Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. sidestepped questions about vaccinations during a congressional hearing Tuesday.
Kennedy appeared before the House Appropriations Committee, where he was pressed on the ongoing measles outbreak in Texas and other parts of the country.
“If you had a child today, would you vaccinate your child for measles?” asked Rep. Mark Pocan, a Democrat from Wisconsin.
Kennedy appeared to hesitate before responding, “Probably.” He added, however, that directly answering the question might be interpreted as “giving advice to other people, and I don’t want to be doing that.”
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Kennedy, who has been labeled a vaccine skeptic for his past work, has also called the measles outbreak a "call to action for all of us," noting that getting vaccinated is "crucial" to combating the potentially deadly disease.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday, the secretary also faced scrutiny over deep cuts to the Department of Health and Human Services. In April, HHS announced plans to lay off approximately 10,000 workers. Kennedy said his focus is on combating the chronic disease epidemic while improving service delivery for those relying on Medicare, Medicaid and other programs.
“We won’t solve this problem by throwing more money at it,” Kennedy said. “We must spend smarter. We will shift funding away from bureaucracy and toward direct impact.”
