FILE - In this Oct. 16, 2014 file photo, Brenda Fitzgerald, Georgia Department of Public Health commissioner, left, and Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal respond to questions in Atlanta. Fitzgerald, the new director of the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has kept a low profile during her five months in office, due to conflicts of interest regarding her financial holdings. In an interview with the Associated Press on Monday, Dec. 11, 2017, Fitzgerald said her conflicts of interest are settled and she’s moving forward with plans for the agency. (AP Photo/David Tulis, File)
December 11, 2017 - 4:45 PM
NEW YORK - A U.S. Senator is criticizing the director of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for an apparent financial conflict of interest that may prevent her from doing her job.
Dr. Brenda Fitzgerald became director of the Atlanta-based CDC in July, and was required to sell a range of stocks she owned, including beer and soda companies, the tobacco company Philip Morris International, and a number of health care companies such as vaccine manufacturers and health-care companies.
But last week, Sen. Patty Murray wrote Fitzgerald saying she's concerned about unresolved financial holdings noted in Fitzgerald's ethics agreement with U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. CDC is part of HHS.
Murray, a Democrat from Washington, called on Fitzgerald to release more information and to meet with the committee about the issue.
News from © The Associated Press, 2017