Watchdog sues HHS to obtain records around Becerra’s California ethics waiver, waiver for assistant’s Pennsylvania work

Juliette Fairley, Legal Newsline

WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) – Both the U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary and assistant Secretary received waivers for previous work in their respective states, however the scope of those waivers is being withheld, according to a watchdog group.

“The contents of the waiver are not available to the public and they have not been provided to us through our Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request,” said Michael Chamberlain, director of Protect the Public’s Trust (PPT).

HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra and his assistant Secretary Rachel Levine signed certifications of ethics agreement compliance, which are available at the Office of Government Ethics website, however, the certifications do not provide details of the waivers granted for the states of California and Pennsylvania, respectively.

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