Senator Compares Obama Cabinet Official To Convicted Felon Oliver North

By Igor Volsky

A top Senate Republican is comparing Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to convicted felon Oliver North for soliciting private donations to help implement the Affordable Care Act...in the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday, Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) charged that Sebelius circumvented Congress’ refusal to provide funds for the administration’s health care law by raising those dollars from outside groups, just as “Col. North was accused of using money raised in an arms-for-hostages swap with Iran to fund and work with private organizations providing military support to rebel armies in Nicaragua.”

<...>

Obama administration officials insist that Sebelius was following authority laid out in the Public Health Service Act — which allows the secretary to “support by grant or contract (and to encourage others to support) private nonprofit entities working in health information and health promotion, preventive health services, and education in the appropriate use of health care” — but “has made no fundraising requests to entities regulated by HHS.” The New York Times reported on May 12 that Sebelius did solicit donations from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and H&R Block.

<...>

In 1991, while serving as Secretary of Education for President George H. W. Bush, Alexander actively and enthusiastically sought private dollars to fund the administration’s education initiative, America 2000. Alexander crisscrossed the country to sell the program after Congress failed to approve Bush’s education funding request...he explained in a San Diego Union-Tribune op-ed on Sep. 27, 1992, “President Bush asked Congress to appropriate a half-billion dollars to redesign such new American schools. Congress balked, the business community didn’t. The president has asked American businesses to raise $200 million to fund design teams to help communities create such schools.”

Bush made the fundraising pitch in the Rose Garden in July of 1991 during an event with private donors, with Alexander standing by his side. “Funds are pouring in — I don’t want to say ‘pouring,’ because we’re going to put the arm on you all on in a minute here — but funds are coming in well,” the president said. “(A)lready $30 million has been raised, much of it from the corporations that are represented here today.”

- more -

http://thinkprogress.org/health/2013/05/23/2052331/senator-compares-compares-obama-cabinet-official-to-convicted-felon-oliver-north/

42 U.S.C.
United States Code, 2009 Edition
Title 42 - THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE
CHAPTER 6A - PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE
SUBCHAPTER XV - HEALTH INFORMATION AND HEALTH PROMOTION
Sec. 300u-2 - Grants and contracts for community health programs
From the U.S. Government Printing Office, www.gpo.gov

§300u–2. Grants and contracts for community health programs
(a) Authority of Secretary; particular activities

The Secretary is authorized to conduct and support by grant or contract (and encourage others to support) new and innovative programs in health information and health promotion, preventive health services, and education in the appropriate use of health care, and may specifically—

(1) support demonstration and training programs in such matters which programs (A) are in hospitals, ambulatory care settings, home care settings, schools, day care programs for children, and other appropriate settings representative of broad cross sections of the population, and include public education activities of voluntary health agencies, professional medical societies, and other private nonprofit health organizations, (B) focus on objectives that are measurable, and (C) emphasize the prevention or moderation of illness or accidents that appear controllable through individual knowledge and behavior;

(2) provide consultation and technical assistance to organizations that request help in planning, operating, or evaluating programs in such matters;

(3) develop health information and health promotion materials and teaching programs including (A) model curriculums for the training of educational and health professionals and paraprofessionals in health education by medical, dental, and nursing schools, schools of public health, and other institutions engaged in training of educational or health professionals, (B) model curriculums to be used in elementary and secondary schools and institutions of higher learning, (C) materials and programs for the continuing education of health professionals and paraprofessionals in the health education of their patients, (D) materials for public service use by the printed and broadcast media, and (E) materials and programs to assist providers of health care in providing health education to their patients; and

(4) support demonstration and evaluation programs for individual and group self-help programs designed to assist the participant in using his individual capacities to deal with health problems, including programs concerned with obesity, hypertension, and diabetes.

(b) Grants to States and other public and nonprofit private entities; costs of demonstrating and evaluating programs; development of models

The Secretary is authorized to make grants to States and other public and nonprofit private entities to assist them in meeting the costs of demonstrating and evaluating programs which provide information respecting the costs and quality of health care or information respecting health insurance policies and prepaid health plans, or information respecting both. After the development of models pursuant to section 300u–3(4) and 300u–3(5) of this title for such information, no grant may be made under this subsection for a program unless the information to be provided under the program is provided in accordance with one of such models applicable to the information.

(c) Private nonprofit entities; limitation on amount of grant or contract

The Secretary is authorized to support by grant or contract (and to encourage others to support) private nonprofit entities working in health information and health promotion, preventive health services, and education in the appropriate use of health care. The amount of any grant or contract for a fiscal year beginning after September 30, 1978, for an entity may not exceed 25 per centum of the expenses of the entity for such fiscal year for health information and health promotion, preventive health services, and education in the appropriate use of health care.

(July 1, 1944, ch. 373, title XVII, §1703, as added Pub. L. 94–317, title I, §102, June 23, 1976, 90 Stat. 697.)

http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/USCODE-2009-title42/html/USCODE-2009-title42-chap6A-subchapXV-sec300u-2.htm