DeGette Demands RFK Jr. Appear Before Energy & Commerce Health Subcommittee

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Energy & Commerce Health Subcommittee Ranking Member Congresswoman Diana DeGette (CO-01) released the following statement after it was reported that Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. might be sending staff to brief the Energy & Commerce Committee on his extreme and drastic cuts to HHS.

“The massive cuts at HHS, directed by Elon Musk and his DOGE cronies, are illegal and will cause the most harm to public health I have seen throughout my time in Congress. Secretary Kennedy is going to set back American biomedical research a generation, delaying cures for cancer, Alzheimer’s, and diabetes, and he will devastate our ability to stop the next pandemic.

“A briefing is the bare minimum that Secretary Kennedy can offer, but instead, he would reportedly send staff rather than do it himself. While a staff briefing is better than nothing, it has not been scheduled, and there is no assurance that it will be bipartisan. 

“As the top Democrat on the Health Subcommittee, I am calling on Secretary Kennedy to appear at a hearing immediately to explain his careless cuts and assure our Subcommittee that science—not discounted conspiracy theories—will guide his department’s decision-making. This is not about politics. It is about preserving Congress’s Constitutional role and promoting the health and safety of every American.” 

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