Wyden, Markey, King Introduce Resolution to Demand Public Input on Radical Upheaval at Federal Health Agencies
Senate Resolution Calls on Trump Administration to Reverse Course on Richardson Waiver, Mirroring 1980s Effort to Boost Transparency
Washington, D.C. – Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Senator Edward J. Markey, D-Mass., and Senator Angus King, I-Maine, along with 16 senators, today introduced a resolution that calls on the Trump administration to reverse course on a decision to stop seeking public input on many major changes to programs and policies overseen by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), a break with decades of precedent that have allowed the public and health care organizations to make their voices heard.
“Robert Kennedy promised radical transparency when he became HHS Secretary - instead he has delivered radical secrecy,” Wyden said. “Rather than throw open the doors of government, RFK Jr. has shut the gates, locking out doctors, patient advocates, and everyday Americans from weighing in on the chaotic disruption of America’s health care that the Trump administration is pursuing. Trump and Kennedy should follow the example of Ronald Reagan and reverse course on this disastrous decision to plug their ears to the critical feedback of medical professionals, health care providers, and concerned citizens.”
“People deserve a voice in their health care because it is their lives that are impacted when decisions are made,” Markey said. “But Robert Kennedy Jr. and Donald Trump are tearing into our health care system, making it harder for people to get care, and trying to do so in secret. Donald Trump is not king, and he and his administration are accountable to the people. The stakes are too high for secrecy. Trump and Kennedy must reverse course and hear from the American people who they have an obligation to serve.”
“Public comment periods are a key component of our First Amendment rights and demonstrate a commitment to an engaged public to wise, representative government,” King said. “Recent mass layoffs and pushes to dismantle key federal health care programs add burdens and pose risks to everyday Americans; those citizens who rely on the safeguards provided by the government have the right to be heard about decisions that affect hundreds of millions of lives. Right now, we need to be focusing on making our government more transparent, not sidelining the voices of care providers, medical professionals and concerned citizens. Rule reversals like this one won’t help ‘Make America Healthy Again,’ but it will lead to harmful, avoidable consequences for our nation’s public health.”
In early March, HHS reversed its long-standing practice of taking public comments on everything from proposed rules, grants, loans and contracts, to the structure of the agency itself. This came into full view when Secretary Kennedy announced a mass wave of firings and closures of dozens of offices across the agency that work on matters related to supporting seniors, cancer and infectious disease research and more.
The resolution would express the sense of the Senate that the Trump administration should withdraw the change in policy that would significantly reduce public notice and comment, limit public engagement on new regulations at HHS, and allow HHS to take impulsive action that will have immediate impacts on the health care system and the people it serves. The text of the resolution mirrors a bipartisan resolution that was introduced in the House in 1982, which led to HHS under the Reagan administration to reverse course on a similar action to reduce the ability of the public to weigh in on rulemaking at the agency.
Joining Wyden, Markey and King on the resolution are Senators Peter Welch, D-Vt., Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., Jeff Merkley D-Ore., Mazie Hirono, D-Hawai’i, Cory Booker, D-N.J., Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., Tina Smith, D-Minn., Lisa Blunt Rochester, D-Del., Angela Alsobrooks, D-Md., Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M., Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., and Mark Warner, D-Va.
The House of Representatives introduced a companion resolution, led by Representatives Lizzie Fletcher, Texas-07, Gabe Amo, R.I.-01, and Mike Quigley, Ill.-05.
Endorsing organizations and statements of support can be found here.
The text of the resolution can be found here.
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