Oversight and Investigations Informer – September 28, 2022
From Afghanistan to Hunter Biden, GOP readies its investigations
What We Are Watching:
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy has begun talks with top House Republicans on how to coordinate investigations across committees if the party is successful in taking over the House next year. He has encouraged ranking Republicans on committees to send letters to agencies throughout the Biden administration, asking that they turn over or preserve documents, with more than 500 requests issued already. (The Washington Post)
Key Insights:
Should they win the majority, Republicans will have to navigate between their traditional view of oversight to bring accountability to the vast federal bureaucracy, exposing examples of waste, fraud, and abuse and its electoral base’s appetite for hard-charging, headline-grabbing politically inspired congressional investigations into the Biden Administration and its allies. The later will be demanded by the incoming freshman class, the first of the post-Trump era, channeling the passions of today’s Republican voters who are as skeptical of Big Business just as much as their Democratic counterparts.
For more information, contact Kristina Moore.
What We Are Watching:
The New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) has called for a federal probe into Puerto Rican energy provider Luma Energy. AG James sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to investigate the “frequent and lengthy outages,” especially after Hurricane Fiona knocked out power throughout the island. (The Hill).
Key Insights:
Problems with Puerto Rico’s electrical grid go back decades and are a source of ongoing discussion. Specifically, delays of modernization for the island’s electric grid and minimal progress from federal agencies are of concern. The House Natural Resources Committee was scheduled to hold a hearing last week on PROMESA (Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act) and LUMA Energy’s Contract with Puerto Rico, but it was postponed due to the storm.
For more information, contact Shannon Banaga.
What We Are Watching:
House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Oversight Chairman Bill Pascrell (D-NJ) sent a letter to the Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, urging the agency to launch an investigation into HCA Healthcare to determine validity of alleged fraud and staffing issues. The letter references allegations that patients in HCA’s emergency department had been admitted for unnecessary patient stays, resulting in HCA charging up to $1.8 billion in fraudulent charges to the Medicare program from 2008 – 2019. (Axios).
Key Insights:
As the role of private equity (PE) in healthcare becomes more pronounced, so does congressional scrutiny. The letter sent to HCA Healthcare was prompted not only by improper hospital admissions but also due to allegations of understaffing, admission targets, and overall concern regarding the involvement of PE-backed firms in health care. This letter signals additional oversight into healthcare firms working with private equity and the increasing impact of understaffing as a driving factor for congressional scrutiny in the current Congress.
For more information, contact Sonja Nesbit.
Contact Us
If you have any questions or tips, please reach out to Kristina Moore, Alex Miehls, and Nia Jackson.
| The views expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and not necessarily the views of FTI Consulting, its management, its subsidiaries, its affiliates, or its other professionals.
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