{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://paulryan.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=356148", "Ryan: Americans Deserve Answers on Obamacare", "2013-10-23", "2013", "2013-10", "Republican", "House", "WI", "Paul Ryan", "R000570", "paulryan.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON\u00ad\u2014The Health and Human Services Department has yet to respond to repeated requests from the House Budget Committee for information about the implementation of the President\u2019s health-care law. Now, HBC chairman Paul Ryan is asking for more information about President Obama\u2019s \u201ctech surge\u201d to fix the dysfunctional HealthCare.gov website. \r\n\u201cThe American people have a right to know how HHS is spending their money,\u201d said Chairman Ryan. \u201cWe were told we had to pass the health-care bill to find out what was in it. But it\u2019s been three years, and we\u2019re still in the dark.\u201d\r\nOn August 15, Chairman Ryan sent a letter to HHS secretary Kathleen Sebelius asking her to testify on the department\u2019s plans for implementation on September 11. HHS staff indicated that she wouldn\u2019t be available on that date\u2014or on three alternative dates. But her office never sent an official reply.\r\nOn August 22, Chairman Ryan sent another letter to the secretary asking her to provide an organizational chart of the department\u2019s implementation efforts. The letter also asked that the department produce a list of the offices involved in implementation, the number of full-time employees involved, and all relevant spending items. Chairman Ryan asked the secretary to provide the requested materials by September 11. \r\nOn September 10, the department told HBC staff in a telephone conversation that it would reply to the committee\u2019s request within the next two weeks. But HHS has yet to respond. On October 18, HBC staff followed up with the department via email\u2014but received no reply.\r\nOn October 22\u2014two months after the original request\u2014Chairman Ryan sent a follow-up letter to Secretary Sebelius. In his latest letter, Ryan writes, \u201cYour continued silence on these important inquiries after refusing to testify raises serious questions about the administration\u2019s commitment to transparency and accountability.\u201d\r\nThe letter also includes a request for more information about President Obama\u2019s so-called tech surge to fix the law\u2019s website, HealthCare.gov. It asks the secretary to provide the number of people hired, their compensation, and the aggregate costs of their repairs.\r\nBelow is a timeline of the committee\u2019s requests to the HHS department.\r\n \r\n    \r\n    On August 15, Chairman Ryan sent a letter to Secretary Sebelius asking her testify on September 11. HHS staff said the secretary was unable to testify that day\u2014and on three alternative dates. The chairman sent a follow-up request for further information on August 22.\r\n    \r\n    \r\n    On August 26, the committee asked officials from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight (CCIIO), and the Department of Labor (DOL) to testify. \r\n    \r\n        \r\n        CMS said administrator Marilyn Tavenner was unavailable to testify on the initial date of September 11 and the alternatives dates of September 17, 18, and 19.\u00a0 CMS also said deputy administrator and director Gary Cohen was unavailable to testify on the initial date of September 11 and any day the following week.\r\n        \r\n        \r\n        DOL said that assistant secretary for employee benefits Phyllis Borzi was unavailable to testify on the initial date of September 11. The committee made a follow-up request on September 9, and DOL said she was unavailable on the alternative dates as well.\r\n        \r\n    \r\n    \r\n    \r\n    On October 22, Chairman Ryan sent a follow-up letter to Secretary Sebelius, expressing concerns over her department\u2019s refusal to answer basic questions. Ryan also asked her to detail the costs of the administration\u2019s so-called tech surge, \u201cincluding the number of people hired, their compensation, and the aggregate cost of their repairs.\u201d", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["http://paulryan.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=356148"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.0807760991156101, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}