Democrats in 19 states and Washington, DC have sued the US Department of Health and Human Services, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and other federal health officials, saying that the restructuring of the agency puts the public at risk after several public health programs were shut down and thousands of federal health workers were fired.
The case, which was filed Monday and is being led by New York State Attorney General Letitia James, says that the states want “declaratory and injunctive relief” to stop the “unconstitutional and illegal dismantling” of the department.
“The Department of Health and Human Services has been smashed to pieces by this administration.” HHS is in charge of keeping the public’s health safe and sound. “Really, since they took office, this administration has fired scientists, shut down labs, and stopped life-saving programs for no reason or legal reason,” James said at a news conference Monday.
The government is not being changed here. This is not helpful. “They have cut lab space so much that they have pretty much stopped testing for measles during a measles outbreak that has never happened before,” James said.
She said, “This is dangerous, cruel, and against the law.” “We are asking the court to stop the illegal dismantling of HHS, to stop the mass firings, and to bring back the programs that save lives and help millions of Americans.”
A spokesperson for HHS said in a statement on Monday, “We are always following the law.” Nothing was rushed, and different parts of HHS talked about it several times before the release. Each step has been planned, worked on together, and followed government personnel policy and civil service protections. Any other interpretation is wrong and goes against the truth and integrity of the process.
A spokesperson said, “The reforms are meant to make the agency better able to serve the American people, not worse.” “HHS is still sure that the process will hold up in court and looks forward to a conclusion that is based on facts and the law.”
Late in March, the Trump administration said it would change a number of health agencies and cut some discretionary government health spending. One of these ideas is to combine HHS’s 28 agencies into 15 new divisions, one of which will be the Administration for a Healthy America.
“This Department will do more—a lot more—at a lower cost to the taxpayer,” Kennedy said in a news release when the changes were made.
“We’re not just cutting down on bureaucratic sprawl.” We are realigning the organization with its core purpose and our new priorities in reversing the chronic disease epidemic,” he said. “This change will be good for both taxpayers and the people HHS helps.”
This new case says that the changes made because of the restructuring have already caused harm by closing down some regional HHS offices that help low-income families, kids with disabilities, homeless youth, and preschool development programs. The lawsuit says that the effects are felt on Head Start programs, which help young children with early childhood education and other services.
“Last month, the federal government abruptly closed five regional Head Start offices, including the one that serves New York,” said Susan Stamler in a news release Monday. Stamler is the executive director of United Neighbourhood Houses, a group that promotes New York’s neighbourhood settlement houses.
“Providers were scrambling and couldn’t get in touch with anyone. They were worried about the families who depend on them.” Recertification forms haven’t been processed yet, and child care providers are panicking because they don’t know when they’ll get paid or what will happen with Head Start in the future, she said. “It’s clear that the shrinking of HHS is terrible for our families and neighbourhoods.” Putting child care at risk is not a good way to help parents who work.
In addition, the lawsuit says that the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention’s Division of Reproductive Health lost a “entire team working on assisted reproductive technology.” The lawsuit also says that “a laboratory that analysed and tracked complex sexually transmitted infections” closed down, and the CDC’s Division of Viral Hepatitis lost its laboratory branch.