Lawmakers in the Texas House are saying Speaker Dade Phelan is refusing to make public safety a priority in next year’s legislative session.
Reps. Brian Harrison (R-Midlothian) and Nate Schatzline (R-Fort Worth) claim Phelan (R-Beaumont) ignored concerns about illegal immigration and alleged medical malpractice through a transgender program at Texas Children’s Hospital. The representatives said Phelan denied their request to hold interim hearings on these matters.
Harrison and Schatzline sent a letter on July 9 to Rep. Joe Moody (D-El Paso), chair of the House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee, asking him to hold interim hearings on countering illegal immigration and transgender programs for minors. The representatives want Pehlan to issue interim charges on these matters, setting them as priorities for committees to research before the next session.
Moody did not respond to a request for comment.
Kim Carmichael, Phelan’s press secretary, noted that regular House members and committee chairs do not have the authority to file interim charges.
“Interim charges are issued by the Speaker of the House to each committee,” she told The Dallas Express. “Speaker Phelan issued two interim charges related to the border, one to the State Affairs Committee and the other to Homeland Security and Public Safety.”
The interim charges filed by Phelan on immigration ask committees to explore federal border patrol agents’ authority and review Operation Lone Star’s effectiveness.
Harrison said Phelan’s interim charges are “fundamentally unserious.”
“His charges basically have nothing to do with the most important thing, which is reducing net illegal immigration to this country,” Harrison told DX. “They were narrowly tailored charges that did not reflect the seriousness of the crisis at the border whatsoever.”
The second demand from Harrison and Schatzline had to do with the federal prosecution of a whistleblower at Texas Children’s Hospital. The whistleblower, Dr. Eithan Haim, revealed last year that the hospital continued its transgender program for minors after leadership promised to end it over legal concerns. He was indicted on four felony counts last month over alleged HIPAA violations.
Another whistleblower at Texas Children’s Hospital claimed last month that leadership committed Medicaid fraud by allowing transgender procedures to be paid for with taxpayer dollars, as previously reported by DX.
Carmichael defended Phelan’s decision not to issue interim charges over the issues at Texas Children’s Hospital.
“The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) has the authority to investigate fraud and abuse in the state health system,” she told DX. “The committee on which these members serve does not. The Speaker’s office has been in active communication with OIG regarding this matter — they are currently conducting their investigation to get to the bottom of it and are the proper channel to do so.”
A spokesperson for the Texas OIG told DX he could neither confirm nor deny the existence of an investigation.
Harrison said he wants the Texas House to utilize its investigative powers to subpoena any Texas Children’s Hospital leadership involved in the alleged malpractice, as well as the Department of Justice officials who decided to prosecute Haim. However, he claimed Phelan was standing in the way.
“The State of Texas should investigate Joe Biden’s unconstitutional and illegal lawfare against the whistleblowers who exposed credible claims of child abuse and Medicaid fraud,” Harrison told DX. “We should use every tool we have available.”
“It’s indefensible that the Texas House would sit idly by and let the Biden administration aid and abet child abuse,” he continued. “And that is what it appears Speaker Phelan intends to allow.”
The Texas Children’s Hospital communications team did not respond to a request for comment. DX reached out to each Texas Children’s Hospital leadership team member. None responded. The leadership team includes:
Mark Wallace, CEO; Debra F. Sukin, president; Weldon Gage, executive vice president and CFO; Dean Andropoulos, anesthesiologist-in-chief; Michael A. Belfort, obstetrician/gynecologist-in-chief; Larry Hollier Jr., surgeon-in-chief; Thierry Huisman, radiologist-in-chief; Lara Shekerdemian, pediatrician-in-chief; Jeffrey Shilt, community-in-chief; James Versalovic, pathologist-in-chief; Huda Zoghbi, research-in-chief; Linda Aldred, executive vice president and chief human resources officer; Myra Davis, executive vice president and chief information and innovation officer; Dan DiPrisco, executive vice president; Matt Girotto, executive vice president; Keith Nelson, executive vice president and chief investment officer; Tabitha Rice, executive vice president; and Russ Williams, senior vice president.