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Republicans say billions of dollars in NIH grants could be at risk in personnel fraud

The Biden administration has allegedly failed to accurately reappoint a dozen top National Institutes of Health leaders, according to House Republicans, and the legitimacy of the billions of dollars in federal grants these officials spent last year. have questions about.

Their claims were detailed on Friday letter A statement to Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra obtained by CBS News read: months of research Led by Rep. Kathy McMorris Rogers, the Republican chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, it filled vacancies in government agencies.

“The failure to reappoint these NIH IC directors jeopardizes the legal validity of more than $25 billion in federal biomedical research grants in 2022 alone,” the committee wrote.

The Biden administration has hit back at the Republican-led commission’s accusations of violating the law. An HHS official familiar with the matter, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the commission had misrepresented its requirements.

The committee’s letter stems from the 21st Century Therapeutics Act, passed in 2016, which provides that heads of laboratories and centers within the NIH have a five-year term limit before being reappointed. It is stipulated that there is

When the term limit for 14 of these staffers arrived at the end of 2021, the Biden administration said the NIH director had correctly reappointed them.of the law says They must be “appointed by the Secretary through the Director of the National Institutes of Health.”

The Commission said how those officials were reappointed It falls short of what the law requires of Becerra himself.

“Specifically, it requires the HHS Director to reappoint NIH IC directors, including those who were serving at the time of the legislation, whose five-year terms will expire on December 12, 2021,” the letter states. .

After the commission’s investigation began, Becerra signed an affidavit claiming that the ministry retroactively approved and adopted the appointment.

While the Biden administration believes the subsidies remain on sound footing, HHS officials said Becerra’s affidavit was intended to strengthen defenses against challenges that could be upended in court. rice field.

The commission questioned the legality of the move. Among the flagged issues are: Dr. Anthony Fauci RetiresDr. Roger Glass, former Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and Director of the Fogarty International Center. Both resigned months before Becerra signed the affidavit in June.

“HHS and NIH should have known within days of receiving the March 14, 2022 Commission letter that the legally mandated reappointment had not taken place. Rather than discussing and addressing issues with the Commission, the NIH repeatedly misled the Commission,” the Commission wrote of its months-long correspondence with the department.

HHS officials claimed that the Department of Health cooperated in good faith with the Commission’s questions and prepared the documents and responses to the investigation on its own initiative.

National Institutes of Health building in Bethesda, Maryland
National Institutes of Health James Shannon building on the NIH campus in Bethesda, Maryland.

AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais


Thousands of researchers compete each year. NIH fundingsupport. various projects They range from basic laboratory research to human clinical trials.

Asked how these programs might be affected, a commission aide told CBS News: “It’s unclear what the impact will be, but there is unnecessary uncertainty. “It will open the door to legal challenges, but we are unaware of any other cabinet ministers who have committed such egregious acts.” Regarding process violations, a similar lawsuit involving an SEC administrative law judge called for re-litigation of decisions by improperly appointed officials before a legally appointed judge. ”

The commission said an investigation into the matter is ongoing, prompting the department to re-inquire and may request hearings from HHS and NIH officials.

The letter to Becerra warned that “intentional misrepresentation or omission” could constitute a “federal criminal offense under 18 U.S.C. It added that it would be a formal request to preserve “all records.”

“Institute directors, who have the discretionary power to award billions or even hundreds of millions of dollars in research funding, are by definition exercising significant powers in accordance with U.S. law. is the archetypal ‘inferior officer,'” said the former senior executive. An HHS official told CBS News.

“The secretary cannot delegate the constitutional power to appoint lesser officials. Previous administrations of both parties closely monitored the appointment process and took great care to ensure that lesser officials were properly appointed. I understand that he was,” the former official said. He has previously served in the Bush, Reagan and Trump administrations.

Senate Health, Education, Work and Pensions Committee
From left: Dr. Anthony Fauci, then director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. At a Senate committee hearing on August 23, 2018, Dr. Richard Hawes, director of the National Agingle Institute, and Dr. Francis Collins, then director of the National Institutes of Health, testified.

Tom Williams/CQ roll call


The Republican-led committee’s letter comes as the Biden administration has yet to fill key vacancies in the NIH leadership.

The agency did not have a director After December 2021when Dr. Francis Collins I quit my job.

President Biden in May announced He planned to nominate Dr. Monica Bertagnoli, now director of the National Cancer Institute at the NIH, to the position.

Bertagnoli’s nomination is currently pending Senate confirmation.

Independent Senator Bernie Sanders, who chairs the committee responsible for endorsing HHS candidates, has made clear that the nomination will not proceed without new promises from the Biden administration on drug prices.

“I will oppose all nominations until there is a very clear strategy on the part of the government on how to bring down the price of prohibitively expensive prescription drugs,” Sanders told the Washington Post. Told. last month.

Summarize this content to 100 words

The Biden administration has allegedly failed to accurately reappoint a dozen top National Institutes of Health leaders, according to House Republicans, and the legitimacy of the billions of dollars in federal grants these officials spent last year. have questions about. Their claims were detailed on Friday letter A statement to Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra obtained by CBS News read: months of research Led by Rep. Kathy McMorris Rogers, the Republican chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, it filled vacancies in government agencies.”The failure to reappoint these NIH IC directors jeopardizes the legal validity of more than $25 billion in federal biomedical research grants in 2022 alone,” the committee wrote.The Biden administration has hit back at the Republican-led commission’s accusations of violating the law. An HHS official familiar with the matter, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the commission had misrepresented its requirements.

The committee’s letter stems from the 21st Century Therapeutics Act, passed in 2016, which provides that heads of laboratories and centers within the NIH have a five-year term limit before being reappointed. It is stipulated that there is When the term limit for 14 of these staffers arrived at the end of 2021, the Biden administration said the NIH director had correctly reappointed them.of the law says They must be “appointed by the Secretary through the Director of the National Institutes of Health.”

The Commission said how those officials were reappointed It falls short of what the law requires of Becerra himself.“Specifically, it requires the HHS Director to reappoint NIH IC directors, including those who were serving at the time of the legislation, whose five-year terms will expire on December 12, 2021,” the letter states. .After the commission’s investigation began, Becerra signed an affidavit claiming that the ministry retroactively approved and adopted the appointment. While the Biden administration believes the subsidies remain on sound footing, HHS officials said Becerra’s affidavit was intended to strengthen defenses against challenges that could be upended in court. rice field.

The commission questioned the legality of the move. Among the flagged issues are: Dr. Anthony Fauci RetiresDr. Roger Glass, former Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and Director of the Fogarty International Center. Both resigned months before Becerra signed the affidavit in June.“HHS and NIH should have known within days of receiving the March 14, 2022 Commission letter that the legally mandated reappointment had not taken place. Rather than discussing and addressing issues with the Commission, the NIH repeatedly misled the Commission,” the Commission wrote of its months-long correspondence with the department. HHS officials claimed that the Department of Health cooperated in good faith with the Commission’s questions and prepared the documents and responses to the investigation on its own initiative.

National Institutes of Health James Shannon building on the NIH campus in Bethesda, Maryland.

AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais

Thousands of researchers compete each year. NIH fundingsupport. various projects They range from basic laboratory research to human clinical trials. Asked how these programs might be affected, a commission aide told CBS News: “It’s unclear what the impact will be, but there is unnecessary uncertainty. “It will open the door to legal challenges, but we are unaware of any other cabinet ministers who have committed such egregious acts.” Regarding process violations, a similar lawsuit involving an SEC administrative law judge called for re-litigation of decisions by improperly appointed officials before a legally appointed judge. ”The commission said an investigation into the matter is ongoing, prompting the department to re-inquire and may request hearings from HHS and NIH officials. The letter to Becerra warned that “intentional misrepresentation or omission” could constitute a “federal criminal offense under 18 U.S.C. It added that it would be a formal request to preserve “all records.”

“Institute directors, who have the discretionary power to award billions or even hundreds of millions of dollars in research funding, are by definition exercising significant powers in accordance with U.S. law. is the archetypal ‘inferior officer,'” said the former senior executive. An HHS official told CBS News. “The secretary cannot delegate the constitutional power to appoint lesser officials. Previous administrations of both parties closely monitored the appointment process and took great care to ensure that lesser officials were properly appointed. I understand that he was,” the former official said. He has previously served in the Bush, Reagan and Trump administrations.

From left: Dr. Anthony Fauci, then director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. At a Senate committee hearing on August 23, 2018, Dr. Richard Hawes, director of the National Agingle Institute, and Dr. Francis Collins, then director of the National Institutes of Health, testified.

Tom Williams/CQ roll call

The Republican-led committee’s letter comes as the Biden administration has yet to fill key vacancies in the NIH leadership. The agency did not have a director After December 2021when Dr. Francis Collins I quit my job. President Biden in May announced He planned to nominate Dr. Monica Bertagnoli, now director of the National Cancer Institute at the NIH, to the position.Bertagnoli’s nomination is currently pending Senate confirmation. Independent Senator Bernie Sanders, who chairs the committee responsible for endorsing HHS candidates, has made clear that the nomination will not proceed without new promises from the Biden administration on drug prices.

“I will oppose all nominations until there is a very clear strategy on the part of the government on how to bring down the price of prohibitively expensive prescription drugs,” Sanders told the Washington Post. Told. last month.

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Catherine Herridge

Katherine Herridge is a senior investigative correspondent for CBS News, based in Washington, DC, covering national security and intelligence.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/hhs-national-institutes-of-health-appointments-house-republicans/ Republicans say billions of dollars in NIH grants could be at risk in personnel fraud

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