[Pages S2865-S2867]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    SENATE RESOLUTION 217--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE SENATE THAT 
 SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES ROBERT FITZGERALD KENNEDY JR. 
DOES NOT HAVE THE CONFIDENCE OF THE SENATE OR OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE TO 
             FAITHFULLY CARRY OUT THE DUTIES OF HIS OFFICE.

  Ms. ALSOBROOKS (for herself, Mr. Wyden, Mr. Van Hollen, and Ms. 
Warren) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
Committee on Finance:

                              S. Res. 217

       Whereas, while serving as the Secretary of Health and Human 
     Services (referred to in this preamble as the ``Secretary''), 
     Robert Fitzgerald Kennedy Jr., in violation of his 
     constitutional oath, has engaged in a pattern of conduct that 
     is incompatible with his constitutional and statutory duties 
     as the Secretary, including by--
       (1) failing to meet his obligations under section 1701 of 
     the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300u), including the 
     obligation to support ``research and demonstrations 
     respecting health information and health promotion, 
     preventive health services, and education in the appropriate 
     use of health care'' and to increase ``the application and 
     use of health knowledge, skills, and practices by the general 
     population in its patterns of daily living'';
       (2) failing to meet his obligations under sections 402 and 
     464z-3 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 282; 
     285t), wherein it is clear that the congressional intent of 
     National Institutes of Health research is to support programs 
     for research, research training, and recruitment that 
     ``provide for an increase in the number of women and 
     individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds (including racial 
     and ethnic minorities) in the fields of biomedical and 
     behavioral research'' and to support research and training 
     ``with respect to minority health conditions and other 
     populations with health disparities'';
       (3) failing to meet his obligations under the many statutes 
     that govern the programs of the Department of Health and 
     Human Services (referred to in this preamble as the 
     ``Department'') and appropriate funding for the Department to 
     administer such programs, in violation of Federal law and the 
     Constitution of the United States, through his directed 
     reduction in force and reorganization of Department 
     functions, which was initiated with little regard to the 
     impact of the reductions on congressionally mandated 
     activities, the efficacy of government programs and services, 
     or the very legality of the reductions; and
       (4) failing to meet his obligations under the Older 
     Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3001 et seq.), the 
     Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act 
     of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 15001 et seq.), and the Rehabilitation Act 
     of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 701 et seq.), which together entrust the 
     Secretary with ensuring both older Americans and individuals 
     with disabilities are afforded the inherent dignity they are 
     entitled to, including living where they choose with the 
     ability to fully participate in their communities;
       Whereas, under the direction of political leadership, the 
     National Institutes of Health has sent hundreds of letters to 
     Federal grant recipients at public research institutions 
     announcing that various grants have been terminated because 
     they ``no longer effectuate agency priorities'', resulting in 
     delays and terminations that have caused direct, immediate, 
     significant, and irreparable harm to the States and to public 
     research institutions;
       Whereas on March 24, 2025, the Department abruptly and 
     arbitrarily terminated $11,000,000,000 of critical public 
     health funding from States across the country, jeopardizing 
     disease surveillance programs, substance abuse services, 
     emergency preparedness initiatives, and funding to modernize 
     State programs for childhood immunization and access to 
     vaccinations, causing serious harm to public health and 
     leaving States at risk for pandemics and the spread of 
     disease;
       Whereas these terminations exceeded the Secretary's 
     statutory authority and are unlawful under subchapter II of 
     chapter 5, and chapter 7, of title 5, United States Code 
     (commonly known as the ``Administrative Procedure Act'');
       Whereas in late February of 2025, the Secretary and the 
     Director of the National Institutes of Health launched a 
     ``reckless and illegal purge'' of hundreds of research 
     projects because they allegedly had ``some alleged connection 
     to `gender identity' or diversity, equity, and inclusion'', 
     when in reality, this new mandate was used as a guise to cut 
     research from diverse researchers, diverse populations, or 
     research related to health disparities;
       Whereas according to court filings, this research included 
     grants for Alzheimer's research, research on disparities in 
     pregnancy health, violence prevention among children, and the 
     efficacy of preventative HIV medications, and as a result of 
     these actions, ``scientific advancements will be delayed, 
     treatments will go undiscovered, human health with be 
     compromised, and lives will be lost'';
       Whereas 2 days after being sworn in as the Secretary, 5,200 
     probationary workers across multiple agencies of the 
     Department received termination notices, in which these 
     workers were told that they were ``not fit for continued 
     employment because your ability,

[[Page S2866]]

     knowledge and skills do not fit the Agency's current needs, 
     and your performance has not been adequate to justify further 
     employment at the Agency'';
       Whereas on March 27, 2025, the Secretary announced that the 
     Department would begin to terminate an additional 10,000 
     employees as part of a broader effort to push 20,000 Federal 
     civil servants out of Federal health agencies and consolidate 
     divisions;
       Whereas on April 1, 2025, the termination notices began, 
     with consequences that were, according to litigation, 
     ``severe, complicated, and potentially irreversible'';
       Whereas on April 1, 2025, most of the staff from the 8 
     Offices of Minority Health across the Department were 
     eliminated at the Secretary's direction as part of a 
     Department-wide reorganization, including the entire Office 
     of Minority Health at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid 
     Services;
       Whereas sections 1707 and 1707A of the Public Health 
     Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300u-6; 300u-6a) mandate the existence 
     of these offices and section 10334(b)(3) of the Patient 
     Protection and Affordable Care Act (42 U.S.C. 300u-6a note; 
     Public Law 111-148) specifically prohibits the termination or 
     reorganization of these offices absent an Act of Congress;
       Whereas the Secretary has undertaken mass firings at the 
     Administration for Children and Families, reducing the 
     agency's staffing footprint by 35 to 40 percent, that 
     endanger children and seniors and undermine the provision of 
     essential services like child care, Head Start, adoption and 
     foster care, and adult and child protective services;
       Whereas the Secretary has initiated steps to reorganize the 
     Administration for Community Living, terminating half of the 
     staff at the Department that work on Federal aging and 
     disability programs and causing real harm to programs that 
     support more than 11,000,000 seniors and 70,000,000 Americans 
     with disabilities;
       Whereas critical programs of the Administration for 
     Community Living, such as the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman 
     programs, which protect the health and safety of individuals 
     living in long-term care facilities, will be eliminated, and 
     other programs will be scattered across agencies that do not 
     focus specifically on aging and disabilities;
       Whereas staff at numerous Freedom of Information Act 
     offices at the Department have been eliminated, eroding the 
     American people's ability to instrumentalize their right to 
     government transparency and accountability;
       Whereas 23 States have initiated numerous lawsuits against 
     both Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in his official capacity as the 
     Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Department of 
     Health and Human Services, underscoring the illegality of the 
     Secretary's actions, and the ways in which both the Secretary 
     and the Department are undermining public health;
       Whereas leading health research organizations and 
     individual researchers have filed a lawsuit against Robert F. 
     Kennedy Jr. in his official capacity as the Secretary of 
     Health and Human Services for breaching his statutory 
     authority under subchapter II of chapter 5, and chapter 7, of 
     title 5, United States Code (commonly known as the 
     ``Administrative Procedure Act'') by acting contrary to 
     congressional mandates requiring the National Institutes of 
     Health to promote health equity and address health 
     disparities;
       Whereas 20 States filed a lawsuit against Robert F. Kennedy 
     Jr. in his official capacity as the Secretary of Health and 
     Human Services for his arbitrary and capricious directive to 
     conduct an abrupt reduction in force and reorganization of 
     the Department, which violates the Appropriations Clause of 
     section 9 of article I of the Constitution of the United 
     States and the constitutional doctrine of separation of 
     powers;
       Whereas the Secretary's illegal termination of National 
     Institutes of Health research grants and the subsequent 
     termination of Federal employees working at Federal health 
     agencies, as well as the elimination of a number of Centers 
     of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and 
     Institutes of the National Institutes of Health will 
     undermine efforts to combat chronic disease;
       Whereas the Secretary eliminated staff at the National 
     Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the National 
     Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, the National 
     Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, 
     the National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and 
     Tuberculosis Prevention, the National Institute for 
     Occupational Safety and Health, the National Center for 
     Environmental Health, and the National Center on Birth 
     Defects and Developmental Disabilities, among others;
       Whereas these actions will stifle efforts to research, 
     prevent, and treat Americans living with Alzheimer's disease, 
     diabetes, epilepsy, asthma, blood disorders, and many other 
     chronic conditions;
       Whereas it was reported that in order to secure support for 
     his nomination from certain Republican Senators, Robert F. 
     Kennedy Jr. committed that, as Secretary, he would maintain 
     the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, the 
     critical vaccine panel that advises the Centers for Disease 
     Control and Prevention on how to use vaccines to control 
     disease in the United States;
       Whereas immediately after making that promise, the 
     Secretary went back on his word, abruptly cancelling the 
     February meeting of the Advisory Committee on Immunization 
     Practices, and suggesting that he was preparing to remove 
     experts from the committee;
       Whereas the Secretary continued to breed distrust in our 
     scientific institutions by saying in his Senate testimony and 
     maiden speech as Secretary that ``we will remove conflicts of 
     interest from the committees and research partners'', 
     alleging without evidence that Federal vaccine advisers are 
     not acting in the best interest of public health and safety;
       Whereas in his first speech as Secretary, Robert F. Kennedy 
     Jr. vowed to investigate the scientifically supported 
     childhood vaccine schedule, saying ``nothing is going to be 
     off limits'';
       Whereas the Secretary subsequently pushed out esteemed 
     career civil servants, including Dr. Peter Marks, the 
     Director of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research 
     at the Food and Drug Administration, the regulator 
     responsible for ensuring the safety and effectiveness of 
     vaccinations;
       Whereas in his resignation letter, Dr. Marks cast a light 
     on the Secretary's political interference and misinformation 
     that was undermining the work of the Food and Drug 
     Administration, stating, ``it has become clear that truth and 
     transparency are not desired by the Secretary, but rather he 
     wishes subservient confirmation of his misinformation and 
     lies'';
       Whereas, in his answers to questions for the record 
     following his nomination hearing before the Committee on 
     Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate, Robert 
     F. Kennedy Jr. wrote, ``I will do nothing as HHS Secretary 
     that makes it difficult or discourages people from taking 
     vaccines but instead seek transparency in these products'';
       Whereas the Secretary has instead used his position to 
     continue to discredit the science behind vaccines, stoke fear 
     about the efficacy and safety of vaccines, and dismantle 
     vaccine approval and education programs;
       Whereas the National Institutes of Health halted funding 
     for at least 40 research grants for projects studying vaccine 
     hesitancy and paths to overcome it;
       Whereas the National Institutes of Health cancelled funding 
     for studies seeking new vaccines and treatments for both 
     COVID-19 and other pathogens that may cause future pandemics, 
     requested project lists regarding mRNA vaccines, the 
     technology at the center of COVID-19 vaccinations, and have 
     been urging scientists to remove references to such 
     technology from their grant applications, raising fears that 
     projects relating to mRNA vaccines are next on the chopping 
     block;
       Whereas after the Food and Drug Administration delayed 
     granting a license to a COVID-19 vaccine in April, the 
     Secretary falsely declared that ``for respiratory illnesses, 
     the single antigen vaccines have never worked'';
       Whereas through the Secretary's reduction in force and 
     reorganization efforts, the Department has eliminated 
     entirely or reduced the functionality of the Vaccines and 
     Related Biological Products Advisory Committee, the National 
     Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and the 
     Division of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases;
       Whereas during the Secretary's first week on the job, the 
     Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that it 
     was stopping a flu vaccination advertising campaign during 
     the height of flu season;
       Whereas according to the Centers for Disease Control and 
     Prevention, a multi-State measles outbreak impacting 
     communities with low measles vaccination coverage in New 
     Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas has been raging during the 
     Secretary's tenure, with the number of reported cases already 
     through mid-April representing an 180 percent increase over 
     the entirety of reported measles cases in the past year;
       Whereas 96 percent of these patients have been unvaccinated 
     or had unknown vaccination status;
       Whereas this measles outbreak has resulted in 727 
     hospitalizations and 3 deaths, including 2 unvaccinated 
     school-aged children with no known underlying medical 
     conditions;
       Whereas, while measles was declared eliminated in 2000, 
     largely due to the Measles, Mumps and Rubella vaccine 
     (referred to in this preamble as the ``MMR vaccine'') being 
     97 percent effective in preventing measles, this outbreak 
     under the Secretary's watch represents the largest single 
     measles outbreak in 25 years;
       Whereas instead of vocal support for the MMR vaccine, the 
     Secretary has uplifted untested treatments like cod liver 
     supplements, vitamin A treatments, the antibiotic 
     clarithromycin, or the asthma steroid budensonide;
       Whereas on May 2, 2025, the Secretary directed Federal 
     health agencies to explore potential new treatments for 
     measles, including vitamin A treatments;
       Whereas vaccine safety experts at the Centers for Disease 
     Control and Prevention and the American Academy of Pediatrics 
     have found no conclusive link between autism and vaccines 
     that contain thimerosal as a preservative, yet the Secretary 
     has used inconsistent and often contradictory messaging 
     around the MMR vaccine, questioning the MMR vaccine's safety 
     by incorrectly saying ``we don't know the risks of many of 
     these products because they're not safety tested,'' ignoring 
     the decades of scientific research behind the vaccine proving 
     that the vaccine is safe, and routinely misrepresenting the 
     potential for adverse events from the vaccine, sowing fear in 
     the public about vaccine use;

[[Page S2867]]

       Whereas the Secretary has downplayed the deaths associated 
     with the measles outbreak, saying that more attention should 
     be paid towards chronic diseases like diabetes and autism, 
     while at the same time falsely claiming that there may be a 
     relationship between the MMR vaccine and autism;
       Whereas on April 30, 2025, the Secretary made the false 
     claim that the MMR vaccine contains ``aborted fetus debris'', 
     further perpetuating fears and stigma about the vaccine;
       Whereas this is only the latest in a series of mistruths 
     regarding the MMR vaccine that the Secretary has used his 
     bully pulpit and position of leadership as the Secretary to 
     promote;
       Whereas, in his answers to questions for the record 
     following his nomination hearing before the Committee on 
     Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate, Robert 
     F. Kennedy Jr. wrote, ``addressing maternal mortality, and 
     its underlying causes, will be a priority in my leadership of 
     HHS'', yet as the Secretary, he has decimated Department 
     divisions and offices responsible for protecting the health 
     of women and their babies;
       Whereas the Secretary's illegal reorganization and unlawful 
     mass firings at the Department have devastated the Centers 
     for Disease Control and Prevention's Assisted Reproductive 
     Technologies office (which focuses on infertility and in 
     vitro fertilization research), Division of Reproductive 
     Health, Women's Health and Fertility branch, and Office of 
     Women's Health, and the Health Resources and Services 
     Administration's Maternal and Child Health Bureau;
       Whereas the Secretary has made a series of offensive and 
     scientifically unfounded statements about autism, 
     perpetuating harmful stereotypes, disregarding decades of 
     scientific research and consensus, threatening public trust 
     in lifesaving immunization programs, undermining the dignity 
     of individuals with autism, and denying individuals with 
     disabilities the services they are entitled to;
       Whereas in April 2025 the Secretary made crude, misleading, 
     and ableist comments about individuals on the autism 
     spectrum, offensively and incorrectly stating that they 
     ``will never pay taxes, they'll never hold a job, they'll 
     never play baseball, they'll never write a poem, they'll 
     never go on a date'';
       Whereas reports have surfaced that the Secretary has 
     directed the National Institutes of Health to launch an 
     ``autism registry'' to track Americans with the disability, 
     likely in violation of Federal privacy laws;
       Whereas the Secretary has hired discredited vaccine skeptic 
     David Geier as a data analyst to examine the long-debunked 
     and harmful theory that links vaccines to autism, continuing 
     to distort the public understanding of autism;
       Whereas during his confirmation hearing before the 
     Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the 
     Senate, Senator Hassan summarized the danger of Robert F. 
     Kennedy's words and actions best: ``The problem with this 
     witness' response on the autism cause, and the relationship 
     to vaccines, is because he is re-litigating and churning 
     settled science, so we cannot go forward and find out what 
     the cause of autism is, and treat these kids, and help these 
     families.'';
       Whereas leading national autism organizations released a 
     joint statement in April 2025 on the importance of upholding 
     scientific integrity with evidence-based research and 
     investments in diverse supports for the autism community, 
     rejecting Robert F. Kennedy's rhetoric that ``autism is 
     preventable'', his framing of autism as a ``chronic 
     disease'', ``childhood disease'', or ``epidemic'', and his 
     perpetuation of the myth that vaccines cause autism;
       Whereas on April 7, 2025, the Secretary announced that he 
     will direct the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to 
     stop recommending fluoridation in public drinking water 
     across the country and eliminated the Centers for Disease 
     Control and Prevention's entire Division of Oral Health as 
     part of its reorganization efforts;
       Whereas rolling back the fluoride guidance would contradict 
     the guidance of scientists, dentists, and national health 
     organizations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics 
     and the American Dental Association, which maintain that 
     community water fluoridation is a proven method of preventing 
     dental decay;
       Whereas the American Dental Association has reiterated its 
     support of the ``credible, time-tested, evidence-based 
     science'' behind the recommendation, and has criticized the 
     Secretary's work to discredit science, saying that ``when 
     government officials, like Secretary Kennedy, stand behind 
     the commentary of misinformation and distrust peer-reviewed 
     research it is injurious to public health'';
       Whereas the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 
     recognize community water fluoridation as one of the top 10 
     public health interventions of the 20th century;
       Whereas according to the Centers for Disease Control and 
     Prevention, dental caries is the most common childhood 
     chronic disease in the United States and worldwide and 
     disproportionately affects vulnerable children of lower 
     incomes, children of color, and children that live in 
     underserved areas;
       Whereas the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's 
     Division of Oral Health provides evidence-based guidance on 
     critical public health issues ranging from infection control 
     in dental practices, community water fluoridation, and dental 
     sealant programs targeted at preventing tooth decay in 
     children;
       Whereas, in just a few months in his role as the Secretary 
     of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has 
     demonstrated a pattern of deception, perpetuating erroneous 
     and even dangerous statements that have eroded public trust 
     in the Department, Federal health agencies, and scientific 
     research;
       Whereas, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been negligent towards 
     his statutory duty to provide for and enhance the health and 
     well-being of all Americans, taking actions that have 
     dismantled our public health system, defying the many 
     statutes that govern the Department's programs and 
     appropriate funding for the Department to administer such 
     programs, and intentionally undercutting the will of 
     Congress; and
       Whereas the role of the Secretary of Health and Human 
     Services is to be a trusted leader and an authority on 
     science and evidence-based health policies for the American 
     public: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that Secretary 
     Robert Fitzgerald Kennedy Jr. no longer holds the confidence 
     of the Senate or of the American people to faithfully carry 
     out his duties as Secretary of Health and Human Services.

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