the NIH has failed, and continues to fail, to engage with the committee, and provide requested documents. NIH’s disregard of this oversight request undermines the norms of interbranch cooperation and accommodation.”
CLICK HERE to read the letter.
Previous requests include:
4) Letter to Dr. Tabak regarding documents related to NIH-supported risky research, such as virus mutation or manipulation in experiments involving SARS, MERS, or SARS CoV-2.
KEY EXCERPT:
“After more than three months with no meaningful evidence that the NIH was responding to this request, we sent a follow-up letter on August 9, 2023, requesting that the NIH provide responsive documents by no later than August 31, 2023. We alerted you that in the event the NIH did not provide documents by that date, the Committee would be forced to consider compulsory process to secure production of the requested documents.
Unfortunately, NIH continues to not be responsive in a meaningful way."
CLICK HERE to read letter.
Previous requests below: