Thompson Says Scully Will Testify Before House Committee

HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson has "promised" that CMS Administrator Tom Scully, who on April 10 defied a congressional subpoena to appear before the House Small Business Committee, will testify before the committee, Congressional Quarterly Daily Monitor Midday Update reports. Scully refused to address the hearing on the impact of Medicare regulations on small businesses, objecting that the committee had seated administration officials with members of the industries they regulate. Thompson said, "Th[e] problem is being taken care of as we speak and Tom Scully will testify," adding, "[My] whole philosophy of government is to be accessible." Small Business Committee Chair Donald Manzullo (R-Ill.), who on April 10 called for Scully's resignation, said, "It's kind of late for [Scully to testify]" and added that he is still considering pursuing a contempt citation against Scully (Congressional Quarterly Daily Monitor, 4/11). House Republican leaders are attempting to "defuse the spat," CongressDaily reports. House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) called the incident "a miscommunication," adding, "What we want to do is make sure the people who need to testify, testify" (Fulton/Rovner, CongressDaily, 4/11).