Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. testified before four congressional committees this week, including the House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee, as well as the Senate Finance Committee; Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee; and the Senate Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (L-HHS) Appropriations Subcommittee to discuss the fiscal year (FY) 2027 HHS budget request.
In each hearing, lawmakers in both parties underscored longstanding bipartisan support for the National Institutes of Health (NIH). In her opening remarks, Senate Appropriations L-HHS Subcommittee Chair Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) cited that Congress approved an increase for the NIH in FY 2026, emphasizing the new treatments, cures, and clinical trials that NIH-funded research delivers. Several Democrats stated they would reject proposed cuts in the FY 2027 budget request to the NIH and other public health agencies, such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, and many others.
During the Senate HELP hearing, Chair Bill Cassidy, MD (R-La.) again voiced concerns about Kennedy’s vaccine policies, echoing the same disagreements he had raised during Kennedy’s confirmation hearing. In the Senate L-HHS and House Energy and Commerce Health subcommittee hearings, several members discussed health workforce challenges, with L-HHS Subcommittee Chair Capito and Health Subcommittee Vice Chair Diana Harshbarger (R-Tenn.) emphasizing the need for workforce development investments.
Members questioned the proposed Administration for A Healthy America during the Senate L-HHS hearing, highlighting proposed cuts to the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) and rural health programs under the reorganization. In response to Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith’s (R-Miss.) question regarding uncertainties around the reorganization, particularly relating to rural health, Kennedy acknowledged the expectation to work with Congress on the proposal.
The 340B Drug Pricing Program was another focal point across multiple hearings. Kennedy expressed concern about the program's recent growth, but he emphasized that any reform would require congressional action. Before the Senate L-HHS Appropriations Subcommittee, Kennedy was questioned about the rollout of the 340B Rebate Pilot Program. In an exchange with Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), Kennedy said he was uncertain of the pilot's current status, while Rounds stressed the program's importance to rural areas and raised concerns that the pilot could benefit pharmaceutical manufacturers at the expense of rural providers. In a separate exchange, Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) secured Kennedy's commitment to direct HRSA to brief the bipartisan Senate "Gang of Six" — a group working to legislatively reform the 340B program — on the pilot's status.
- Washington Highlights