April 16 (UPI) -- Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. on Thursday testified before seven Congressional committees, often clashing with Democrats about decisions he has made about vaccines and department priorities.
The testimony is Kennedy's first trip to the Capitol this year and the first time that he has appeared before Congress in more than seven months, The Washington Post reported.
In addition to unilaterally remaking the CDC's vaccine advisory committee and the agency's recommended childhood vaccine schedule -- which were blocked by a federal judge in March -- he has changed the FDA's recommendations on diet and shepherded medications through federal approval processes while allegedly ignoring data on them.
Kennedy also was asked by members of Congress about the Trump administration's 12.5% budget request decrease, which amounts to about $16 billion, that it has asked for in its fiscal year 2027 budget proposal, NPR reported.
"Our children are the sickest generation in modern history -- decades of failed policy, captured agencies and profit-driven systems have caused it," Kennedy said during a hearing before the House Ways and Means Committee.
