Senate Democrat wants answers on HHS technology staff cuts
Concern over the elimination of technology staff at the Department of Health and Human Services has reached at least one lawmaker on Capitol Hill.
Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., sent a letter to HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., on Monday expressing concern about the impact that cutting IT and cyber officials could have on the department’s systems and cybersecurity. Her letter comes amid staffing reduction and consolidation efforts at the health department, including the elimination of roughly 10,000 staff members.
“Removing IT and cybersecurity staff threatens the basic functionality of HHS systems and networks as well as the ability for the Department to protect its IT assets and the vast amounts of data it holds,” Rosen wrote.
Rosen, who signed the letter alone, generally cited recent reports that tech staff had been impacted in the department’s ongoing efforts to downsize, calling those removals “highly disturbing.” FedScoop, for example, reported on staffing cuts within the department and the IT office at the Food and Drug Administration, and the concern that officials had about the impact the workforce reductions could have on systems.
As part of her letter, Rosen is asking the department for information on staffing levels of every chief information officer office as well as IT, cyber, technology strategy and hotline management offices. Rosen is also asking for documents about the IT workforce reductions and information about staff and contracting in the Computer Security Incident Response Center, which she said had reportedly lost staff.
In response to a FedScoop inquiry about the letter, an HHS official shared the same statement the department provided for a previous inquiry about the reduction in IT staff: “Under Secretary Kennedy’s vision to streamline HHS to better serve the American people, the IT offices within the Department will be consolidated. The work of these offices will continue.”
Rosen asked for a response by no later than May 19.
