Facing Texas lawmakers examining a state cancer agency’s grant-making, an official with the organization’s nonprofit arm defended its refusal make public its list of contributors, reports the Associated Press.

“We have a balancing act to weigh here as board members, and to protect the privacy of our donors so they’re not unfairly solicited,” said Barbara Canales, vice president of the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas Foundation. The institute, a $3-billion state body, is under investigation over grants it awarded without review.

The foundation raises money for the institute and supplements the salaries of its top executives. Pressed by members of the House Appropriations Committee about potential conflicts of interest in its grant process, Ms. Canales said, “To the best of my knowledge, it is not our policy to accept donors who are also grant [recipients].”