Rep. DeGette Grills HHS Sec. RFK Jr. on NIH Grant Terminations and Retaliation

Unanswered Inquiries and Legal Rulings

• 📌 Representative DeGette detailed a series of 18 letters sent to the Secretary requesting information, none of which have received a response from the agency.
• ⚖️ A federal judge ruled a significant portion of NIH grant terminations illegal and void, stating the administration's explanations were "bereft of reasoning" and exhibited "government racial discrimination."
• ✅ The Secretary committed to complying with the judge's ruling, stating he will "comply with the law."

Bureaucratic Hurdles and "Defend the Spend"

• 📄 Despite a stated commitment to reducing bureaucracy, HHS reportedly imposed a new bureaucratic review for all disbursements, requiring approval from political appointees.
• 💰 Hospitals, universities, and health organizations report that funds are stuck at HHS due to this "defend the spend" initiative.
• ❓ The Secretary stated he was unaware of a Washington Post article detailing this initiative and did not know if a cost-benefit analysis was conducted.

Allegations of Retaliation and Politicization

• 📢 Hundreds of NIH scientists reportedly sounded alarms about wasted research dollars, politics injected into science, and damaged public trust, with 68 Nobel laureates signing a letter.
• 🚫 Representative DeGette questioned whether the Secretary or his staff would take retaliatory action against scientists who spoke out.
• 🎤 The Secretary committed to "depoliticizing science at NIH" but did not directly commit to not taking retaliatory action, stating he was unaware of the letter.

Workforce Reductions and Transparency Issues

• 📉 Regarding reductions in force, the Secretary estimated around 10,000 HHS employees received layoff notices.
• 📜 He confirmed approving the policy behind these layoff decisions, not individual cases.
• 🤷 The NIH Director reportedly expressed a lack of transparency and personal upset regarding how these layoff decisions were made.