2024: Fitzpatrick Voted Against Reducing The Salary Of The Special
Assistant To The Director Of Programming At Voice Of America To $1. B
In June 2024, Fitzpatrick voted against , according to Congressional
Quarterly, "amendment no. 4 that would reduce to $1 the salary of
Setareh Sieg, special assistant to the director of programming at Voice
of America." The vote was on the amendment. The underlying legislation
was the FY 2025 State-Foreign Operations Appropriations. The House
rejected the amendment by a vote of 166 to 244. [House Vote 300,
6/27/24; Congressional
Quarterly, 6/27/24;
Congressional Actions,
H.Amdt.1033;
Congressional Actions, H.R.
8771]
- Sieg Was Suspended Under The Trump Administration And Restored To
Her Position When President Biden Was Sworn In; A Later
Investigation Into The US Agency For Global Media Focused On This
And That Sieg Had Falsified Her Education Credential And Gave
"Variable Treatment" To An Employee. According to Fox News, "In
particular, the investigation has focused on Setareh Sieg, a VOA
journalist who was suspended and expected to be fired under the
Trump administration in early January 2021, only to be restored
'with no loss of pay or seniority' the day after President Biden was
sworn in, according to documents obtained by the committee. Sieg's
attorney and USAGM have both pushed back on the committee's
findings." [Fox News, Their probe has largely focused on
accusations that Sieg falsified her higher education credentials
rather than getting a Ph.D. in political history from a French
university. Republicans obtained communications between the
University of Paris and the French Embassy in the U.S. that state
Sieg got 'an establishment degree, not a state doctorate' in
October 2021. The committee report also detailed whistleblower
accounts that say Sieg gave variable treatment to at least one
employee and hired that employee's brother for a senior position."
[Fox News,
6/12/24]