Gov. Greg Abbott's top health appointee draws bipartisan fire at hearing
Both Republican and Democratic members of a key legislative oversight committee unloaded on Gov. Greg Abbott’s top health appointee and other administration officials Thursday, putting them on the hot seat for hours about alleged contracting abuses and failures at the sprawling Health and Human Services Commission.
The often tense hearing before the House General Investigating & Ethics Committee played out against a backdrop of mounting frustration in the Texas Legislature about scathing audits and embarrassing disclosures at an agency that was supposed to be getting its act together after contracting scandals roiled it two years ago.
An audit showing millions in misspent contract money. A report of botched transportation services for poor Texans. Failure to publicly disclose the details of how billions were spent. Then word on Thursday that the integrity of a “substantial procurement” was jeopardized because an employee’s spouse went to work for a subcontractor.
“I just can’t take any more of these articles,” fumed state Rep. Giovanni Capriglione, R-Southlake. “It’s something that seems to be coming up a lot.”
Read more: https://www.texastribune.org/2017/03/16/gov-abbotts-top-health-appointee-bipartisan-hot-seat/
