Owens Demands Transparency from HHS Secretary Becerra

WASHINGTON — Higher Education and Workforce Development Subcommittee Chair Burgess Owens (UT-04) joined House Energy and Commerce Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (WA-05) and House Education and the Workforce Chair Chair Virginia Foxx (NC-05) in sending a letter to Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra. The letter follows up on Secretary Becerra’s inadequate response to a May 23, 2024 letter and the Committees’ ongoing investigation into how the department is preventing and responding to antisemitism at grantee institutions.

Key Excerpt:

“Responding on your behalf in an August 22, 2024, letter, the HHS Assistant Secretary for Legislation stated that, “The HHS Office for Civil Right (OCR) enforces federal civil rights laws prohibiting various forms of discrimination in HHS-funded programs and activities […]” and that “OCR takes this duty seriously.” 

Despite this declaration, the insufficient response from HHS failed to provide specific information about how HHS OCR or the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have taken steps to ensure that institutions and universities receiving funding from HHS are complying with federal civil rights laws amongst these extensively reported acts of antisemitism, and whether HHS OCR or the NIH have received any complaints regarding potential violations of federal law as it pertains to antisemitism.

In the letter, Congressman Owens joined the Chairs in requesting the following documents by no later than October 2, 2024:

1. A list of all misconduct allegations at NIH-funded institutions relating to alleged antisemitic incidents from fiscal year 2023 to present received by HHS OCR and/or the NIH

2. All documents and communications, including but not limited to, text messages, emails, and electronic messages, to or from HHS OCR/to or from the NIH referring or related to misconduct allegations or concerns over actions at NIH-funded institutions from fiscal year 2023 to present, referring or relating to, alleged antisemitic incidents; targeting of Jews, Israelis, Zionists, or Zionism; university encampments; and/or the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. 

3. All documents and communication between HHS OCR and other agencies regarding assistance with Title VI compliance, particularly related to antisemitism (shared ancestry). 

4. All documents and communication between HHS OCR and NIH-funded institutions related to Title VI compliance reviews related to antisemitism (shared ancestry).   

5. From fiscal year 2023 to present, all documents, communications, and guidance provided from HHS OCR and the NIH to grantee institutions and individuals at grantee institutions regarding Title VI responsibilities and protections, including those specific to protections for those of Jewish faith and heritage, and all documents or communications regarding HHS/NIH’s stance on antisemitism, the events occurring on university campuses, and/or the Israeli-Palestinian conflict generally. 

The full letter is available here. 

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