Republican Members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee slammed the Biden administration in a press conference on Tuesday afternoon after the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) failed to follow a federal law that required National Institutes of Health (NIH) directors to be reappointed to continue valid service in the government.
As Townhall reported earlier this week, HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra was found to have failed to reappoint 14 NIH directors — including Dr. Anthony Fauci — for more than one year, raising questions about their "unlawful tenure" with NIH and jeopardizing more than $25 billion in federal grants awarded by those NIH directors.
"We're here today because HHS Secretary Becerra has failed to follow the Constitution and the law," explained Energy and Commerce Committee Chairwoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA). "There's been a complete breakdown of accountability at the agency that has lost the trust of the American people, especially during COVID-19," she emphasized.
"This is unprecedented, and it calls into question the validity of every decision that these officials have made since December 2021 to June 2023, including Dr. Fauci awarding a new grant to EcoHealth Alliance," McMorris Rodgers continued of the Biden administration's failure to follow requirements included in the 21st Century Cares Act. "But what is even more egregious has been Health and Human Services’ cover-up," she emphasized.
"For more than a year, the administration has misled our committee throughout this investigation, and our question has been a pretty simple one: Can you show us the documents that prove Secretary Becerra followed the Constitution and the law in reappointing these 14 senior officials who exercise immense power and authority?"
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According to the Energy and Commerce Committee, no such documents were produced by the Biden administration.
.@SecBecerra has failed to follow the Constitution and the law.
— CathyMcMorrisRodgers (@cathymcmorris) July 11, 2023
14 @NIH officials, including Dr. Fauci, held unlawful positions and exercised authority they didn’t have, which included approving $26 BILLION in grants.
This is unprecedented. pic.twitter.com/z8RcVZJ5Yz
Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Chairman Morgan Griffith (R-VA) explained that a letter was sent some 16 months ago pointing out that the more than one dozen NIH officials didn't appear to have been reappointed as required. HHS, according to Griffith, "basically played a shell game since then until a couple of weeks ago saying, 'Oh, it's all right. Everything's okay. Pay not attention to the man behind the curtain.'"
"And then suddenly, eventually, they must have gotten around to realizing they were in violation of the law, and so they tried to do it retroactively," Griffith added of the Biden administration's apparent attempt to remedy the issue.
Health Subcommittee Chairman Brett Guthrie (R-KY) explained further how the Biden administration's failure saw Dr. Fauci continue to serve as the "voice of science" while holding his position at NIH "unlawfully."
"For more than a year, Dr. Fauci, a highly paid public employee at the time, served unlawfully and without proper appointment," Guthrie emphasized. "It was during this period he awarded a new grant to EcoHealth Alliance and served as the chief medical adviser to President Biden's COVID-19 Response Team."
That position, reminded Guthrie, saw Fauci use his power to recommend mandates and other restrictions.
"It is unfair to the American people that, while he held this position unlawfully, he used his platform to be the 'voice of science' and shame those with alternative point of views in addition to pushing for questionable public health guidance policies," said Guthrie.
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