'Yes Or No?': Tammy Baldwin Grills Nom On Transparency Of HHS's Spending Of Appropriated Money

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During a Senate HELP Committee hearing last week, Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) spoke about the budget plan submitted by HHS.

Transcript

00:00Senator Baldwin. Thank you Mr. Chairman and Mr. Neal thank you for our

00:05opportunity to speak prior to this hearing. I share the deep concern

00:12expressed about Health and Human Services submitting an operating plan

00:17otherwise known as a spend plan to Congress that includes asterisks rather

00:24than planned funding levels for over nine or sorry 530 different programs.

00:31This is effectively the Department of Health and Human Services saying that it

00:35doesn't need to tell Congress and the American taxpayers how it is spending

00:42tons of billions of dollars. With that we are left to assume that the Department

00:48of Health and Human Services is intentionally hiding what it's doing and

00:51the results of a massive proposed reorganization firing of tens of

00:58thousands of employees terminating billions of dollars in grants and actively

01:03delaying billions of dollars in funding. During our meeting we discussed the

01:08importance of transparency. Secretary Kennedy has pledged what he called

01:15radical transparency and that is absolutely not what we have seen. So Mr.

01:23O'Neal do you think that the Department of Health and Human Services should tell

01:26Congress and the American public how it is spending taxpayer dollars that we have

01:31already appropriated? Yes or no? I thank you for the question Senator. I also

01:35enjoyed our meeting. So I've not seen this this this plan that you're referring to

01:41with the asterisks. I can I can I can tell you that it was a long page asterisk asterisk

01:50asterisk no dollar amount except for a handful of programs. That is not radical

01:57transparency in my book. Should the Department of Health and Human Services

02:01tell Congress and the American public if it is for example cutting funding for

02:07services through the 988 suicide and crisis lifeline. Yes or no? Senator I'm a

02:17former Senate staffer. I I know that it's Congress that authorizes all the programs

02:22at HHS. It's Congress that appropriates the money for HHS. Congress absolutely

02:27deserves prompt and transparent and accurate information. I stress the prompt

02:32part. And what about how many employees have been fired and the functions that

02:37those employees were carrying out? Should that be reported to Congress and the

02:41American taxpayers? Senator my understanding of the RIF is that it was the

02:49decisions of who to lay off where I think I read made by the heads of the

02:54operating divisions who are... Should that be reported to Congress? Senator yes I think so.

03:01Okay should the Department of Health and Human Services tell Congress if it fired

03:05for example employees administering clinical trials at NIH's clinical

03:10center? Yes or no? Senator I think every significant thing the department does

03:18should be should should be available to Congress. So Mr. O'Neill if you are

03:23confirmed I will certainly be following up to ensure that Health and Human

03:28Services makes good on the commitment to transparency and if these changes would

03:33actually enhance the health and well-being of Americans HHS should be

03:39eager to explain how and why instead of what it's doing which is hiding this

03:45information. HHS has delayed funding for research on treatments for deadly

03:50diseases and for Head Start and child care programs. It's decimated offices

03:56responsible for carrying out critical activities including addressing lead

04:01poisoning in children and let me just give you an example of how HHS firings are

04:08impacting communities in Wisconsin. The City of Milwaukee requested assistance

04:12through the CDC's childhood lead poisoning prevention surveillance branch to help

04:19respond to lead poisoning cases tied to several public school facilities. The

04:25request for assistance was denied because of a lack of staff capacity after the

04:30entire childhood lead poisoning branch was fired. This is a clear example of HHS

04:40firing affecting critical program operations and without the support Milwaukee

04:44faces lasting implications of health and well-being of children in the city. If you

04:50are confirmed I will be following up with you on this as I have yet to receive a

04:55response from Secretary Kennedy.

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