Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. speaks during a House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies, one of seven Congressional committees he testified before on Thursday. Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo
April 16 (UPI) — Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. on Thursday testified before seven Congressional committees, often clashing with Democrats about decisions he has made about vaccines and department priorities.
The testimony is Kennedy’s first trip to the Capitol this year and the first time that he has appeared before Congress in more than seven months, The Washington Post reported.
In addition to unilaterally remaking the CDC’s vaccine advisory committee and the agency’s recommended childhood vaccine schedule — which were blocked by a federal judge in March — he has changed the FDA’s recommendations on diet and shepherded medications through federal approval processes while allegedly ignoring data on them.
Kennedy also was asked by members of Congress about the Trump administration’s 12.5% budget request decrease, which amounts to about $16 billion, that it has asked for in its fiscal year 2027 budget proposal, NPR reported.
“Our children are the sickest generation in modern history — decades of failed policy, captured agencies and profit-driven systems have caused it,” Kennedy said during a hearing before the House Ways and Means Committee.
“Parents across this country demanded change — and we are delivering it,” he said.
Kennedy said that the measles vaccine “certainly” could have saved the life of a child who died in Texas last year during an outbreak in the state.
More than 1,700 measles cases have been reported through the first three-and-a-half months of 2026, compared to more than 2,200 reported in all of 2025.
He also was asked by Rep. Linda Sanchez, D-Calif., about ending an influenza vaccine public awareness campaign while investing money in marketing efforts for his remade food pyramid.
“You suspended this pro-vaccine messaging campaign, but somehow you’re spending taxpayer dollars to drink milk, shirtless in a hot tub with Kid Rock?” Sanchez asked.
Kennedy also was accused of “diminishing science” by Rep. Bradley Scott, D-Ill., with his support for $5.7 billion in cuts to the National Institutes of Health that was meant for drug development.
“Nobody wants to make the cuts,” Kennedy said in response to several questions about reducing the HHS budget, but said the nation needs “to tighten our belt” because of the national debt, which he blamed on Congress.
First lady Melania Trump speaks during a House Ways and Means Committee roundtable discussion on protecting children in America’s foster care system in the Longworth House Office Building near the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday. The bipartisan group of lawmakers are looking to address challenges children in foster care face, including barriers to education and educational advocacy, housing, employment opportunities, financial independence, and technology. Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo