01.31.17

Cantwell, Finance Committee Democrats Boycott Mnuchin, Price Vote

Senators block nominees from moving forward

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) released the following statement after she joined Finance Committee Democrats in boycotting the committee votes on Steven Mnuchin and Rep. Tom Price. Without a quorum, the vote was delayed and the nominees were unable to move forward.

“Today, I joined my fellow Senate Finance Committee Democrats to boycott the vote on Steve Mnuchin for Treasury Secretary and Rep. Tom Price for Health and Human Services Secretary.  These two nominees will have tremendous responsibility for our economic and financial security and the health and safety of hundreds of millions of Americans.   Our committee has critically important questions that remain outstanding and they must be addressed. With so much at stake, the American people deserve answers.”

Background

Just yesterday, the Wall Street Journal reported that Congressman Tom Price, the nominee to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, had received a privileged offer to purchase biomedical stock at a discount, even though he told Congress that was not the case.

This Sunday, news broke that Treasury Nominee Steven Mnuchin provided false testimony during his Senate confirmation hearing last week. Mnuchin claimed OneWest Bank – where he served as chairman and CEO – had not robo-signed documents, but the news reports found thousands of foreclosure cases had been robo-signed. 

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