Krishnamoorthi Blasts Administration for Undermining Children’s Health at Oversight Subcommittee Hearing

WASHINGTON - Today at the House Oversight Subcommittee on Health Care and Financial Services hearing titled "Better Meals, Fewer Pills: Making Our Children Healthy Again,"Ranking Member Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) condemned the Trump administration's policies for worsening children's health through cuts to critical programs, attacks on vaccines, and economic policies driving up food costs. In his opening statement, Krishnamoorthi emphasized the stakes:

"Every day I come to work, I think about what I can do in Congress to ensure that children in this country will have a better future than the generations before them. HHS and USDA have unfortunately contributed to a worsening health crisis by slashing critical programs like SNAP and Medicaid, and by undermining public trust in vaccines and medical research that are proven to help keep children healthy."

He noted that President Trump's so-called "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" will cut off SNAP benefits for hundreds of thousands of families and slash Medicaid coverage for 15 million Americans-closures that could shutter at least 11 hospitals in Illinois alone. "As a child, my family relied on food stamps when my father lost his job," Krishnamoorthi added. "It is cruel to rip away this safety net from families just to hand tax breaks to the wealthiest."

Krishnamoorthi also blasted HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for his anti-vaccine rhetoric:

"RFK has made outrageous claims, literally saying that vaccinating our children is 'a holocaust.' These lies are driving states like Florida to roll back school vaccination mandates. Even President Trump admits that vaccines 'work' and 'are not controversial at all.' RFK should listen to his own president."

Pressing Witnesses on SNAP Cuts, Suicide Prevention, and RFK's Ties to Epstein

During his questioning, Krishnamoorthi pressed Dr. Dorothy Fink, Acting Assistant Secretary for Health at HHS, on three key issues:

• RFK and Epstein: Krishnamoorthi highlighted flight logs showing Secretary Kennedy flew on Jeffrey Epstein's plane and socialized with sex traffickers, serial rapists, and other convicted criminals. He announced his intent to seek sworn testimony from Kennedy about his relationships with Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.

• LGBTQ Youth Suicide Hotline: He cited CDC data showing LGBTQ youth are four times more likely to attempt suicide and noted that calls to a specialized youth hotline doubled to 70,000 in June 2025. Yet HHS eliminated the program. "At a time when LGBTQ youth and children are reaching out for help like never before, this administration is shutting the door," he said.

• Rising Food Costs and SNAP Cuts: Krishnamoorthi cited reports showing Trump's tariffs drove wholesale vegetable prices up 40% in one month. He challenged USDA and HHS witnesses for defending SNAP cuts even as families struggle to afford basic healthy foods. "This is not junk food. These are peppers and broccoli whose prices are skyrocketing, and your administration is cutting the supports families need to buy them."

Krishnamoorthi: "Children Deserve Better"

Krishnamoorthi concluded that the administration's actions are actively harming children's health:

"Any child can see the plain truth: this administration's policies are harming our health and jeopardizing our future. If we truly care about making America's children healthy again, the first step is holding HHS and USDA accountable for the roles they are playing in worsening our children's health today."

Congressman Krishnamoorthi's opening statement is available hereand his question line is available here.