DeLauro on RFK Jr.’s Health Care Layoffs: “Americans will die because of these senseless and irresponsible actions.”
WASHINGTON — House Appropriations Committee and Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Subcommittee Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (CT-03) released the following statement on the mass firings of employees at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS):
“Today, Elon Musk, President Trump, and RFK Jr. carried out their threat to destroy the agencies that protect Americans’ health—including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, and the Food and Drug Administration. They fired scientific experts who keep Americans safe from infectious diseases, including HIV, Tuberculosis, and measles. We have already seen a resurgence of, and deaths caused by, measles—a disease that had been eradicated in America—and we will see new disease outbreaks going forward. They fired people tasked with making sure our food and drugs are inspected and safe. They fired scientists who are working on cures and treatments for cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, and other debilitating diseases. They fired experts who are helping to combat the opioid and substance use crisis.
“Elon Musk and President Trump do not care about helping the middle class, working families, or the vulnerable. They care only about paying for tax breaks for billionaires.
“The United States used to be the global leader in science and public health, but Elon Musk, President Trump, and RFK Jr. are setting us back by decades. Firing thousands of health experts does not make America healthier—it makes us sicker. Who benefits from weaker public health? Certainly not the American people. Americans will die because of these senseless and irresponsible actions.”
Yesterday, DeLauro sent another letter to the Trump Administration demanding answers on their plans to gut HHS.
DeLauro’s previous statement on the illegal dismantling of federal health agencies can be found here.
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