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RFK Jr. testifies before House, Senate committees amid layoffs, overhaul at HHS

  • Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary, testified before House and Senate committees on May 14, 2025, in Washington amid agency layoffs and budget overhaul.
  • Kennedy defended the Trump administration's fiscal 2026 budget request, which proposes $94 billion including deep cuts to NIH, infectious disease prevention, maternal health, and heating assistance programs.
  • His agency was downsized from 82,000 to 62,000 employees to reduce redundancies and consolidate offices focused on women's, minority, and sexually transmitted disease prevention health.
  • Kennedy refused to endorse the childhood vaccination schedule amid a measles outbreak in 11 states, called the MMR vaccine 'leaky,' while lawmakers criticized his mixed vaccine messaging as harmful to public health.
  • Concerns remain that Kennedy's budget cuts and policy changes could delay cancer treatments, reduce overdose death prevention, and harm dental health due to fluoride removal plans and staffing reductions.
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CBS News broke the news in on Tuesday, May 13, 2025.
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