FIRST ON FOX: Republicans on a key House Committee are pushing for Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra to testify over the ongoing crisis at the southern border and reports of an increase in child migrant exploitation — warning that it may pursue “other avenues” if he refuses.
House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers and Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Chair H. Morgan Griffith had first requested Becerra’s presence at the subcommittee’s hearing in March.
In a letter to Becerra, the lawmakers say they have been working “in good faith” to get him to testify to the subcommittee in May after he had expressed willingness to testify at a separate hearing, but they say HHS staff indicated he was traveling through May and so the appearance would be postponed until June.
The lawmakers say they were “cautiously optimistic” before a May 17 staff call, at which point things changed.
“However, following the May 17 call, the Subcommittee is questioning whether you ever had any intention of voluntarily appearing to testify. On that call, your staff, for the first time during these negotiations, signaled that your position is now that it is inappropriate for a Cabinet Secretary to appear before the Subcommittee and, therefore, you will not voluntarily appear, regardless of the scope of the hearing,” the letter says.
The letter says that the subcommittee sought to accommodate the change by offering a full committee hearing, but that accommodation was declined by staff, who said that the committee would first need to hold a hearing with a lower-ranking official before Becerra would consider testifying.
The administration has been hit by a number of New York Times reports detailing a rise in child exploitation, where children are forced into the labor force — sometimes to pay back their smuggling costs. It has led to concerns that, by transporting children to sponsors, the U.S. is involved in child trafficking.
The Times reported how officials reportedly ignored signs of “explosive” growth in the child labor force, while staff members claimed Becerra pushed for discharging minors even quicker.
“Congress has given us certain authorities. Our authorities end when we have found a suitable sponsor to place that child with. We try and do some follow-up, but neither the child or the sponsor is actually obligated to follow up with us,” he said.
The lawmakers on the Energy and Commerce Committee said its final accommodation for Becerra is for him to appear at a hearing examining HHS’ role in the crisis on either June 13 or 14.
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