Current:Home > FinanceHouse GOP chair accuses HHS of "changing their story" on NIH reappointments snafu-DB Wealth Institute B2 Expert Reviews
House GOP chair accuses HHS of "changing their story" on NIH reappointments snafu
View Date:2024-12-24 08:23:59
A top-ranking House Republican on Tuesday accused the Department of Health and Human Services of "changing their story," after the Biden administration defended the legality of its reappointments for key National Institutes of Health officials that Republicans have questioned.
The claim from Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, chair of the GOP-led House Energy and Commerce Committee, follows a Friday letter from the panel to HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra.
The panel alleged that 14 top-ranking NIH officials were not lawfully reappointed at the end of 2021, potentially jeopardizing billions in grants they approved.
It also raised concerns about affidavits Becerra signed earlier this year to retroactively ratify the appointments, in an effort the department said was only meant to bolster defenses against bad-faith legal attacks.
"Health and Human Services seems to keep changing their story. This is just their latest effort. I don't know if they don't know what the law is, or they are intentionally misleading," McMorris Rodgers told CBS News senior investigative correspondent Catherine Herridge on "America Decides" Tuesday.
In a statement to CBS News, an HHS spokesperson had criticized the panel's allegations as "clearly politically motivated" and said it stood "by the legitimacy of these NIH [Institutes and Centers] Directors' reappointments."
"As their own report shows, the prior administration appointed at least five NIH IC officials under the process they now attack," the spokesperson had said.
Asked about the Biden administration's response, McMorris Rodgers said that the previous reappointments were not relevant to the law the committee claims the Biden administration has broken.
And she said that she thinks that the administration is responding to a provision that only governs pay scale, not propriety of the appointments themselves.
"But what we are talking about is a separate provision in the law. It was included, it was added, in the 21st Century Cures to provide accountability to taxpayers and by Congress, it was intentional. And it is to ensure that these individuals actually are appointed or reappointed by the secretary every five years," McMorris Rodgers added.
Democrats on the panel have criticized their Republican counterparts' claims as "based on flawed legal analysis," saying that the law is "absolutely clear" that "the authority to appoint or reappoint these positions sits with the Director of the National Institutes of Health, who acts on behalf of the Secretary of Health and Human Services."
"The shift in appointment power from the Secretary of HHS to the NIH Director in 21st Century Cures was actually a provision Committee Republicans insisted on including in the law during legislative negotiations in 2016," Rep. Frank Pallone, the committee's ranking member, said in a statement Tuesday.
Alexander TinCBS News reporter covering public health and the pandemic.
veryGood! (82379)
Related
- Noem’s Cabinet appointment will make a plain-spoken rancher South Dakota’s new governor
- Ionescu, Stewart, Jones lead Liberty over Aces 79-67, becoming first team to clinch playoff berth
- Infant dies after being discovered 'unresponsive' in hot vehicle outside Mass. day care
- Her name was on a signature petition to be a Cornel West elector. Her question: What’s an elector?
- John Krasinski is People's Sexiest Man Alive. What that says about us.
- Who plays Emily, Sylvie, Gabriel and Camille in 'Emily in Paris'? See full Season 4 cast
- Watch: Dallas Cowboys kicker Brandon Aubrey nails 66-yard field goal
- Maurice Williams, writer and lead singer of ‘Stay,’ dead at 86
- Caitlin Clark shanks tee shot, nearly hits fans at LPGA's The Annika pro-am
- Caitlin Clark scores 29 to help Fever fend off furious Mercury rally in 98-89 win
Ranking
- High-scoring night in NBA: Giannis Antetokounmpo explodes for 59, Victor Wembanyama for 50
- Deion Sanders asked for investigation of son's bankruptcy case: Here's what we found
- Harris and Trump offer worlds-apart contrasts on top issues in presidential race
- How many points did Caitlin Clark score tonight? Rookie shines in return from Olympic break
- Tampa Bay Rays' Wander Franco arrested again in Dominican Republic, according to reports
- When does 'Emily in Paris' Season 4 Part 2 come out? Release date, how to watch new episodes
- Velasquez pleads no contest to attempted murder in shooting of man charged with molesting relative
- Governor declares emergency after thunderstorms hit northwestern Arkansas
Recommendation
-
Tampa Bay Rays' Wander Franco arrested again in Dominican Republic, according to reports
-
Harris and Trump offer worlds-apart contrasts on top issues in presidential race
-
Keith Urban plays free pop-up concert outside a Buc-ee’s store in Alabama
-
Memo to Pittsburgh Steelers: It's time to make Justin Fields, not Russell Wilson, QB1
-
Olympic champion Lindsey Vonn is ending her retirement at age 40 to make a skiing comeback
-
Matthew Perry Couldn't Speak or Move Due to Ketamine Episode Days Before Death
-
Harris reveals good-vibes economic polices. Experts weigh in.
-
Dakota Johnson Confirms Chris Martin Relationship Status Amid Breakup Rumors