Committee Democrats Demand HHS Stop Withholding Information on Foodborne Illness and Infectious Disease from Americans
Washington, D.C. (June 23, 2025)— Today, Rep. Stephen F. Lynch, Acting Ranking Member of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Health Care and Financial Services, and Rep. Suhas Subramanyam, Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on the Military and Foreign Affairs, sent a letter to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. reiterating requests for information from Committee Democrats that have gone unanswered on the Trump Administration’s rollback of lifesaving food inspection and disease surveillance activities, the firing of thousands of workers from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and HHS, and failure to inform the American public about the spread of life-threatening infectious diseases.
“On April 8, 2025, Ranking Members Gerald E. Connolly, Raja Krishnamoorthi, and Suhas Subramanyam wrote to you with deep concern that the firing of thousands of Food and Drug Administration (FDA) employees would lead to rampant outbreaks of foodborne illness. To date, HHS has provided no response and has not produced any of the requested information, even as foodborne illnesses and infectious diseases continue to spread. We therefore reiterate the requests for information and documents from the April 8, 2025, letter, and request additional information regarding the Trump Administration’s failure to communicate with the American public regarding foodborne illness and infectious disease outbreaks,” wrote the Members.
According to reporting by the Washington Post, in February, the Trump Administration decided to not publicize FDA’s findings pinpointing an outbreak of E. coli bacteria in romaine lettuce to a particular producer. Despite internal HHS communications showing that the agency had known the source of the outbreak as early as February 11, 2025, it allowed the outbreak to sicken 90 people across 15 states without alerting the public.
The FDA has also reportedly suspended the Food Emergency Response Network Proficiency Testing program—which ensures that labs conducting food testing are able to accurately identify pathogens that can lead to illness or death. Each year, outbreaks of foodborne illnesses sicken approximately 9 million people, hospitalize approximately 56,000 people, and kill approximately 1,300 people.
In addition to these actions, the Trump Administration has also deprioritized food safety at the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), withdrawing a proposed regulation to reduce the prevalence of salmonella in raw poultry and eliminating a Department of Justice (DOJ) unit that pursued legal actions against companies that sell contaminated food.
“These actions reflect a broader trend of placing corporate and political interests above the health and safety of Americans, including by limiting communication with the public about the spread of deadly diseases,” the Members continued. “As the U.S. faces multiple outbreaks of foodborne illness and infectious diseases like measles and avian influenza, it is vital that HHS disseminate critical information to the public as quickly and as easily as possible. To understand the ways that HHS may be hiding information about foodborne illness and infectious disease from the American public, we request that you provide the following documents and information—as well as all documents and information requested in the April 8, 2025, letter from Ranking Members Connolly, Krishnamoorthi, and Subramanyam—by July 7, 2025.”
Click here to read the letter to Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
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