The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions voted Sept. 19 to forward two resolutions regarding contempt charges against Steward Health Care chairman and CEO Ralph de la Torre, MD, to the full Senate.
The vote on the resolutions came after Dr. de la Torre defied a congressional subpoena and failed to attend a Sept. 12 hearing.
The Senate committee forwarded both the civil and criminal contempt resolutions against the CEO of the Dallas-based health system. If passed by the full Senate, the civil resolution would instruct the Senate's legal counsel to bring a civil suit to require Dr. de la Torre's compliance with the subpoena and his testimony before the HELP committee.
If passed by the full Senate, the criminal contempt resolution would refer the issue to the U.S. Department of Justice to criminally prosecute the CEO for failing to comply with the subpoena.
Steward sought Chapter 11 protection May 6 and has since been working to offload the remainder of its 31 hospitals. Dr. de la Torre's absence from the hearing came as he has faced criticism the past few months for lavish vacations and ownership of two multimillion-dollar yachts while the for-profit health system's hospitals struggle.
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who is the chairman of the HELP committee, said in a prepared statement that the votes will make it clear that "even though Dr. de la Torre may be worth hundreds of millions of dollars; even though he may be able to buy fancy yachts, private jets, and luxurious accommodations throughout the world; even though though he may be able to afford some of the most expensive lawyers in America, no. Dr. de la Torre is not above the law."
In a Sept. 18 letter to the committee, Dr. de la Torre's attorney said that he lacks the authority to speak on behalf of Steward with respect to the ongoing bankruptcy proceedings and he is prohibited by a federal court order from doing so." The attorney also alleged the hearing "was seemingly designed as a vehicle to violate Dr. de la Torre’s constitutional rights."
"The U.S. Constitution affords Dr. de la Torre inalienable rights against being compelled by the government to provide sworn testimony that is specifically (yet baselessly) sought to frame Dr. de la Torre as a criminal scapegoat for the systemic failures in Massachusetts' health care system," the letter said. "Accordingly, on the advice of counsel, Dr. de la Torre invokes his procedural and substantive rights under the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, including the privilege to refrain from testifying at the committee’s hearing."