1. United States
2. Ohio
3. Letter

I am writing as a constituent to urge immediate, rigorous congressional oversight regarding the leadership of the Department of Health and Human Services. Anyone in public service can misspeak or mangle a statistic now and then. What Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. demonstrated during his August 2 appearance on CNN's State of the Union was not that. Promoting nine misleading claims in a single 22-minute interview is part of a clear pattern. Either the Secretary of Health doesn't understand the basic public health data his agency produces, or he is choosing to mislead the public from the highest position in healthcare. Neither is acceptable. During those 22 minutes, Secretary Kennedy made nine demonstrably false statements on basic public health facts: 1. False Claim on Empty ICUs: He claimed that "ICUs were empty all across the country, including in New York, at the height." Hospital deaths in NYC peaked at roughly 60% of all citywide deaths in April 2020, and hospitals had to double or triple ICU capacity just to keep up. 2. False Claim on Lyme Disease Origins: He asserted that Lyme disease came from gain-of-function laboratory experiments. Lyme-causing bacteria have been identified in human remains dating back 5,300 years, thousands of years before modern genetics or lab research existed. 3. False Claim on RSV Origins: He claimed RSV was created through lab manipulation experiments. RSV was first identified in the late 1950s, roughly two decades before gain-of-function research techniques were developed. 4. False Claim on Leading Causes of Child Mortality: He called RSV "the biggest killer of kids in this country today." CDC mortality data shows accidents, firearms, and congenital conditions all rank significantly higher in child deaths. 5. False Claim on Pediatric COVID Vaccine Studies: He demanded CNN "cite one study" showing COVID vaccines protect children, falsely implying none exist. Multiple peer-reviewed studies demonstrate that vaccination reduces infection and severe disease in children and adolescents. 6. False Claim on Global COVID Death Rates: He claimed the U.S. has "the highest death rate from COVID of any nation on Earth." Per Johns Hopkins tracking, the U.S. ranks 14th globally; it leads only among large, wealthy nations specifically. 7. False Claim on Constitutional Rights: He asserted that Americans' constitutional rights were "completely dismantled" during the pandemic. No federal constitutional rights were formally suspended; health measures were enforced at state and local levels. 8. False Claim on Vaccine Autism Testing: He claimed that non-MMR childhood vaccines have "never" been studied for a link to autism. Many vaccine formulations and specific ingredients, including thimerosal, have been extensively evaluated in large-scale safety studies finding no link. 9. False Claim on Tylenol and Autism: He asserted that "73 studies" prove prenatal Tylenol use causes autism. The research he referenced is a review of observational studies showing a possible association, not proof of causation, while large population studies following millions of children found no causal link. In fairness, Secretary Kennedy did tell parents on camera to vaccinate their children against measles during this same interview, even as measles cases hit a 35-year high on his watch. That instruction was accurate. It does not offset the nine falsehoods and misleading claims above. It only underscores how selectively accurate information appears to be deployed alongside so much that is not. A single error is a mistake. Nine false or misleading claims about basic, well-documented public health facts in one sitting is a pattern, and this was not the first such interview. When public statements from the head of HHS consistently diverge from well-established medical consensus and the department's own data, Congress has a duty to step in. These discrepancies cannot simply be ignored—they demand immediate, active oversight. I am asking you to: - Direct the House Energy and Commerce Committee and the Committee on Oversight and Accountability to open formal hearings on public health communications from HHS leadership, focused specifically on the accuracy of statements made to the public by the Secretary. - Demand that HHS leadership hold all public statements to the same scientific and factual standards the department requires of the researchers and career staff it oversees. - Consider whether a pattern of demonstrably false public health statements from the Secretary, sustained over multiple public appearances, warrants further institutional accountability, up to and including impeachment, if the pattern continues unaddressed. Thank you for acting to restore basic factual accountability to public health leadership.