Sebelius to testify on Healthcare.Gov problems

Oct 23 2013

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius is expected to answer lawmakers' questions about the troubled rollout of the health law's exchange website as early as next week. Her staff had declined a request to have her testify Thursday citing scheduling conflicts.

Politico: Kathleen Sebelius Offers To Testify On Obamacare
HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius is expected to testify before Congress about the rocky Obamacare rollout a week from Wednesday, House Republicans announced late Monday, just hours after House Speaker John Boehner slammed the White House for skipping an earlier hearing scheduled for this Thursday. A few hours after Sebelius signaled she was willing to testify before the House Energy and Commerce Committee at a "mutually agreeable date," the committee announced she was "expected" on Wednesday, Oct. 30. Her testimony would come a few days after the lead contractors working on the balky Obamacare enrollment system -; CGI and QSSI -; testify before the same committee (Cheney, 10/21).

The Washington Post: Sebelius Negotiating With House Republicans, But Won't Testify Thursday
Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius is negotiating with House Republicans over when she will appear before the House Energy and Commerce Committee to answer questions about the troubled rollout of enrollment for the new federal health-insurance exchange, according to agency spokeswoman Joanne Peters, but has not agreed to appear at a hearing scheduled on Thursday (Eilperin, 10/21).

The Wall Street Journal's Washington Wire: Sebelius To Testify On Rocky Health Care Rollout
The Department of Health and Human Services said Monday that Secretary Kathleen Sebelius will testify before Congress on the law's rocky rollout "as early as next week." Ms. Sebelius's staff had declined a request for her to testify at a House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing this Thursday, citing a schedule conflict. That decision was criticized last week by lawmakers who then called on the department to send other officials "voluntarily" (Radnofsky, 10/21).

Politico: 5 Obamacare Questions Kathleen Sebelius Won't Answer
The reality is that no matter how long Sebelius sits and takes the heat, there are some questions she can't or won't answer (Norman and Millman, 10/22).