Murray, HELP Committee Staff Release Memo Highlighting Threats to Women’s Health Posed By Trump Administration Appointees

Congressional Documents & Publications

(Washington, D.C.) -Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, and HELP Committee staff released a memo today highlighting the extreme, anti-women views of two Health and Human Services (HHS) appointees, Charmaine Yoest and Teresa Manning. Yoest and Manning both have long histories of making disparaging, anti-women comments and of spreading misinformation about women's health. Senator Murray also sent a letter to her colleagues to accompany the memo reiterating the need for Senate Democrats to stay vigilant in their oversight of the Trump Administration as it attempts to undermine women's health.

"In the first few months of the Trump Administration, we have seen an unprecedented assault on women's access to basic health care services and on women's reproductive rights," wrote Senator Murray, in a letter to colleagues. "President Trump and Congressional Republicans are clearly committed to adopting extreme policies that will roll back decades of progress on these issues, both in the United States and abroad. As we continue our efforts to defend women's health and rights, I am writing to alert you to the strikingly extreme, anti-choice agenda that two recent appointees have pursued throughout their careers."

"The memo outlines why Ms. Yoest and Ms. Manning's efforts to spread misinformation, undermine women's access to basic health care services, and roll back women's reproductive rights are especially dangerous given the offices they will lead," Senator Murray continued.

Yoest and Manning are both political appointees who do not require confirmation by the Senate. As the Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs, Yoest will be heavily involved in crafting HHS's public message and informing the public about urgent health matters. As Deputy Assistant Secretary for Population Affairs, Manning will be in charge of administering the Title X program, which provides comprehensive family planning and related preventative services to millions of women across the country.

Senator Murray's letter to colleagues can be found HERE https://www.help.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Dear%20Colleague%20Letter%20-%20HHS%20Appointees,%2006052017.pdf and a copy of the memo from HELP Committee Staff can be found HERE https://www.help.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Staff%20Memo%20re%20HHS%20Appointees,%2006052017.pdf.