Subcommittee Democrats Launch Investigation Into Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Lackluster Response to Bird Flu Outbreak
Washington, D.C. (April 1, 2025)—Today, Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Health Care and Financial Services, Rep. Gerald E. Connolly, Ranking Member of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Rep. Emily Randall, Rep. Lateefah Simon, and Rep. Wesley Bell sent a letter to Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), raising concerns about Secretary Kennedy’s lackluster response to the bird flu outbreak and requesting information about how HHS will address the outbreak and associated costs, including coordination plans with other federal agencies.
“We write regarding the widespread outbreaks of avian influenza, or bird flu, and your recent comments appearing to minimize the health and economic threat that such outbreaks pose. Not only has avian influenza infected 70 Americans and killed one, but this pathogen has killed more than 168 million birds since 2022 and is leading to skyrocketing egg prices for consumers as it spreads through poultry and cattle farms. We request information about how the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is addressing outbreaks of avian flu and the associated costs, including any coordination with other federal agencies,” wrote the Members.
Secretary Kennedy’s proposal to let avian flu spread in an effort to create “immunity” contradicts the prevention plans previously announced by other federal agencies under the Trump Administration, including USDA, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This “strategy” also coincides with the emergence of a new strain of a highly pathogenic bird flu known as H7N9, which surfaced at a poultry farm in Mississippi earlier this month and led to the deaths of 46,000 birds.
“Combating, containing, and eliminating avian flu will take a concerted and coordinated effort across all relevant federal agencies to prevent this situation from causing even more health and economic hardship than it has already,” the Members concluded. “One federal agency taking an approach that undermines the efforts of another threatens to exacerbate and prolong the dire consequences of this disease, and it is the responsibility of this Subcommittee to prevent such an outcome.”
In order to ensure the Administration is effectively responding to public health crises and protecting the American people, the Members demanded compliance with their requests for documents and information no later than April 18, 2025.
Click here to read the letter to Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.