Chronology of Committee Work

HHS Restricts Communications between U.S. Scientists and WHO Officials

A new HHS policy requires the World Health Organization to submit all requests for expert scientific advice to political officials at HHS who pick which federal scientists will be permitted to respond. The new policy and two recent Administration decisions to withdraw federal scientists from major international health conferences are part of a disturbing pattern of political interference in global health issues.

Bipartisan House Group Calls on EPA to Issue Stronger Mercury Rule

Reps. Waxman, Cooper, Allen, Grijalva, E.B. Johnson, McCollum, Schakowsky, Solis, and 172 other members of Congress urge EPA to issue a rule on mercury emissions that meets the requirements of federal law and acts decisively to address the urgent threat that mercury poses to the nation’s public health.

Creating a Select Committee on Prison Abuses

Rep. Waxman, alongside Democratic Leader Pelosi, Armed Services Ranking Member Skelton, and nine other congressional leaders, introduces legislation to create a select committee in the House to investigate the abuses of detainees held in U.S. custody in Abu Ghraib prison and elsewhere.

Legislation Introduced to Regulate Tobacco Products

Chairman Davis and Rep. Waxman introduce H.R. 4433, legislation that would give FDA strong authority to regulate tobacco products. The bill addressses youth smoking, requires a review of scientific evidence before "reduced risk" tobacco products could be marketed, and provides the agency authority to control the content of tobacco products.

State Department Issues Revised Terrorism Data

New data, released by the State Department to correct serious mistakes in the initial Patterns of Global Terrorism 2003 report, shows a major increase in deaths and injuries in terrorist attacks in 2003, with “significant” attacks reaching a 20-year high.

Failure to Investigate Withholding of Medicare Cost Estimates Is Dereliction of Constitutional Duties

In a letter to Senate Majority Leader Frist and Speaker Hastert, Senate Democratic Leader Daschle, House Democratic Leader Pelosi, Rep. Waxman, and ten other congressional leaders call the failure to investigate the Administration’s withholding of Medicare cost estimates from Congress a gross abdication of Congress’ constitutional oversight responsibility. In a letter to the President, the members ask the President to provide complete answers to straightforward questions on his role in the matter.

Questions on Estimate of Mortality from Obesity

Responding to concerns from the scientific community, Rep. Waxman asks GAO to review the recent CDC estimate of the number of deaths attributable to obesity.

HHS Experts: Funding Increase Urgently Needed for HIV/AIDS Drug Program

In a letter to HHS, Democratic Leader Pelosi, Democratic Whip Hoyer, Rep. Waxman, Rep. Frank, Rep. Sherrod Brown, Del. Christensen, Rep. Lee and Rep. Baldwin make Secretary Thompson aware of his own agency's conclusion that an HIV/AIDS drug program for Americans lacking adequate health insurance urgently needs significantly more funding.

U.S. Dependence on Foreign Oil Worsens Under Administration Energy Policies

A new report released by Rep. Waxman finds that, under the Administration’s proposed energy policies, U.S. dependence on foreign oil will continue to increase markedly into the foreseeable future.

New Evidence of Halliburton Overcharges

Five former Halliburton employees and one former executive of a Halliburton subcontractor describe egregious examples of waste, fraud, and abuse involving Halliburton’s Iraq contracts. A new Pentagon audit finds serious deficiencies in Halliburton’s billing practices.

Vice President's Chief of Staff Received Early Briefing on Halliburton Contracts

Rep. Waxman discloses that a senior Defense Department official briefed I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby, the Vice President’s chief of staff, and other senior Administration officials in October 2002 about the Department’s proposal to award lucrative Iraq contracts to Halliburton. This new information appears to contradict the Vice President’s repeated assertions that he and his staff were not informed prior to the award of the Halliburton contracts.

Pharmaceutical Companies Fail to Register Clinical Trials on Government Website

Rep. Waxman writes the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America regarding the failure of many pharmaceutical companies to submit information on their cancer clinical trials to www.clinicaltrials.gov – despite a federal law requiring them to do so.

Democrats Determined to Investigate Prison Abuses

Democratic committee leaders inform the President of their determination to investigate the allegations of prison abuses in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Guantanamo Bay, and ask the President for assistance in obtaining key documents.

Prescription Drug Cards Still Provide Few Discounts to Seniors

An analysis released by Rep. Waxman finds that the Administration’s claims that competition would reduce drug prices under the new Medicare discount cards have yet to materialize.

Rep. Waxman Raises Questions about Halliburton's Iraq Oil Contracts and VP Cheney's Involvement

In a letter to Secretary Rumsfeld, Rep. Waxman raises questions about the legality of the decision to award Halliburton a task order to develop contingency plans for Iraq’s oil infrastructure, citing new GAO findings that Secretary Rumsfeld’s office overruled Army officials who questioned the issuance of the task order.

Noncompetitive Contracts Soar under Bush Administration

A new report released by Rep. Waxman shows that the Bush Administration awarded $107 billion in sole-source and other noncompetitive contracts in fiscal year 2003, an increase of 60% compared to the last year of the Clinton Administration.

NIH Asked to Review Syringe Exchange Program as HIV Reduction Measure

Rep. Waxman and Rep. Cummings ask NIH Director Zerhouni to review the evidence on syringe exchange programs and other harm reduction measures to reduce the spread of HIV and other bloodborne diseases. UPDATE -- On Oct. 7, 2004, Dr. Zerhouni sent a response indicating that these measures “can be an effective public health approach” to reduce infectious disease transmission.

U.S. Taekwondo Union Bars Head Contact for Young Athletes

Addressing safety concerns expressed by Rep. Waxman, Rep. Jackson, and Sen. Jeffords, the nation’s governing taekwondo body has moved to prohibit full head contact for athletes under 14 years of age.

Reps. Waxman and Tierney Introduce Bill on Investigating the Politicization of Science

Reps. Waxman and Tierney offered an amendment to H.R. 2432, the Paperwork Reduction Act of 2004, which would create an independent commission to investigate the politicization of science under the Bush Administration. The amendment, supported by prominent medical and scientific organizations, failed 201 to 226 in a nearly party-line vote.

Conflicts of Interest Leave Iraq Reconstruction Vulnerable to Waste, Fraud, and Abuse

A joint report released by Rep. Waxman, Sen. Dorgan, Rep. Dingell, and Sen. Wyden reveals that the private contractors hired to oversee the reconstruction of Iraq have ongoing business relationships with the construction firms they are supposed to supervise.

Members File Suit To Force Administration To Release Medicare Cost Estimates

All 19 members of the Government Reform Committee minority file suit against the Secretary of Health and Human Services to compel the Administration to release cost estimates prepared by the HHS Actuary during congressional consideration of Medicare reform legislation.

Data Manipulation Behind Reported Drop in Terrorism

Rep. Waxman criticizes the Patterns of Global Terrorism report for claiming that terrorism reached a record low in 2003 when the underlying data shows that significant terrorist activity was actually at a 20-year high.

Members Submit Bipartisan Request for GAO Investigation of Electronic Voting

Chairman Davis, Rep. Waxman, and eleven other Members of Congress ask GAO to study of the security and reliability of electronic voting systems.

Failure To Test Staggering Cow May Reflect Wider Problems

Rep. Waxman raises concerns that the recent failure of USDA to test an impaired cow for BSE may not be an isolated incident, citing the failure of USDA to monitor whether cows condemned for central nervous system symptoms are actually tested for mad cow disease.

Administration Urged To Drop Roadblocks to Low-Cost, Effective HIV Combination Therapies

In a letter to the President, Rep. Waxman details Administration actions that have unnecessarily delayed and complicated the delivery of highly recommended, life-saving HIV therapies to developing regions.

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