U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., sharply questioned Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. during a Senate hearing on the administration’s proposed budget, raising concerns about cuts to health programs and the lack of investment in child care.
During the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee hearing on the Department of Health and Human Services budget request, Murray criticized the broader federal spending proposal, which includes a significant increase in defense funding alongside reductions to domestic programs.
Murray pointed to proposed cuts to programs such as the National Institutes of Health, substance use treatment and mental health services, arguing the budget prioritizes military spending over support for families.
“Mr. Secretary, I don’t think it’s any secret that you and I disagree on a lot of things. But I think we might actually agree that our taxpayer dollars should be spent here at home, not on wars abroad,” said Murray.
Murray pressed Kennedy on whether federal spending should prioritize child care over military funding as costs continue to rise for families.
“So, I wanted to ask you today, as families’ everyday costs are getting higher and higher, do you think we should be spending money on foreign wars instead of making child care more affordable for people here at home?” said Murray.
Kennedy declined to engage directly on defense policy and emphasized that budget decisions ultimately rest with Congress.
“It’s Congress’s choice about whether to do it or not. It’s not my choice. We gave you a proposed budget that does what the president wants, which is to have broad cuts across the agency,” said Kennedy.
Murray highlighted the scale of the proposed defense spending increase, saying it complicates efforts to fund domestic priorities.
“The reason this budget and appropriations is going to be so hard to write is that the president is requesting $1.5 trillion in funding for defense which cuts our nondefense incredibly,” said Murray.
The exchange also focused on proposed reductions to the National Institutes of Health, which Murray said could delay research and limit progress on medical treatments.
“So I just want to ask you, did you push back on the NIH cuts to the president?” said Murray.
Kennedy said the agency had been asked to reduce spending and argued some research funding had been misallocated.
Murray rejected that characterization and emphasized the role of federal research funding.
“There are families, there are doctors, there’s providers who are counting on getting the answers to this research,” said Murray. “To me, cutting NIH by $5 billion just seems to be cutting our families out, cutting hope out, cutting medical research out.”
In closing remarks, Murray outlined broader concerns about cuts to public health funding, disruptions to research and the impact on patients and providers.
“This is hurting public health, it is hurting our families, it is hurting our research, it’s hurting the future of the country,” said Murray.
