ATL Standard

Congresswoman Nikema Williams led a group of lawmakers in a letter to Secretary Robert F. Kennedy expressing disapproval of proposed reductions within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). These cuts, which entail the dismissal of 10,000 employees and the restructuring of several health agencies, such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), raise considerable concern. The letter highlights the essential role of the HHS in maintaining the health of Americans through critical services, including Medicare and Medicaid, and food and drug safety.

The reduction involves dismissing 3,500 full-time employees from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), 2,400 from the CDC, 1,200 from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and 300 from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).

Congresswoman Williams and her colleagues urge the administration to reconsider these terminations and restructuring plans. They assert: “Make no mistake, we have no faith that these drastic cuts will benefit the American people. We are concerned that this will ultimately lead to slowdowns in service, approvals, and research, and impacts to public health response capabilities.”

The letter also stresses that millions of Americans depend on HHS for healthcare services and funding, and any delays could severely affect marginalized communities. Concerns were raised about past layoffs by the Department of Government Efficiency causing difficulties in meeting FDA deadlines: “Despite claims that FDA layoffs will not impact inspectors or drug, medical device, or food reviewers, prior layoffs... to the FDA are reported to already have caused staff to struggle to meet deadlines.”

The legislators underscore the health disparities facing minority groups and the need to maintain, rather than reduce, access to affordable healthcare: “As Black and brown communities continue to face severe healthcare disparities, it is crucial that access to affordable healthcare is not reduced in any way.”

Further critical of the broader intentions of the administration, the letter notes: “Given the Trump Administration’s broad intentions to eviscerate civil rights protections to harm Black and brown communities... we have no faith that this restructure will result in improved protections for our constituents’ civil rights or their hard-earned and critically needed medical coverage.”

This stance is supported by several legislators, including Rep. Donald Beyer, Rep. Salud Carbajal, Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, and numerous others who have signed the letter.