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Rep. Jan Schakowsky: Republican Actions Raise Grave Privacy and Security Concerns


Schakowsky Calls Request for Communications between Healthcare Provider and Patients ‘A Dangerous and Sweeping Invasion of Privacy’

WASHINGTON, D.C. –(ENEWSPF)–January 21, 2016.  On the eve of the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, Ranking Member Jan Schakowsky and the Select Panel Democratic members sent a letter to Chair Marsha Blackburn, detailing their serious concerns over the complete lack of evidence justifying the Select Panel, new dangerous and overbroad document requests, and the absence of an investigative plan and clear and specific rules to ensure that the panel’s work is carried out in a fair and even-handed manner.

In the letter, the members wrote, “We were disappointed that the very first official action of the Panel’s Republican majority was to issue a host of overbroad document requests without any consultation with Democratic Members. These document requests raise troubling questions about the course this investigation will take, and they pose grave privacy and security concerns.”

The letter continues, “Congress should not use taxpayer resources as a political weapon to attack women’s health, target healthcare providers, and intimidate scientists who are working to increase our understanding of disease that impact all Americans.”

Ranking Members Jan Schakowsky stated, “Following in the footsteps of the Benghazi Select Committee, Republicans have started their newest select investigation by excluding Democrats from the Panels’ work, and issuing a series of unilateral and dangerous document requests. Among other things, Republicans now seek lists of students being trained to provide pre- and postnatal care and the communications between a healthcare provider and patients who work for the government. Nothing justifies such a dangerous and sweeping invasion of privacy, particularly in an atmosphere where doctors, patients, and researchers face ongoing threats that have put them and their families in fear for their safety.”

Read the full letter here.

Source: http://www.schakowsky.house.gov


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