DeGette Condemns Republican Actions that Put the Lives of Health Care Providers and Medical Researchers at Risk
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today Congresswoman DeGette released the following statement in response to the Republican Chair of the Select Investigative Panel’s plan to issue 17 additional subpoenas:
“It is clear that collecting the names of researchers, students, personnel, and physicians who provide abortion care and perform research with fetal tissue is nothing more than a dangerous stunt meant to intimidate the men and women who have dedicated their careers to reproductive health care and lifesaving medical research. This panel is no longer just attacking medical research and women’s access to health care, it is now putting the lives of health care providers and medical researchers at significant risk.
“As the Ranking Member of the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigation I have years of experience asking tough questions to witnesses who would prefer not to disclose certain information. I fully intend to use my experience and expose this Select Panel’s ‘investigation’ for what it is: a potentially dangerous partisan charade.”
Background:
Republicans are abusing their congressional power by refusing to tell Democrats who they are subpoenaing, or specifically what they are demanding. House and Committee rules require the Chair to notify and consult with the Ranking Member 72 hours before issuing a subpoena. In this instance, the Chair told the Ranking Member but, in refusing even to provide the names of the intended recipients or copies of the subpoena, has refused to consult in any meaningful way.
Republicans did share that some of the subpoenas are to entities that have redacted names of individuals in their productions and others are to entities that have never received a written request for information. Typically, congressional committees first request information in writing in order to attempt to obtain the information through a letter request before they issue subpoenas for that information. Subpoenas are usually taken as a last resort, not first step, in an investigation.
After the release of the highly-edited and now widely-discredited videos, incidents of harassment against Planned Parenthood increased ninefold during the month of July 2015. Last November, an anti-abortion extremist murdered three people, injured nine others, and terrorized doctors and patients at a Planned Parenthood health center. The shooter used the phrase “no more baby parts” to explain his attack. And the uptick in violence and threat was so significant that the FBI issued an Intelligence Assessment warning. It also resulted in an order from a U.S. district judge blocking the release of additional videos.
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