Evidence shows an overtly political email was sent using government data and servers to Medicare recipients
Washington, D.C. --- Today, the non-partisan ethics watchdog the Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust (FACT) filed a complaint urging the Office of Special Counsel to investigate whether the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra and other federal employees violated the Hatch Act by sending a blatant political email to Medicare recipients.
On September 28, 2024, HHS sent an unsolicited email that is entirely political both in purpose and language. The email, which has been described as a “sales pitch for Kamala Harris,” touted the Vice President’s alleged role in the Inflation Reduction Act, “lowering health care costs”, and “save[ing] money for American taxpayers.” The official email from HHS was sent to those who signed up to receive updates on the government’s Medicare program, which is a total possible universe of 67.5 million recipients. This type of political advocacy from the government targeting citizens who interact with an agency is exactly the type of politicization the Hatch Act is designed to prevent.
The Hatch Act protects the public trust by ensuring federal programs are administered in a nonpartisan manner and protects taxpayer-funds from being used for political purposes. Along with Executive Office of the President and HHS employees, Secretary Becerra is covered by the Hatch Act as a presidential appointee with Senate confirmation. The Hatch Act prohibits employees from using their official authority or influence for the purpose of interfering with or affecting the result of an election. The Office of Special Counsel has made it clear that creating, sending, or forwarding an email that is supportive or against a candidacy for President of the United States violates the Hatch Act if done while on duty, acting in official capacity, in a government building, or with government resources.
“Secretary Becerra appears to have unethically made an overtly political pitch to recipients of Medicare in an election year, which blatantly violates the Hatch Act. The fact that this ‘update’ even mentions the Vice President at all is a dead giveaway to what is afoot here. Under no circumstances would it be necessary to mention the Vice President in this communication, let alone focus on her. It’s laughable that an email unnecessarily praising the Vice President sent so close to an election would not be described as political--there was virtually no effort to conceal their true intent here. While a typical Hatch Act violation involves an elected official making a passing political reference during an appearance, the scope of this case is much greater because government data was used to send a blatant political message to potentially millions of unsuspecting Americans on the eve of an election. It is with this sentiment that we urge the Office of Special Counsel to move swiftly to investigate whether Secretary Becerra and other employees of HHS and Executive Office of the President violated the Hatch Act, and to ascertain the full scope of the violation, followed by the proper penalties.” said Kendra Arnold, Executive Director of FACT.
A full copy of the complaint, with a full copy of Secretary Becerra’s email to Medicare recipients, can be found HERE.
FACT is a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting accountability, ethics, and transparency in government and civic arenas. For more on FACT, visit http://www.factdc.org/
###