VIDEO: Ranking Member Cassidy, Chair Sanders Announce Committee Vote to Hold Steward Health CEO in Contempt Following Failure to Comply with Congressional Subpoena

WASHINGTON – At today’s hearing on Steward Health Care, U.S. Senators Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, and Bernie Sanders (I-VT), chair of the HELP Committee, announced that the Committee will consider a resolution to hold Steward Health CEO Dr. Ralph de la Torre in contempt for defying a congressional subpoena to testify in front of the Committee. In July, the HELP Committee voted on a strong bipartisan basis to subpoena Dr. de la Torre’s testimony after his repeated refusal to cooperate with the Committee’s investigation into Steward’s financial mismanagement of its hospitals. The Committee will vote on resolutions to authorize civil enforcement and criminal contempt proceedings on Thursday, September 19. 

“Today, we heard from nurses and community leaders who were impacted by Steward Health Care’s negligence and mismanagement,” said Ranking Member Cassidy and Chair Sanders. “We were hopeful that Dr. de la Torre would comply with our bipartisan subpoena and appear before the committee, to testify to the harm Steward has caused to patients, health care workers, and the communities in which they live. Unfortunately, he failed to appear. We have no choice but to move forward and pursue both civil enforcement of the subpoena and criminal charges against Dr. de la Torre.”

If passed by the Committee, both resolutions will be advanced to the full Senate for a vote. The resolution for civil enforcement of the subpoena instructs Senate Legal Counsel to bring a civil suit in the District Court for the District of Columbia to require Dr. de la Torre’s compliance with the subpoena and his testimony before the HELP Committee.

The criminal contempt resolution would refer the matter to the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia to criminally prosecute Dr. de la Torre for failing to comply with the subpoena.

During today’s hearing, the Committee heard from four witnesses with firsthand knowledge of the effects of Steward’s mismanagement including Louisiana Representative Michael Charles Echols and West Monroe Mayor Staci Albritton Mitchell.  

Click here to watch the full hearing.  

Click here to watch Cassidy’s opening remarks.   

Click here to watch Cassidy’s full questioning.  

See below for the remarks as prepared for delivery. 

Thank you, Chair Sanders.

For months, this Committee has engaged in a bipartisan investigation into the bankruptcy of Steward Health Care and the impact on the delivery of care at its hospitals. It was quickly evident that breaking down the management decisions of Chief Executive Officer Dr. Ralph de la Torre is essential to understand Steward’s financial problems.

Steward’s bankruptcy has nationwide implications, impacting more than 30 hospitals across eight states including Glenwood Regional Medical Center in West Monroe, LA.

According to a report from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, a physician at Glenwood told a Louisiana state inspector that the hospital was performing “third-world medicine.”

Because of management decisions resulting in limited resources at Glenwood, the state had to force the hospital to operate at one-third its capacity. One patient died while waiting for a transfer to another hospital because Glenwood did not have the resources to treat.

Glenwood is also the largest employer in West Monroe and West Ouachita Parish, at one point employing nine percent of the community. Hospitals, like Glenwood, are essential to the health and financial wellbeing of the communities they serve.

We need to keep this from happening again. That means we need answers. It seems the principal to give that answer is Dr. Ralph de la Torre. That is what our bipartisan work has been about—answers for our constituents and to inform legislative solutions.

Unfortunately, Dr. de la Torre refused to testify voluntarily and, as a result, the Committee issued a subpoena in July. Up until September 4, Dr. de la Torre’s lawyers indicated he intended to comply with the subpoena and testify. However, eight days before the hearing, Dr. de la Torre informed the committee he would not comply with the subpoena.

We responded to Dr. de la Torre explaining why his objections to the Committee’s subpoena have no merit and directed him to comply.

A witness cannot disregard and evade a duly authorized subpoena. Therefore, today the Chair and I will be asking the Committee to report a resolution to authorize civil enforcement and criminal contempt proceedings against Dr. de la Torre requiring compliance with the subpoena.

I want to thank the Chair for working with me on this critically important issue. I believe that our actions today are a testament to what bipartisanship can accomplish.

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