Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., sent a letter to HHS Secretary Alex Azar asking why the newly appointed CDC director, Robert Redfield, MD, is receiving a higher salary than previous directors, according to The Hill.
Dr. Redfield is paid $375,000 to lead the CDC while his predecessor, Brenda Fitzgerald, MD, made $197,000. Dr. Redfield's salary is determined by Title 42, which allows the federal government to attract top-tier scientists with higher-than-usual salaries, according to The New York Times.
"It is difficult to understand why someone with limited public health experience, particularly in a leadership role, is being disproportionately compensated for his work," Ms. Murray wrote, according to NYT.
Title 42 is supposed to be implemented only when a government agency has conducted an exhaustive search to fill a position and cannot fill it without offering a higher salary, which critics of Dr. Redfield are calling into question.
"One of the points behind it was that the agency was not able to get these people unless they paid under Title 42," said Lawrence Noble, senior director of the Campaign Legal Center, according to NYT. "It seems somewhat incongruous to have someone who's been trying to get the job for many years to be paid under it. The CDC has to show that it had to do so to get him, and that it needed him for the job."