Fischer: HHS Must Comply with Investigation of Planned Parenthood

Press Release

This afternoon, U.S. Senator Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) joined Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) and 48 Republican senators in a letter to HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell, calling for the department to comply with investigations into Planned Parenthood.

Senator Fischer released the following statement regarding the letter:

"The videos of Planned Parenthood executives negotiating the price of baby body parts are appalling. This organization receives over half a billion dollars in taxpayer funding each year -- which I oppose -- and these practices must be investigated thoroughly.

"I am disgusted by these revelations. Congress has a duty to conduct robust oversight and determine whether this organization has broken the law. If so, they must be held accountable."

This month, two videos were released by the Center for Medical Progress depicting senior Planned Parenthood Federation of America executives discussing, in gruesome detail, the organization's role in the harvesting of the organs of unborn babies.

In the letter to HHS Secretary Burwell today, the senators draw attention to the legal, ethical, and policy issues raised in the videos. They call on HHS Secretary Burwell to cooperate with ongoing and future investigations into these questions.

The senators also requested that the secretary confirm the commencement or immediate initiation of a "thorough internal review of the compliance of the Department and Planned Parenthood -- one of the Department's grantees -- with all relevant and applicable federal statutes, regulations, and other requirements."

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