The Treasury Department has obstructed congressional oversight of the Affordable Care Act’s cost sharing reduction (CSR) program, U.S. Reps. Fred Upton (R-MI) and Kevin Brady (R-TX) warned in a letter last week to Treasury Secretary Jack Lew.
Upton, the chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and Brady, the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, called on Lew to provide information about individuals who have prevented the committees’ inquiries into the Obama administration’s use of taxpayer money.
Upton and Brady have led congressional investigation into the administration’s implementation of the CSR program, which pays insurance companies to help lower out-of-pocket costs for health insurance consumers, since February 2015. At issue is whether the administration has authority to administer the CSR program without a formal congressional appropriation.
“Throughout the course of the Committees’ investigation, the Department of the Treasury has refused to cooperate,” Brady and Upton wrote. “(Lew’s) department has failed to provide responsive documents — even pursuant to subpoena. (Lew’s) department not only improperly redacted the final memorandum (Lew) initialed authorizing the Department to make CSR payments, but does not appear to have even collected records responsive to our subpoenas. (Lew’s) department has not allowed witnesses to answer the Committees’ questions, citing a regulation promulgated by the department that improperly limits the rights of Treasury employees to petition Congress. Further, the Department has not cited any legal privilege, let alone a valid one, to withhold this information from Congress. (Lew’s) department’s obstructive tactics reinforce the necessity of meaningful, diligent and continuous congressional oversight.”
Given those details, Brady and Upton concluded, “the committees have no choice but to conclude that (Lew’s) department is obstructing our investigation.”