NE Washington News

Washington, D.C. — In a new letter to Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce (E&C) and House Committee on Education and the Workforce (E&W) issued a request for documentation related to the Committees’ ongoing investigation into how the department is preventing and responding to antisemitism at grantee institutions.

The letter follows up on a May 23, 2024, letter to which HHS failed to respond adequately. It is signed by E&C Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), E&C Subcommittee on Health Chair Brett Guthrie (R-KY), E&C Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Chair Morgan Griffith (R-VA), E&W Chair Virginia Foxx (R-NC), and E&W Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Development Chair Burgess Owens (R-UT).

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 lacking response from HHS failed to provide specific information about how HHS OCR or the 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.”

The Chairs requested 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, showing:

- The date;

- Which agency received the allegation;

- A brief description of the incident;

- Role of the alleged perpetrator and victim (e.g., student or faculty) with their names redacted;

- Institution;

- Entity responsible for reviewing the case (including whether the complaint is an official Title VI case);

- Case status;

- Actions taken by the institution; and

- Actions taken by HHS/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 NIH referring or related to misconduct allegations or concerns over actions at NIH-funded institutions from fiscal year 2023 to present concerning alleged antisemitic incidents; targeting 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, guidance provided from HHS OCR & NIH grantee institutions & individuals at grantee institutions regarding Title VI responsibilities/protections including those specific protections for Jewish faith/heritage & all docs/comms regarding stance on antisemitism/events occurring on university campuses/Israeli-Palestinian conflict generally.