The Department of Health and Human Services is being inundated with last-minute tour requests from mostly Democratic members of Congress to such an extent that it’s forced the federal agency to spend hundreds of hours facilitating visits for lawmakers instead of helping migrant children in its custody.
“To date, nearly 500 work hours have been spent facilitating congressional visits to facilities for more than 70 Members of Congress,” Matt Bassett, assistant secretary for legislation at HHS, wrote in a letter to Senate and House Judiciary Committee chairmen, Chuck Grassley and Bob Goodlatte, respectively.
“Many of these hours would otherwise have been spent by ORR field and grantee staff verifying parental relationships to prevent child trafficking, facilitating check-in calls between parents and children, facilitating and reviewing foster family home studies, coordinating the delivery of food and medical supplies, and many other duties vital to the health and welfare of the children,” Bassett added in the Monday-dated letter that was released Tuesday afternoon.
More than 70 congressmen and 60 congressional staffers visited HHS facilities in June. That figure does not include visits to U.S. Customs and Border Protection or U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities, which are overseen by the Department of Homeland Security.
Bassett said he reached out to the two committee heads because they have jurisdiction over HHS’s Office of Refugee Resettlement, the agency handling children who were separated from parents due to the adults being prosecuted for illegal entry at the border.
HHS asked that its two-week advance notification system for visits be honored by lawmakers.
“We believe that you could play an important leadership role in coordinating Members who are interested in visiting the same facilities and encouraging them to do so as a group, as well as help get the word out about upcoming opportunities for visits made available by HHS. These actions will greatly alleviate the burdens on ORR field staff so that they can maintain their focus on the children in our care,” Bassett wrote.
The health agency said in light of the continued surge of tour requests, it is hosting pre-arranged visitation dates at specific locations. First-time visiting members will receive preference over lawmakers who have previously visited a facility.
