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Tuesday, April 9, 2019

Top Democrats request info on White House role in not defending health care law

The three letters are addressed to Attorney General William Barr, White House counsel Pat Cipollone, and Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar and Administrator Seema Verma of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. They ask for the information to be provided by April 22.
In the letter to Barr, the Democrats write, "We write to express our concern regarding the troubling decision by the Department of Justice ... not to defend the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act."
"This refusal appears to be violating longstanding policies to defend and enforce Acts of Congress, will have a significant negative impact on the accessibility of health care for Americans, and appears to be driven by political considerations rather than considered legal arguments," the letter continues.
The Democrats request that the Justice Department "make certain individuals available for questioning on this matter."
The White House did not immediately respond to CNN's request for comment on the letters.
The letters are signed by Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland, the House Oversight Committee chairman; Rep. Frank Pallone of New Jersey, the House Energy and Commerce Committee chairman; Rep. Richard Neal of Massachusetts, the House Ways and Means Committee chairman; Rep. Bobby Scott of Virginia, the House Committee on Education and Labor chairman; and Rep. Jerry Nadler of New York, the House Judiciary Committee chairman.
In the letter to Cipollone, the Democrats write, "We are requesting documents and information regarding the involvement of the White House and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in the troubling decision by the Department of Justice (DOJ) not to defend the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act (ACA)."
"DOJ's sudden and significant reversal from its previous position was reportedly driven by officials inside the White House and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) -- including Acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney, Acting Director of OMB Russ Vought, and Director of Domestic Policy Council Joe Grogan -- over the opposition of Attorney General William Barr and HHS Secretary Alex Azar," the letter continues.
That letter requests "A list of all White House or OMB personnel who communicated with, directed, analyzed, reviewed, or were otherwise involved in DOJ's decision not to defend the Constitutionality of the ACA in Texas v. United States," and "All communications among White House or OMB personnel between December 14, 2018, and March 25, 2019."

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