Lawmakers in Washington D.C. say they are fed up with the Steward Health Care CEO’s refusal to volunteer information on what led to the medical system’s bankruptcy and the pending sale of its hospital properties, and so they will compel him to explain what occurred.

On Thursday, the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions voted to launch a Congressional investigation into what led Steward to file for bankruptcy protections this past May and to subpoena on-the-record testimony from Dr. Ralph de la Torre, who they say is ultimately responsible for the company’s failure and answerable to its patients.

“Under Dr. de la Torre’s leadership, health providers and hospital administrators watched emergency room lines grow, forced to face patients knowing that they did not have the resources nor staff needed to provide the world-class care that Steward and Dr. de la Torre promised,” U.S. Sen. Ed Markey said.

With the committee’s 16 – 4 vote, de la Torre will be required to appear before the lawmakers in D.C. on September 12.

He’ll be asked to explain how he and his fellow executives were able to walk about with hundreds of millions of dollars — which Vermont Sen. Bernie said was used to buy luxury boats, private jets, and posh Texas mansions — only to have their attorneys seek bankruptcy protection from over $9 billion in debts.

“Dr. de la Torre took community hospitals, placed their fate in the hands of real estate investment trust and private equity vultures, and lined his own pockets at the expense of the people I and others here represent. All the while, Dr. de la Torre and his corporate executive enablers at Steward, Cerberus, and Medical Properties Trust pocketed hundreds of millions of dollars and used it to engage in international schemes, spy on corporate rivals, and purchase luxury goods. His consistent refusals to offer basic answers has compounded Steward’s actual bankruptcy with moral bankruptcy,” Markey said.

De la Torre was previously invited by Markey and U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren to offer voluntarily testimony at a senate committee field hearing held in Boston on April 3, more than a month before the company told a Texas bankruptcy judge they would need to sell their hospital systems at auction as part of Chapter 11 proceedings.

De la Torre did not appear for the hearing, but if he thought that was the last he would hear from the Malden-raised senator, he was clearly mistaken.

“I say this directly to Dr. de la Torre: You cannot treat communities as expendable. You are accountable. I look forward to hearing from you on September 12,” Markey said Thursday.

Earlier this week, Gov. Maura Healey revealed that Steward’s operational Massachusetts hospitals received “qualified bids” during an auction held the just week prior, without providing further details.

Steward facilities in Massachusetts include Carney Hospital in Dorchester, Good Samaritan Medical Center in Brockton, Holy Family Hospitals in Haverhill and Methuen, Morton Hospital in Taunton, Nashoba Valley Medical Center in Ayer, Saint Anne’s Hospital in Fall River, and St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center in Brighton. The company’s Norwood Hospital has been closed since 2020 due to flooding, and the company closed New England Sinai Hospital permanently in April.

Steward CEO Ralph de la Torre (File)