E&C Democrats: Canceling Health Funding for Blue States Endangers All Americans
"Beyond the overtly political and punitive nature of this action, we are deeply concerned that termination of awards in their final years wastes taxpayer dollars and puts the health of Americans at risk."
Washington, D.C. – Energy and Commerce Committee Democratic leaders demanded accountability from Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. today over the abrupt cancelation of hundreds of millions of dollars in health care funding in four Democratic-led states. The four affected states – California, Colorado, Illinois, and Minnesota – sued HHS last week, calling the cuts illegal and unconstitutional.
The letter was sent by Full Committee Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), Health Subcommittee Ranking Member Diana DeGette (D-CO), and Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Ranking Member Yvette D. Clarke (D-NY).
“The termination of these grants reeks of politically motivated retribution unrelated to the proposed content of the grants,” the Democratic Committee leaders wrote in their letter to Secretary Kennedy. “Specifically, we are alarmed by the geographic concentration of recipients within only four states, the lack of any meaningful specifics about why these specific grants are inconsistent with agency priorities, and the fact that the only common theme is that all of the terminated grants were made to recipients in Democratic-led states.”
The Committee leaders also expressed concern over the politicization of grantmaking at the nation’s health agency.
“Furthermore, the blatant, ongoing efforts of HHS to carry out grant award and termination at the direction of political leadership, rather than with the input of career staff who have decades of experience and direct relationships with state and local health departments, represents a direct attack on America’s scientific, public health, and preparedness infrastructure,” the Democrats continued.
Pallone, DeGette, and Clarke also pointed to the short-sighted danger of canceling public health funding based on political maps.
“It is a major threat to the health and well-being of all Americans because outbreaks and public health emergencies do not abide by state boundaries or election outcomes, and this Administration’s belief that it can restrict the impact of its decisions only to its political adversaries is a dangerous fallacy,” the three Democratic Committee leaders continued in their letter.
As part of their ongoing oversight of the Trump Administration, the Democratic Committee leaders requested documentation and answers to a series of questions by March 4, 2026.
Read the full letter HERE.
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