WASHINGTON
– U.S. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley of Iowa today released
the following statement regarding a disturbing incident detailed by the Wall
Street Journal in which the National Institutes of Health (NIH) initially
prohibited two of its doctors from speaking with government officials regarding
an ongoing investigation. When Grassley read the reports, he immediately
contacted NIH with concerns.
According
to reporting
by the Wall Street Journal, government investigators are asking questions about
a clinical trial of new blood-infection treatments. When the investigators
attempted to speak with two doctors working on the trial, they were refused by
NIH.
“Transparency
is critical to good government and necessary to prevent waste, fraud and abuse
of taxpayer dollars. I’m deeply concerned about the initial attempts to silence
these doctors by the National Institutes of Health,” Grassley said.
“Secrecy
is the enemy of good government. If there are any indications that patients
participating in a taxpayer-funded clinical trial may be injured or harmed,
those concerns must be brought to the forefront and addressed. I urge Director
Francis Collins and his agency to take these and any similar red flags
seriously at the first step to ensure the safety of patients and the integrity
of the trial.
“I’m
glad they’ve reversed
their decision. Trying to block folks from willingly cooperating with
a legitimate investigation has a clear chilling effect and will only discourage
whistleblowers.”
-30-