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