The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has refused a U.S. senator's request for a briefing by the agency's new ombudsmen about efforts to improve employee morale at the Atlanta-based agency.
The refusal prompted U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley to send a blistering letter Thursday to CDC Director Julie Gerberding that lectures her on federal laws against interfering with a congressional inquiry. It also questions the Atlanta-based agency's rationale for denying his briefing request and the credibility of the ombudsmen with CDC staff.
"I fully intend to exercise my oversight responsibilities to ensure the success and integrity of the Ombudsman effort," wrote Grassley, the ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee. Grassley has been investigating whether poor morale and an exodus of high-profile scientists have damaged the agency's ability to respond in a major public health crisis.
The letter calls the refusal of a briefing "troubling" given that the new ombudsmen were supposed to be a cornerstone of the agency's efforts to improve morale.
In a March 5 letter to Grassley, Gerberding said the two contract employees CDC has hired to serve as interim ombudsmen believe that briefing the senator would violate standards of practice for ombudsmen and render them unable to continue to do their jobs effectively.
"While I am respectful of your desire to get further information, I am also sensitive to these principles — especially because CDC's Ombudsman Office is in a critical stage of development," Gerberding wrote.
Grassley's letter questions the validity of the ombudsmen's reasoning, stating that he is neither the subject of the ombudsmen's inquiries "nor a potential cause of employee angst at CDC." He notes that the ombudsmen have met and briefed Gerberding. Many employees blame Gerberding and her leadership for problems at the agency.
"Dr. Gerberding, am I missing something here?" Grassley asked in his letter. "Why would two individuals claim preserving their objectivity as Ombudsmen requires refusing to brief Congress, but allows meeting with you to discuss their findings?" Grassley wrote, adding that he's not surprised that few CDC employees have "felt comfortable approaching these two men to seek their help on their problems with CDC management."
CDC spokesman Tom Skinner said Friday it was the decision of the ombudsmen — not Gerberding — to refuse Grassley's request for a briefing. Gerberding did not influence their decision, Skinner said.
CDC's interim ombudsmen, Joseph McDade and Gerald Naehr, did not immediately respond to a request for an interview Friday. They have not responded to any interview requests in the past.
Grassley was not immediately available for comment.
McDade and Naehr are former CDC employees who now work for Carter Consulting of Tucker. CDC hired them to be the agency's first ombudsmen last fall on a one-year, $250,000 contract.
In January, after meeting with Gerberding, McDade and Naehr issued a brief e-mail report to CDC employees saying that at that time their office had received 26 inquiries, but gave few details of what issues were of greatest concern or what the ombudsmen were doing to address them.
Gerberding, in her letter, told Grassley she's happy to continue to provide him progress reports on the ombudsman's office and its efforts. "Approximately 50 persons, or less than 1 percent of CDC employees, have contacted their office since September 2006," Gerberding wrote. "Given the limited information collected to date and the broad array of concerns initially raised, specific trends cannot yet be identified."
The idea for the ombudsmen came in part from discussions five former CDC directors had with Gerberding a year ago, after they sent her a rare, joint letter of concern that poor morale and the departure of key leaders were putting the agency's public health mission at risk.
Skinner said on Friday that CDC had just received Grassley's letter and would be responding.
"We have and will continue to cooperate with Senator Grassley's office and if there's any impression on the senator's part that Dr. Gerberding is stonewalling, nothing could be further from the truth," Skinner said.
It's unclear what the next move will be in the clash between CDC and Grassley, a senior Senator known for his dogged oversight of federal agencies.
"In the long run, it's foolish for anyone to refuse a request from a member of Congress for a briefing, said Jeff Levi, executive director of the Trust for America's Health, a Washington-based nonprofit public health policy organization.
Grassley's letter asks that CDC officials distribute his letter to employees so they are aware of their rights to contact his office with their concerns. Skinner said he's not aware of any immediate plans to distribute the letter, but that he believes a lot of CDC employees are aware of his interest and willingness to listen.
Skinner said that the low number of CDC employees who have sought help from the interim ombudsmen is likely due to the office being new. He adds that the primary role of the interim ombudsmen is to go on fact-finding missions to other ombudsmen's offices, create a CDC ombudsman's office, and eventually hire a permanent ombudsman. Greater marketing of a permanent ombudsman's office is likely to draw attention from employees, Skinner said.
