(NewsNation) — Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy, Jr. claims that Americans got sicker under the Biden administration, despite the federal agency growing by 38% during Biden’s four years in office.
Now that the agency has slashed 20,000 jobs since President Donald Trump took office in January, Kennedy said it will do a more effective job of tackling chronic illness in America, despite being smaller. HHS officials announced in March that the agency had gone from 82,000 full-time employees to 62,000 and that 28 divisions within the agency would be consolidated into 15.
The restructuring would save $1.8 billion, the agency announced.
Only 3% of Americans had chronic illnesses under JFK: RFK Jr.
“It’s not throwing money at it or hiring people that is solving the problem,” Kennedy told NewsNation on Wednesday, adding. “What we’re doing is streamlining the agency, and we’re recalibrating the trajectory so that people there are narrowly focused on one issue, which is how do we solve the chronic illness epidemic?”
Kennedy said that when his uncle, John F. Kennedy, served as president, only 3% of Americans suffered from chronic illness. He said today, 60% of Americans deal with those types of maladies. Kennedy said the country is spending about $1.6 trillion per year, of 95% of the agency’s budget, on dealing with chronic disease.
Because of those diseases, Kennedy said, 74% of American children cannot qualify to serve in the U.S. military, which is putting a bigger spotlight on the issue his agency is trying to solve.
“So this is an existential threat to our national security, it’s an existential threat to our economy and we have to narrowly focus on that,” Kennedy said, “and that’s what the new HHS is doing.”
DOGE job cuts lead to suspension of milk quality testing program
According to its “Agency Efficiency Leaderboard,” DOGE has saved the most in the Department of Health and Human Services. However, these job cuts have led to the suspension of the Food and Drug Administration’s milk quality testing program.
Reuters reported at the end of April that an internal email showed the agency was suspending its proficiency testing program for Grade “A” raw milk and finished products. This came after the termination and departure of 20,000 employees under DOGE’s efforts to limit federal spending.
The FDA, however, has started hiring contractors to replace some fired workers. The Washington Post reported that this program would start up again after being transferred to a different lab.
A spokesperson said state and federal labs will still test samples. The “FDA remains committed to working with states to protect the safety of the pasteurized milk supply,” according to the spokesperson. The FDA also suspended other programs in April, including ones that ensured accurate testing for bird flu in milk and cheese.
The International Dairy Foods Association said, “This is not a suspension of milk testing. Dairy facilities and milk continue to be regularly tested and inspected by regulatory authorities as required by the Pasteurized Milk Ordinance, which has ensured milk safety for over 100 years.”