CDC Responds to CREW’s Records Request
Washington D.C. - Yesterday CREW received a response from the Centers for Control and Prevention (CDC) denying CREW’s request for expedition of its Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request seeking all records related to the agency’s policies, protocols, and practices for distributing the H1N1 vaccine.
CREW filed its FOIA request on November 6, 2009, following press reports that private, non-health related entities, including top Wall Street firms, had received quantities of the vaccine for their employees at a time when the public at large is facing critical and vast shortages of the vaccine. The CDC agreed with CREW that in light of the public health emergency the H1N1 flu presents, the public has a compelling need for the information CREW has requested. But the agency nevertheless denied expedition based on its remarkable claim that through the CDC website the public has been fully informed about the distribution of the vaccine. Once again the CDC has chosen to ignore the public’s legitimate and ongoing concerns, adopting the paternalistic view that it knows best what information the public needs.
CREW also sent a second FOIA request to the Secretary of Health and Human Services on November 6, and received the perplexing response that any and all records would be found at the CDC, and not agency headquarters. Just last week Nicole Lurie, Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response at HHS, testified before a congressional subcommittee on HHS’s role in responding to the H1N1 outbreak. Her testimony alone demonstrates the inadequacy of HHS’s response to CREW’s FOIA request.
Click here to read the CDC's letter to CREW.
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) is a non-profit legal watchdog group dedicated to holding public officials accountable for their actions. For more information, please visit www.citizensforethics.org or contact David Merchant at 202.408.5565 or dmerchant@citizensforethics.org
Blog
May 18, 2012
Thanks for the Notice, House Ethics
In outrageous fashion, the House Ethics Committee noticed a public meeting to consider proposed amendments to the Committee…
Media Center
-
May 19, 2012 | Bloomberg Businessweek
Army Purchases of $17,000 Pans Tied to Kentucky Lawmaker
-
May 18, 2012 | The New York Times
Earmark Puts $17,000 Pans on Army Craft
-
May 15, 2012 | Politico
John Edwards defense: Justice Department flip-flopped
-
May 16, 2012 | Bradenton Herald
Watchdog group calls for Buchanan to resign
-
May 3, 2012 | The Telegraph
US Senate asks Leveson for any evidence of illegal activity by News Corp