Acting HCFA chief forced to quit due to Hatch Act violation

The Acting Director of the Health Care Financing Administration has been forced to resign for violating the Hatch Act. The Hatch Act, the law governing federal employees' political activities, prohibits federal employees from running for public office in partisan elections, and from engaging in political activity while acting in an official capacity as a government employee. The Office of Special Counsel (OSC) is charged with both preventing violations of the Hatch Act, and prosecuting violations of the act. On May 4, 2000, Michael Hash, acting administrator for the Health Care Financing Administration, co-hosted a party with a friend. The friend was running for Congress and the party was a fund-raiser, according to the invitations. Nearly two weeks later the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee sent his agency, the Department of Health and Human Services, a letter inquiring about campaign activities by the agency's political appointees. Hash talked to HCFA's ethics officer after receiving the letter, and then reported his Hatch Act violation to the Office of Special Counsel. The OSC agreed not to pursue disciplinary action against Hash in exchange for his resignation, which is effective Dec. 15. "While OSC will prosecute violations of the Hatch Act, it prefers to help federal employees avoid such violations in the first place," Special Counsel Elaine Kaplan said. "We are here to help educate all federal employees, whether they are political appointees or career civil servants, about what they can or cannot do in terms of political activity. They can call our office or go to our website. They can also go to the designated agency ethics officer at their agency to obtain information about the Hatch Act."