The U.S. Office of Special Counsel has found that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has misused funding allocated for vaccine preparation and emergency preparedness over the course of many years. The funding was intended for use by the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA). The press release notes that some apparently referred to the “Bank of BARDA.” The press release of the Special Counsel states:
The U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) today sent
letters to the President and Congress alerting them that, over the
last decade, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
misappropriated millions of dollars Congress intended to fund vaccine research
and emergency preparedness for public health threats like Ebola, Zika, and
COVID-19. A whistleblower alerted OSC to the misuse of funds appropriated to
the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) within HHS.
OSC referred the allegations for investigation by the agency, which was
conducted by HHS's Office of Inspector General (OIG). The investigation substantiated
many of the allegations, finding that since at least fiscal year (FY) 2010, the
Office of Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) misused
funds appropriated for BARDA and failed to accurately report this mismanagement
to Congress.
The report contains evidence that ASPR used BARDA's research
funds to pay for myriad unrelated expenses, including the removal of office
furniture, administrative expenses, news subscriptions, legal services, and the
salaries of personnel who did not work for BARDA. The report reveals that the
practice of using BARDA funds for non-BARDA purposes was so common, there was
even a name for it within the agency: “Bank of BARDA." HHS OIG determined
that ASPR had “violated the Purpose Statute" and “potentially violated the
Antideficiency Act."
While the report does not contain a specific estimate for
total funds misappropriated, it contains evidence that as recently as FY 2019,
approximately $25 million was taken from BARDA's Advanced Research and
Development (ARD) programs and improperly provided to ASPR. Moreover, from FY
2007 to 2016, ASPR's reporting to Congress failed to account for $517.8 million
in administrative expenditures. The report found that “ASPR is unable to
demonstrate that the[se] BARDA funds were used for their appropriated
purposes."
In response to the findings, HHS's Assistant Secretary for
Financial Resources and Office of General Counsel have initiated an internal review
of the agency's use of ARD funding for FY 2015 through 2019 to identify
potential Antideficiency Act violations. The agency has also hired an outside
accounting firm to audit the agency's use of ARD funding, both of which are
estimated to be completed by the summer of 2021.
“I am deeply concerned about ASPR's apparent misuse of
millions of dollars in funding meant for public health emergencies like the one
our country is currently facing with the COVID-19 pandemic," said Special
Counsel Henry J. Kerner. “Equally concerning is how widespread and
well-known this practice appeared to be for nearly a decade, even garnering the
nickname 'Bank of BARDA.' I urge Congress and HHS to take immediate actions to
ensure funding for public health emergencies can no longer be used as a
slush-fund for unrelated expenses."
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