WASHINGTON, Sept. 19 – In a major bipartisan vote, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) today held Steward Health Care CEO Dr. Ralph de la Torre in civil and criminal contempt for his failure to comply with the committee’s subpoena and absence from last week’s hearing.

This is the first time in modern American history that the HELP Committee has issued a civil or criminal contempt resolution.

In a joint statement following the vote, HELP Chairman Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Ranking Member Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-La.), said: “The Committee sought testimony about the financial decisions made by Dr. de la Torre as CEO of Steward Health Care. It is essential for our Committee to receive this testimony in order to understand the financial downfall of the company and to inform legislative action to prevent similar events from affecting the patients and communities we represent. Unfortunately, Dr. de la Torre has repeatedly refused to appear before this committee. If you defy a Congressional subpoena, you will be held accountable. We had no choice but to move forward with both civil enforcement of the subpoena and criminal charges against Dr. de la Torre.”

Both resolutions – each which passed 20-0 with bipartisan support – will now be advanced to the full Senate for a vote. The resolution for civil enforcement of the subpoena instructs Senate Legal Counsel to bring a civil suit in the District Court for the District of Columbia to require Dr. de la Torre’s compliance with the subpoena and his testimony before the HELP Committee.

The criminal contempt resolution would refer the matter to the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia to criminally prosecute Dr. de la Torre for failing to comply with the subpoena.