WASHINGTON, D.C. — Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. testified before a House Appropriations subcommittee and the House Ways and Means Committee on April 16, 2026, defending a proposed budget for the Department of Health and Human Services that would cut more than 12% from the department's funding. It was the first time since September that Kennedy faced federal lawmakers at a congressional hearing, and Democrats pressed him on his vaccine policy and his overhaul of federal health agencies.

The funding request for the next fiscal year includes a $15.8 billion reduction from the current year, totaling $111.1 billion. Kennedy has said he intends to consolidate some of the health agencies within HHS and strengthen their focus on disease prevention. HHS has 72,000 employees and plans to hire 12,000 more.

When Rep. Steny Hoyer questioned him about firings of federal health agency staff, Kennedy defended the dismissals. "They presided over the biggest decline in health in the history of the world. It was their job to protect us, and they did not do it. They failed at their job," Kennedy said. He said the department would rebuild its workforce: "We will have made up all the employees that we lost. We've replaced them with a better group of people who are actually going to address chronic health."

Before the House Ways and Means Committee, Kennedy defended the department's response to recent measles outbreaks. The United States recorded 2,287 measles cases last year, the highest number since measles was first considered eliminated in the U.S. 25 years earlier, and another 1,714 cases have been recorded so far this year. Kennedy said the U.S. has performed better than any other country at preventing measles.

Rep. Linda Sánchez asked Kennedy about a child who died in Texas. "Do you agree with the majority of doctors that the measles vaccine could have saved that child's life in Texas?" Sánchez said. Kennedy replied, "It's possible, certainly."

Rep. Mike Thompson challenged Kennedy on the outbreaks. "Mr. Secretary, kids have died because measles is running rampant under your watch," Thompson said.

Kennedy overhauled the childhood vaccine schedule to include fewer universal recommendations, a change a judge later blocked. He announced during the hearings that he is reforming the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, which makes national screening recommendations for diseases and whose guidance insurance companies often follow when determining coverage.

Kennedy emphasized efforts to reform dietary guidelines and to crack down on waste, fraud, and abuse. Some Republican members of the House Ways and Means Committee praised him and asked him to promote his department's recent actions. He accused Democrats of misrepresenting his work and past statements, at one point saying, "You're making stuff up." Kennedy was expected to attend seven budget hearings across congressional committees and subcommittees over the following week.