Senator Bernie Sanders, the Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), together with all Democratic members of the committee, has urged Chairman Bill Cassidy to hold an immediate oversight hearing with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
The call for a hearing comes after a recent decision by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) to end its longstanding recommendation that all newborns receive the hepatitis B vaccine at birth. This vaccine had previously contributed to a significant reduction in infections among infants and young children.
In their letter, Senators Sanders and his colleagues stated: “Since assuming office, Secretary Kennedy has waged an unprecedented war on science and vaccines that have saved millions of lives. Holding an oversight hearing on Secretary Kennedy’s ill-conceived actions is more important now than ever.”
The senators highlighted several concerns about Kennedy’s tenure. They allege that he directed the CDC to publish false information about vaccines and autism, defunded vaccine research, and disrupted ACIP’s scientific process for reviewing and recommending vaccines. These actions reportedly occurred despite prior assurances from Kennedy to Chairman Cassidy that he would not alter the advisory body.
The letter also addressed recent public health developments: “Under Secretary Kennedy’s leadership, over 1,700 people have been infected with measles. Whooping cough cases are surging nationwide, and concerns about a severe flu season continue to grow. Vaccination rates across the country are falling. Children are dying from illnesses that vaccines could have prevented,” wrote Sanders and other senators. “Secretary Kennedy’s response to these crises has been to spread misinformation, end campaigns encouraging flu vaccinations, fire officials who disagree with him, and place individuals with significant conflicts of interest in positions of power—completely undermining Americans’ faith in our nation’s public health institutions.”
Support for this position extends beyond Congress; hundreds of doctors and public health experts—including former CDC directors, FDA commissioners, six former surgeons general, more than 1,000 current and former HHS staff members as well as several professional associations—have voiced similar concerns regarding Kennedy’s actions.
Earlier this year on the Senate floor, Chairman Cassidy stated that Secretary Kennedy had agreed to testify before the HELP Committee quarterly. However, it has been seven months since Kennedy last appeared before the committee.
“Failure to conduct an oversight hearing on Secretary Kennedy’s actions would be an abdication of our responsibility—both from a moral perspective and as a matter of sound public health policy,” concluded Sanders and his colleagues. “The time has come for the HELP Committee to hold Secretary Kennedy accountable for his actions. It is imperative that Secretary Kennedy come before our Committee to testify as soon as possible.”
