Senator Who Clashed with Dr. Fauci Proposes Financial Disclosure Bill
WASHINGTON – A U.S. senator from Kansas who clashed with disease expert Anthony Fauci this week said he plans to introduce a bill intended to force more disclosure of personal finances onto highly-paid government employees.
Sen. Roger Marshall is calling it the Financial Accountability for Uniquely Compensated Individuals Act.
It follows a dispute with Fauci during a hearing that sought an update on the U.S. COVID-19 response from the nation’s top epidemiologists.
Marshall and fellow Republican Rand Paul of Kentucky switched subjects to discuss how much the doctor was paid.
“As the highest-paid employee in the entire federal government, would you be willing to submit to Congress and the public a financial disclosure that includes your past and current investments?” Marshall asked. “After all, your colleague [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle] Walensky and every member of Congress submits a financial disclosure that includes their investments.”
Fauci told Marshall during a Senate hearing that his salary was public information that can be found in government records.
“All you have to do is ask for it,” Fauci said. “You’re so misinformed, it’s extraordinary.”
The Office of Government Ethics lists Fauci’s salary as $434,000 a year, surpassing the $400,000 annual salary of the president of the United States. Fauci has been a government employee for the past 55 of his 81 years.
Fauci later was caught on a hot mic saying in a low voice, “What a moron, Jesus Christ.”
Before announcing his plans for the FAUCI Act, Marshall said in a statement, “Calling me a moron during a Senate hearing may have alleviated the stress of the least trusted bureaucrat in America, but it didn’t take away from the facts.”
His bill would require the Office of Government Ethics to publish on its website the financial records of high-level government officials. It also would list government officials whose financial records are not public.
Fauci clashed with Sen. Paul during the same hearing after the Kentucky senator accused him of arrogance and refusing to listen to anyone else.
Fauci responded that Paul was trying to use the epidemiologist to get publicity for his political campaign. He also said Paul’s accusations incited the “crazies” who would harm him and his family.
The personal attacks were met the next day by an open letter from more than 200 American doctors and scientists defending Fauci. The letter called the Republican accusations “inaccurate, unscientific, ill-founded in the facts and, increasingly, motivated by partisan politics.”
“Dr. Anthony Fauci has served the USA with wisdom and integrity for nearly 40 years,” the letter says. “Through HIV, Ebola, and now COVID, he has unswervingly served the United States, guiding the country to very successful outcomes. He has our unreserved respect and trust as a scientist and a national leader.”
The signatories include former senator Dr. Bill Frist, Nobel-prize winning immunologist Dr. Harvey Alter and Nobel prize winning biologist Dr. David Baltimore.
Tom can be reached at [email protected].
