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Greg Landsman Presses RFK Jr. Over Head Start Funding Flip Flop & Layoffs
Forbes Breaking News
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yesterday
During a House Energy Committee hearing last week, Rep. Greg Landsman (D-OH) asked Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. about funding cuts.
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00:00
Recognizes a gentleman from Ohio, Representative Lansman, for five minutes of questioning.
00:05
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you, Mr. Secretary, for being here.
00:11
You were talking earlier about maternal health, and I want to just come back to maternal health
00:15
and the disparities that exist in this country, particularly between black moms and everyone else.
00:23
There is a bipartisan effort that emerged from this committee before I got here.
00:33
Mr. Carter and others supported the Safe Motherhood and Infant Health Program.
00:41
Now, this is an effort at HHS that focuses entirely on best practices, collecting data,
00:48
trying to figure out what's working in terms of maternal health to improve healthy birth outcomes, etc.
00:58
I think, and I genuinely believe this was zeroed out either accidentally or by some sort of oversight,
01:07
because obviously there's no waste, fraud, and abuse here.
01:10
This is just the data collection associated with, obviously, a huge priority of yours, which is maternal health.
01:18
So I, as we sort of go through this budget process, is this one area where you're willing to work with us
01:27
to see if, in fact, we can restore funding for something that is saving the lives of mothers,
01:34
helping to eliminate these disparities, and obviously improving birth outcomes across the country.
01:41
A hundred percent, and I'd love to operate on a bipartisan basis.
01:45
If you contact my office, I'm happy to meet with you about it.
01:48
This is a program that came out of this committee.
01:51
I don't know if it was unanimous, Mr. Carter, Mr. Chairman.
01:54
I suspect it was, but it got zeroed out, so maybe we, okay.
01:58
Number two, Head Start, because we're just on the trajectory, healthy birth outcome,
02:04
you know, brain development is happening at its fastest rate in those early years.
02:11
And then we get Head Start, which has been a game changer for millions, tens of millions,
02:17
something that your family has led on.
02:20
It got zeroed out, but then the money got restored, which was good.
02:24
And I'm just hoping that you can sort of assure everyone,
02:30
because I'm getting calls on a regular basis from folks back home
02:35
that they aren't sure if this is going to stick,
02:37
if their Head Start funding is going to get pulled,
02:39
and what that's going to mean for families and for children.
02:44
Head Start funding is okay.
02:45
That's not going to get touched.
02:47
Yeah.
02:47
I mean, my uncle, Sarge Revers, started Head Start.
02:51
It takes care of 750,000 of the poorest kids in America.
02:56
It not only takes care of those children and teaches them basic fundamental skills,
03:01
but it also trains their parents on parenting skills.
03:04
And the metrics for kids who graduate from those programs,
03:07
and, you know, every metric, every indicia are better.
03:13
I'm very grateful to Roosevelt and OMB for meeting with me about that
03:20
and then restoring the funding, and I will continue to protect that funding.
03:25
Last one, NIOSH.
03:27
I have a NIOSH office or facility in Cincinnati, one of the largest.
03:34
As you know, NIOSH focuses entirely on worker safety.
03:37
That's what they do.
03:38
And we were able to work together to restore about 300 positions,
03:45
mostly as it relates to the firefighters and minors.
03:47
There are still, you know, I don't know, I guess 1,000 to 1,200 positions
03:52
that are on the chopping block.
03:54
Are you willing to sort of reconsider or work with us on the remaining positions at NIOSH,
04:01
recognizing that some of the 10,000 FTs were over, it was a mistake, right,
04:06
including the ones that were working on the National Firefighter Registry for Cancer,
04:12
the World Trade Center, health program, those kinds of things.
04:14
The other folks at NIOSH in Cincinnati are doing exceptional work to keep workers safe.
04:21
Are you willing to work with us on protecting those jobs too?
04:26
Absolutely.
04:26
And if Congress funds it, I will, you know, I'll keep the program open.
04:33
So.
04:35
Well, Congress did fund it.
04:37
I mean, this, so it was funded.
04:40
This time around.
04:42
Yeah.
04:42
So those jobs hopefully will get restored or some of them.
04:46
I'm happy to meet with you about that.
04:48
All right.
04:48
I have a few things to add to the record.
04:53
I also would like to work on some of the rare disease stuff,
04:57
but I'll include that in my, what I submit.
05:01
Thank you, Congressman.
05:03
The gentleman.
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