Kennedy Defends Cuts, Vaccine Stance in House Hearing

0:00It's April 21st, I'm Cory with the story. This is Durham News Today, driven by AI. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. faced tough questions in a house budget hearing this week, defending deep cuts to the National Institutes of Health, his past vaccine skepticism, and the firing of the former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director. Lawmakers worried these research slashes could hand biomedical leadership to China, hurting U.S. security. He admitted the cut sting, but with a $35 trillion national debt, his department had a trim 12% from its roughly one. $100 billion budget across the board. Democrats called him the most anti-vaccine voice they've seen, linking his rhetoric to rising measles cases, including two-child deaths last year, the first in a decade. Vaccine exemptions for kindergarteners hit $138,000 recently, as rates keep dropping. On the CDC front, Kennedy pushed back hard against claims he fired Susan Minara as

1:00over vaccines, saying she straight up admitted she wasn't trustworthy. When he asked, he noted his team is still pouring $1 billion into vaccine research. Meanwhile, President Trump's new CDC nominee, Dr. Erica Schwartz, pushed vaccinations in the Coast Guard, and Kennedy vetted her views, but won't. Promise to follow her guidance without question, sticking to his independent stance on science and health policy.