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• KENNEDY CALLS ATTENTION TO HHS POLITICAL APPOINTEES  

Today, Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, sent the following letter to Secretary Michael Leavitt raising concerns over the conduct of political appointees in the Department of Health and Human Services.

Senator Kennedy said, "Dr. Carmona's strong testimony yesterday is yet another disturbing account of how the Bush Administration has put ideology ahead of the health needs of the American people - this time in the Office of the Surgeon General. Americans want their families to be safe and healthy. As we consider the President's nominee for Surgeon General tomorrow, we owe it to the American people to be sure that he will base his policies on sound science and best medical practices, and not the politics and ideology that have put our health care at risk." . . .

Dear Secretary Leavitt:

I am writing about information that has come to my attention which raises concerns about the conduct of political appointees at the Department of Health and Human Services. Specifically, former United States Surgeon General Richard Carmona has indicated that political appointees at the Department inappropriately sought to censor his public comments and restrain his public advocacy for ideological reasons unrelated to the Surgeon General's public health mission. ...

Specifically, Dr. Carmona stated that administration officials blocked an important report on stem cell research, prevented him from discussing the effectiveness of comprehensive sex education, insisted that he mention the President’s name frequently in speeches, and sought to prevent him from testifying about the dangers of tobacco use in the government’s lawsuit against tobacco companies. Other information obtained by my office corroborates Dr. Carmona’s account, indicating that political appointees hampered the work of the Surgeon General for ideological reasons.

In light of these events, I ask that you provide to my office information and documents concerning certain political appointees’ interaction with the Office of the Surgeon General. Please see the attached Document Request for specifics. I ask that you coordinate the production of documents with Nicholas Bath or Sandra Gallardo, Counsel to the Committee, at (202) 224-3112.

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