HHS pick has one of worst campaign disclosure records in Congress

Trump’s pick for HHS Secretary, Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.), is one of the worst members of Congress in terms of disclosing required information about his donors (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File) Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.), Donald Trump’s pick to head the Department of Health and Human Services, has come under fire for buying and selling shares companies in the health care industry whose fortunes he could affect through his perch in Congress, and for intervening with regulators on behalf of some of his donors in the medical field. Turns out the Federal Election Commission isn’t happy with him either, calling out the nominee for lousy disclosure on the campaign finance reports he turned in last year. A Jan. 8 letter from the agency to Price’s campaign points out that there is no employer or occupation given for many of the donors listed on his most recent report — in fact, it comes out to about 30 percent. Instead, the campaign entered “Information Requested” in the corresponding column — which doesn’t satisfy the FEC’s requirement. Reporting employment data for all congressional winners in 2016 The worst of the bunch is Republican Claudia Tenney, newly elected to New York’s District 22, whose entries were incomplete for $141,000 in donations, or 36.9 percent of what she raised. Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-Kan.), another of Trump’s tapped picks for his administration, failed to properly report only 1.1 percent of donors’ occupations. Four members of Congress boast incomplete data for contributors giving what adds up to millions of dollars: Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) with $7.3 million, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) with $2.1 million, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) with $1.4 million and Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) with $1.3 million. (To play around in the data yourself, see our spreadsheet.) The election agency told Price to demonstrate that “best efforts” were made to get all the required info. Best efforts probably aren’t as strenuous as you think they are. Price only needs to ask donors one more time for their job titles. If the donor refuses, Price is off the hook. Price is supposed to prove he asked that second time; otherwise, he risks a civil penalty, could have to take an FEC compliance course or face an audit, according to FEC press officer Christian Hilland. (The FEC cannot speak specifically about ongoing cases.) Rep. Price’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment. The largest incomplete line item in his last report, a $2,700 contribution in October, came from a Robert A. Yellowlees in Atlanta, Georgia. A quick Google search pulls up a page for a member of the Emory Global Health Advisory Board with the same name. This Yellowlees is the retired board chairman of Global Payments Inc., NDCHealth and National Data Corporation, and starting his career with IBM. He also serves on the boards of Woodruff Arts Center and the High Museum of Art and Aperture Foundation. (His family, incidentally gave $400,000 to the High Museum of Art in 2014.) What’s the big deal […]

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