Dive Brief:
Congressional Democrats are attempting to hold HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to his promise of “radical transparency,” demanding Kennedy cease a new HHS policy of promulugating changes without always allowing public notice or an opportunity for public comment.
Kennedy said earlier this year the department would break longstanding precedent of giving notice and accepting public comments about policy changes.
Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Sens. Edward Markey, D-Mass., and Angus King, I-Maine, along with 16 other senators, introduced the resolution on Thursday asking the HHS to reverse course. “Robert Kennedy promised radical transparency when he became HHS Secretary — instead he has delivered radical secrecy,” Wyden said in a Thursday release.
Dive Insight:
Since Kennedy has taken the helm at the HHS, he’s ushered in sweeping changes at the agency, including mass layoffs and program reductions.
Kennedy’s move to cease providing public notices could allow further changes to occur without debate, critics say. The agency has proposed forgoing public comment periods when the department deems them impractical or “contrary to the public interest,” Kennedy wrote in a March policy statement.
An accompanying resolution was introduced in the House by Reps. Lizzie Fletcher, D-Texas, Mike Quigley, D-Ill., and Gabe Amo, D-R.I.
“President Trump and Secretary Kennedy’s push to rescind basic transparency in public health begs the question — what are they trying to hide?” Amo said in a press release.
Republicans probably won’t support the Senate resolution, meaning it’s unlikely to make it out of the Republican-controlled Senate Finance Committee and even less likely to receive support during a full chamber vote.
Still, multiple healthcare groups have endorsed the resolutions, including the Children’s Hospital Association, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network.
