1. United States
2. Pa.
3. Letter

I urge Congress to seek qualified, science-based leadership at the Department of Health and Human Services. The United States is experiencing its worst measles outbreak since the disease was eliminated in 2000, alongside the nation’s largest recorded cyclospora outbreak. At a time when Americans need confidence in public health leadership, HHS should be led by someone who consistently communicates evidence-based medical information and prioritizes disease prevention. Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has spent years promoting false and misleading claims about vaccines and autism despite overwhelming scientific evidence disproving a causal link. Public health leadership must build trust in science—not undermine it. I am especially alarmed by proposals to move responsibility for special education and disability-related programs away from the Department of Education and under HHS. Students with disabilities deserve oversight from an agency whose mission is education, civil rights, and ensuring access to a free appropriate public education—not an agency led by someone whose public statements have fueled misinformation that has harmed confidence in lifesaving vaccines. Congress should reject any effort to transfer special education oversight to HHS, conduct rigorous oversight of the Department’s public health response, and ensure that HHS is led by individuals with the scientific expertise, credibility, and judgment necessary to protect the health of all Americans. Our children—and particularly our most vulnerable children—deserve leadership grounded in science, evidence, and public trust.