The agencys policies about caring for and placing unaccompanied Migrant Children with sponsors or Family Members. He faced numerous questions on the labor exploitation. This hearing is about two hours, 40 minutes. I ask our seats to take seats and members as well. Secretary becerra has requested that we get him out of here at 12 30 or before, so were going to try to make that happen if we can. All right. The subcommittee on oversight and investigations will now come to order. I recognize myself for five minutes for an Opening Statement. Mr. Griffith welcome, secretary becerra. I appreciate you keeping your word and appearing before this subcommittee related to the office of Refugee Resettlement or o. R. R. O. R. R. Is an agency of the department of health and human agencies and is responsible for the unaccompanied children. O. R. R. Has faced an unprecedented surge in the number of unaccompanied minors referred to its custody. The numbers of unaccompanied minors crossing our born is astronomically high. From fiscal years 2018 through 2020, o. R. R. Averaged around 5,000 referrals per year. As of march 31, 2023, which is the last time they made their numbers public, the agency had received almost 60,000 referrals in fiscal year 2023. Putting the agency on pace for over 120,000 referrals for the third year in a row. You and i dont agree on the policies that brought these children to our border. But i believe no matter the policies, once they are in our care, and we have taken on the responsibility for them, we must care for them properly. Todays hearing is to take stock of how h. H. S. And o. R. R. Have responded to the surge of these children. When thousands of Vulnerable Children were in custody under o. C. R. R. O. R. R. , what was the message that was sent . Hopefully its to make sure these children are placed in sief environments to people they are related to and make sure that state and local welfare agencies would have them get likely needed sfshts. It services. It does appear that childrens welfare was not a primary concern. Thanks to a whistleblower and a New York Times reporting, we know there was constant neglect when handling the intake and release of these children. According to a recording obtained by the New York Times regarding the o. R. R. Unaccompanied minors. You stated, if henry ford had seen these in his plans, he would have never became famous and rich. This is not the way you do an Assembly Line. End quote. Is that statement consistent with how youve intended to run o. R. R. s unaccompanied Childrens Program . Well, i hope not. The overriding priorities seems to have been moving children out of o. R. R. Facilities as quickly as possible. And not protecting them. That would explain why you would have approved field guidance 10 which exat the indicts release to children to Family Members and waiving background checks to make sure the sponsor is in fact a Family Member. It would also explain your approval of o. R. R. Field guidance 11, which waives background check requirements for unrelated adults who live in the same residence a minor is being sent to. This is a great concern and i have been vocal about the failure of o. R. R. To provide bona fide background checks. In 2021 i visited the emergency room intake at fort bliss, texas. I was shocked what i learned there. There was no collaboration with Law Enforcement for real background checks when vetting sponsors and the, quote, public records check, end quote, that they were using was merely a widely available internet Search Engine. A september, 2022, report about fort bliss. Under your leadership, they had contracts worth billions of dollars which seem to be influx care facilities designed to quickly process hundreds of minors. My fear is no matter what your intentions may be, you may be putting o. R. R. On a Permanent Assembly line footing where Child Welfare simply is not a priority. As i close id like to enter into a record a report by a statewide grand jury in florida charged with investigating o. R. R. It is damning. It details chapter and verse how the policies and practices have resulted in Child Exploitation and trafficking. Ill end by quoting the grand jurys assessment. If any resident of florida exposed u. S. Quote, if any resident of florida exposed u. S. Born children to this process, they would be justifiably arrested for child neglect or worse. We do the no think children should be less protected simply because they were born outside our borders and brought here by a government agency. Ive been saying that for years. As a former domestic relations lawyer in virginia, the same related to the Legal Standard would be true in virginia as well. O. R. R. Actions are equal to neglect. The childs legal status in this country is irrelevant and or must do better how you go back. I now recognize the gentlewoman from florida, ms. Castor, the Ranking Member of the subcommittee for her five minute Opening Statement. Ms. Castor well, thank you very much, mr. Chairman. Welcome, mr. Secretary. Unaccompanied children seeking refuge in the us are some of the most vulnerable among us. They often cross the border alone, escaping persecution, violence and abuse. The experience would be frightening and confusing for anyone let alone a child who may not speak english. So we have a moral and legal obligation to ensure that unaccompanied children are safe and cared for. The office of refugee settlement is tasked under the law with the responsibility to keep unaccompanied children well and safe from the time they are transferred from the department of Homeland Security to the time they are placed with vetted sponsors who are more often than not Family Members. Earlier this year, news reports detailed cases of unaccompanied minors working in harsh conditions in plants and factories. The reports were shocking and deeply disturbing. Businesses are exploiting children as a source of cheap labor and preying on their financial desperation. This type of Child Exploitation must not be tolerated even tolerated. Even though o. R. R. Has limited authorities under the law and limited resources, there is more that can be done to protect these children. For example, o. R. R. Is now expanding oversight and services to children after they are placed with families and sponsors per the funding that congress provided in last years omnibus appropriations bill. O. R. R. Is also working more closely with the department of labor to address labor issues. And the h. H. S. Inspector general recommended and as the h. H. S. Inspector general recommended h. S. H. S. Is working to expand Network Capacity and modernize the portal that allows o. R. R. To monitor, monitor the best interests of the children. I look forward to hearing from you, mr. Secretary, about o. R. R. s work to eliminate the risk of labor trafficking, to enhance services after the placement with sponsors and to improve the reporting of abuse. That is the kind of oversight that this subcommittee must be doing. And i commend the chair for this hearing and to the secretary for attending. But this meaningful Oversight Effort is an exception because the majority has been focused on various partisan tangents of most of this congress aimed at sowing distrust in Public Servants in our health institutions. One farout tangent that i hope we can put to rest is the g. O. P. s baseless allegations regarding the validity of certain n. I. H. Institute and center directors. For months, energy and commerce republicans have made unfounded claims that 14 directors of n. I. H. Institutes and centers served illegally for over two years because they were not directly reappointed by secretary becerra. The g. O. P. Members point to a section of the 21st century cures act holding up a graphic that states that such directors shall be appointed by the secretary. But they intentionally obscured the most important part of that statute which states that when making director appointments, the secretary acts through the director of the National Institutes of health. Republicans inexplicably blurred out the clear language of the statute . Why language of the statute. Why . It appears to be an attempt to spin up yet another conspiracy. This is especially bizarre because it was republicans who insisted on transferring the authority to appoint nihc directors from the secretary to the director of n. I. H. Over the objections of the Obama Administration in 2016. It is wrong to deliberately mislead the public and it is strange to do so involving language that g. O. P. Members wrote themselves. This congress, my republican colleagues have taken every opportunity to intimidate scientists and malign Public Health officials. In sowing distrust in our vital Health Research agencies and Public Health experts, republicans are playing a dangerous game. Americans depend on the work of these dedicated Public Servants to keep us safe and healthy and its time for the harassment to end. This committee has real work to do on so many issues preparing for the next pandemic, tackling devastating drug shortages, protecting Online Privacy and developing solutions to reduce climate pollution thats wreaking havoc and costing us more every day. The care of unaccompanied children is among the issues that demands congress attention. Lets focus on that issue today instead of the fabricated ones, mr secretary, we are committed to making sure o. R. R. Does its job and does it right. Thank you for being here today and i look forward to the discussion of these real issues. I yield back my time. Mr. Griffith i appreciate the lady yielding back. And now i recognize the lady from washington, the chair woman of the full committee, mrs. Mcmorris rodgers. Mrs. Rodgers we as the elected representatives of the people seek answers and transparency from you as the secretary of health and Human Services. Today, were working to assure the safety and well being of unaccompanied children crossing the border, some of the most vulnerable among us. Under president biden, we faced the worst border crisis in our history. O. R. R. Received referrals for more than 350,000 unaccompanied children over the course of the first three years of this presidency. That is more than 120,000 unaccompanied minors passing through o. R. R. s custody annually. This is unprecedented. Prior to president biden, the largest single year of total referrals was about 69,000. As the New York Times has uncovered, this border crisis has left children alone and exploited and these are just a few of the gutwrenching examples. 13 and 14yearolds are working 12hour shifts on farms and factories. Children dropping out of school or never signing up because they owe a debt to the smuggler that trafficked them. Children running away from their sponsors, the winds that o. R. R. Placed them with because they were being sold for sex. Were going to talk a lot about the 85,000 children that o. R. R. Could not contact after placement. O. R. R. Claims that its 81 successful post release contact rate is a significant accomplishment. Its not a success when the agency has lost contact with a third of the Migrant Children during the first two years of the Biden Administration. And the postrelease followup is already a low bar. O. R. R. Considers it a success if they merely speak with a child or a sponsor over the phone. Secretary becerra, im especially concerned about the specific policies and practices that youve put in place that prevent or from vetting sponsors. Why would you waive criminal background checks including checks of the sex offender and the child abuse registries for sponsors and other adults living in households where children are placed . Why would you allow, under your watch, digital fingerprinting to confirm the identity of the sponsors to drop by 55 . Why would you allow at least 30,000 minors to be handed over to someone o. R. R. Knows that theyre not related to . As an internal memo revealed, the department has become, quote, one that rewards individuals for making quick releases and not one that rewards individuals for preventing unsafe releases. The consequences of these decisions are entirely foreseeable. And again, thanks to the New York Times, we know that reports reached your desk that children were at risk. The American People must know how you could possibly have ignored these warning signs and continue to put more children in danger of exploitation. As i mentioned, this isnt the only example of mismanagement and abuses of power at hhs. As secretary, you failed to follow the law in the constitution to reappoint the 14 n. I. H. Officials, including dr. Fauci. As a result, they exercised power and authority they didnt legally have in approving billions of dollars in taxpayerfunded grants. There is a crisis of confidence at our Public Health agencies, including c. D. C. , f. D. A. , and n. I. H c. M. S. Is denying seniors approved alzheimers medications and dragging its feet on meaningful Price Transparency rules to lower drug costs. The f. D. A. s Baby Formula Shortage caused panic and harm to mothers, fathers and children across the nation and you failed to provide us the transparency for president bidens radical spending agenda that fueled record breaking inflation. And the h. H. S. O. I. G. Just reported a massive amount of fraud and waste in the covid19 Uninsured Program which grew dramatically under your watch. For the sake of time, i wont go on, but ill close by saying this. H. H. S. Has lost sight of its mission. As chair griffith said, there seems to be more concerned with politics and power than the American Peoples safety and well being. And im very concerned about a culture of arrogance and lawlessness. As, as i started, were the elected representatives of the people and we are demanding transparency and responsiveness. This culture must change and it must change at the very top, starting with your leadership and taking responsibility for your actions. Youre testifying before the committee under oath. We expect and need honest and complete answers for what has happened. Thank you and i yield back. Mr. Griffith thank you. I now recognize the Ranking Member of the full committee, mr. Pallone, for his fiveminute Opening Statement. Mr. Pallone thank you, mr. Chairman. Earlier this year, i was alarmed by reports of children who came to this country alone only to be exploited by their sponsors and companies that illegally employed them. And im pleased that secretary becerra is here to explain what the office of refugee settlement is doing to better address this cruel abuse. O. R. R. Has been in a difficult position. Its budget and authorities are limited particularly in the period after a child is released into the custody of his sponsor. This is a critical time for the detection and remediation of any exploitation. In 2021 the Biden Administration inherited a crisis in the aftermath of the Trump Administrations inhumane family separation policy and o. R. R. Acted quickly to reunify families, place children in the care of sponsors, build emergency facilities, and hire staff, and those efforts were necessary. By responding to this crisis also revealed areas for improvement. O. R. R. Must stay vigilant in its work to identify and respond to exploitation both in the sponsor vetting process and when they are released into the care of their sponsor. And i look forward to hearing how o. R. R. Is accelerating this important work, including through its joint efforts with the department of labor to combat illegal child labor. This hearing is entitled stopping the exploitation of Migrant Children, and everyone fully supports that goal. Unfortunately, i believe the actions that my republican colleagues are taking would make this situation worse, not better. This Congress Republicans have routinely tried to chip away at the right to legal asylum even as they decried Child Exploitation. Republicans nearly unanimously supported legislation that would reverse critical safeguards for kids who were trafficked. And this Republican Action would leave these kids in department of Homeland Security facilities for up to 10 times as long as the legal limit. And republicans continue to cave to their extreme right wing of their party by pushing for dramatic budget cuts that would set back any progress that o. R. R. Has made in protecting unaccompanied minors. For example, most recently, House Republicans on the Appropriations Committee are pushing an annual funding bill that would cut the unaccompanied Childrens Program funding by 3. 3 billion in the upcoming fiscal year. This drastic funding cut would severely hinder the offices ability to provide Service