[House Hearing, 119 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
BETTER MEALS, FEWER PILLS:
MAKING OUR CHILDREN HEALTHY AGAIN
=======================================================================
HEARING
before the
SUBCOMMITTEE ON HEALTH CARE AND FINANCIAL SERVICES
of the
COMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT AND GOVERNMENT REFORM
U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED NINETEENTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
__________
SEPTEMBER 9, 2025
__________
Serial No. 119-45
__________
Printed for the use of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
[GRAPHIC(s) NOT AVAILANLE IN TIFF FORMAT
Available on: govinfo.gov, oversight.house.gov or docs.house.gov
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
61-719 PDF WASHINGTON : 2025
COMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT AND GOVERNMENT REFORM
JAMES COMER, Kentucky, Chairman
Jim Jordan, Ohio Robert Garcia, California, Ranking
Mike Turner, Ohio Minority Member
Paul Gosar, Arizona Eleanor Holmes Norton, District of
Virginia Foxx, North Carolina Columbia
Glenn Grothman, Wisconsin Stephen F. Lynch, Massachusetts
Michael Cloud, Texas Raja Krishnamoorthi, Illinois
Gary Palmer, Alabama Ro Khanna, California
Clay Higgins, Louisiana Kweisi Mfume, Maryland
Pete Sessions, Texas Shontel Brown, Ohio
Andy Biggs, Arizona Melanie Stansbury, New Mexico
Nancy Mace, South Carolina Maxwell Frost, Florida
Pat Fallon, Texas Summer Lee, Pennsylvania
Byron Donalds, Florida Greg Casar, Texas
Scott Perry, Pennsylvania Jasmine Crockett, Texas
William Timmons, South Carolina Emily Randall, Washington
Tim Burchett, Tennessee Suhas Subramanyam, Virginia
Marjorie Taylor Greene, Georgia Yassamin Ansari, Arizona
Lauren Boebert, Colorado Wesley Bell, Missouri
Anna Paulina Luna, Florida Lateefah Simon, California
Nick Langworthy, New York Dave Min, California
Eric Burlison, Missouri Ayanna Pressley, Massachusetts
Eli Crane, Arizona Rashida Tlaib, Michigan
Brian Jack, Georgia Vacancy
John McGuire, Virginia
Brandon Gill, Texas
------
Mark Marin, Staff Director
James Rust, Deputy Staff Director
Mitch Benzine, General Counsel
Reagan Dye, Senior Professional Staff Member
Peter Spectre, Professional Staff Member
Jack Furla, Professional Staff Member
Mallory Cogar, Deputy Director of Operations and Chief Clerk
Contact Number: 202-225-5074
Robert Edmonson, Minority Staff Director
Contact Number: 202-225-5051
------
Subcommittee On Health Care and Financial Services
Glenn Grothman, MWisconsin, Chairman
Paul Gosar, Arizona Raja Krishnamoorthi, Illinois,
Pete Sessions, Texas Ranking Minority Member
Anna Paulina Luna, Florida Emily Randall, Washington
John McGuire, Virginia Wesley Bell, Missouri
Brandon Gill, Texas Lateefah Simon, California
C O N T E N T S
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OPENING STATEMENTS
Page
Hon. Glenn Grothman, U.S. Representative, Chairman............... 1
Hon. Raja Krishnamoorthi, U.S. Representative, Ranking Member.... 3
WITNESSES
Dr. Dorothy Fink, M.D., Acting Assistant Secretary for Health,
Head of the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services
Oral Statement................................................... 5
Dr. Eve Stoody, Ph.D., Director, Nutrition Guidance and Analysis
Division, U.S. Department of Agriculture
Oral Statement................................................... 7
Written opening statements and bios are available on the U.S.
House of Representatives Document Repository at:
docs.house.gov.
INDEX OF DOCUMENTS
* Article, WSJ, ``Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the CDC and Me'';
submitted by Rep. Bell.
* Article, NYT, ``We Ran the CDC--RFK Jr. Is Endangering Every
American's Health''; submitted by Rep. Bell.
* Report, Wyden and Alsobrooks, ``RFJ 203 Days''; submitted by
Rep. Bell.
* Article, Farm Policy News, ``Farm Bankruptcies Rising in
2025''; submitted by Rep. Crockett.
* Article, Farmdoc, ``Farm Bankruptcies This Year Already
Exceed 2024 Levels''; submitted by Rep. Crockett.
* Letter, HHS Resignation Letter; submitted by Rep. Simon.
The documents listed above are available at: docs.house.gov.
ADDITIONAL DOCUMENTS
* Questions for the Record: Dr. Dorothy Fink; submitted by Rep.
Grothman.
* Questions for the Record: Dr. Eve Stoody; submitted by Rep.
Grothman.
These documents were submitted after the hearing, and may be
available upon request.
BETTER MEALS, FEWER PILLS:
MAKING OUR CHILDREN HEALTHY AGAIN
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TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2025
U.S. House of Representatives
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
Subcommittee on Health Care and Financial Services
Washington, D.C.
The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 2:28 p.m.,
Room 2247, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Glenn Grothman,
[Chairman of the Subcommittee] presiding.
Present: Representatives Grothman, Sessions, McGuire, Gill,
Krishnamoorthi, Randall, Bell, and Simon.
Also present: Representatives Subramanyam and Crockett.
Mr. Grothman. This hearing of the Subcommittee on Health
Care and Financial Services will come to order. Welcome,
everyone.
Without objection, I may declare a recess at any time. I do
not expect to.
I recognize myself for the purpose of making an opening
statement.
OPENING STATEMENT OF CHAIRMAN GLENN GROTHMAN REPRESENTATIVE
FROM WISCONSIN
Mr. Grothman. Welcome to the Subcommittee on Health Care
and Financial Services and other stuff. Today, we will tackle
an important topic, the health and well-being of America's
schoolchildren. The current state of American's children's
health is not great and for years has been going in the wrong
direction. More than one in five Americans over six years old
are obese, a 270 percent increase since the 1970s. So, when I
am asked to speak to a classroom of little children, I cannot
help but noticing that they are clearly much heavier than the
children were in the 1970s.
American children are diagnosed with prediabetes at a rate
double the rate of 20 years ago, two decades ago. Rates of
depression have nearly doubled since 2007. I think if we asked
the children when I was in middle school or when I was
certainly in elementary school, what depression was, they never
would have heard the word. Approximately three million high
school students reported suicidal thoughts in the last year. A
study shows that youth in the United States are being
prescribed psychotropic drugs at a rate significantly higher
than our European countries. And I do not know where the
numbers are around, the number of kids getting psychotropic
drugs in the 1960s or 1970s when I was a child, but back then,
I would never have known it was even one of my classmates.
Fifteen percent of American boys and eight percent of
American girls have been diagnosed with attention deficit
hyperactivity disorder, ADHD, and prescribed daily stimulant
pills as a treatment, something else that I did not know was
even going on when I was a child, probably because it was not
going on almost at all. We are literally giving millions of our
children amphetamines and other potent stimulants.
Meanwhile, the modern American childhood bears little
resemblance to the childhoods we, ourselves, experienced just a
few decades ago. According to the American Academy of Child and
Adolescent Psychiatry, American children spend an average of
7.5 hours per day looking at screens. No wonder they--well, we
are coming up to the next bullet point.
Numerous studies have found a link between increased screen
time and anxiety, depression, obesity, sleep problems, and
more. Seventy-seven percent of our youth between the ages 17 to
24 would not qualify for military service without a waiver due
to obesity or other health conditions. Isn't that just
shocking? We are going to read that again. Seventy-seven
percent of our youth between the ages of 17 and 27 would not
qualify for military service without a waiver due to obesity or
other health conditions. Isn't that scary? It is scary.
Children enrolled in Medicaid or their state's children
health insurance program are more likely to be diagnosed with a
behavioral health disorder. These are often children from
single-parent households due to the lower income qualifications
for Medicaid.
The number of child psychiatrists in the United States has
grown over 37 percent in the last seven years. The question is,
did it help? Our children are struggling with their mental and
physical health, all the while being over-medicalized by a
healthcare system that does not hesitate to prescribe more
pills. Did it help?
On top of that, too many children are not eating the
nutrient-dense foods they need for healthy growth and
development. Foods that provide important nutrients to the
diet, such as fruits and vegetables, dairy, whole and enriched
grains, should be encouraged. Instead, children are
increasingly being fed ultra-processed foods such as soda,
candy, and chips, the makers of which lavish campaign
contributions on politicians.
This, in part, is contributing to the childhood obesity
epidemic, impacting an estimated 14 million children in the
United States The most recent Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC) study on weight gain trends over time found
that the average weight in Americans has increased 24 pounds
since 1960. I notice that when I speak at my local schools. I
mean, I do not say it, you know, your kids look fat. I do not
say it, but I think it.
So, I am glad the Trump Administration, through Health and
Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, and United
States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Brooke
Rollins are working hard to bring attention to and solve this
crisis. On May 22 of this year, the Make America Healthy Again
Commission, MAHA, released a 78-page report which covered many
of these topics. Well, this report has been needlessly
politicized and demonized by some Democrat politicians--I am
sure not my Ranking Member--and mainstream media pundits, I
suspect many have not read it. I want to read a small snippet.
``The purpose of this report is radical transparency about
our current state to spur a conversation about how we can build
a world together where, one, American farmers are put at the
center of how we talk about health; and two, the American
healthcare system thrives when disease is prevented and
reversed, not just managed in a sick-care system.'' Sounds like
common sense to me that will greatly improve the health and
happiness for young children. I am glad Secretary Kennedy is a
disruptive force.
Our constituents know that something is deeply wrong with
the status quo when it comes to health. Last November--well, I
will not make this partisan. But, you know, President Trump, we
believe, was given a mandate to improve the health of American
children. And people want a change, man. Congress must enact
policies which make America healthy again. We would love to
have the children as healthy as they were in the 1980s, the
1970s, the 1960s.
I hope my colleagues on the other side of the aisle can
agree that what is happening to our Nation's children is
alarming. Our children's health is not and should not be
partisan. Both sides must stand up to the health problems we
have in this country and stand up to the processed food
industry and make people healthier.
No matter your party, it should be clear that many American
children are suffering. Something needs to be done to address
the health of our youth. Today, we will hear directly from two
Federal experts who are actively working on addressing
multifold threats to our Nation's children. We thank you for
being here today. Oh, wow. They look so healthy. They got the
right people. We thank them for appearing at today's
Subcommittee hearing and look forward to a productive
discussion on this important topic.
Mr. Grothman. I yield to Ranking Member Krishnamoorthi for
his opening statement on this topic.
Mr. Krishnamoorthi. Thank you.
Mr. Grothman. Do you remember when they were all healthier
when you were a child?
Mr. Krishnamoorthi. Yes, sir. Thank you. And I agree with
you that we have challenges right now.
OPENING STATEMENT OF RANKING MEMBER
RAJA KRISHNAMOORTHI, REPRESENTATIVE FROM ILLINOIS
Mr. Krishnamoorthi. Mr. Chair, thank you for convening this
hearing. Every day I come to work, I think about what I can do
in Congress to ensure that children in this country will have a
better future than the generations before them. I am not sure
that all the leaders of this Administration have exactly the
same mindset. HHS and the USDA have actively contributed,
unfortunately, to a worsening health crisis for children in at
least two ways, first, by slashing critical programs like
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Medicaid;
and second, by undermining public trust in vaccines and medical
research that are proven to help keep children healthy.
First, President Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act will
take away SNAP benefits from countless children, including in
families with those over the age of 14. As a child, my family
utilized SNAP's predecessor, food stamps, when my own father
lost his income in the early 1970s. SNAP, which is the
successor program, helped us to get on our feet and afford
healthy and fresh food. It is cruel to take away this social
safety net from families just to give the wealthiest a tax
break.
On top of this, 15 million Americans will lose their health
coverage and be left uninsured due to devastating cuts to
Medicaid. These Medicaid cuts are projected to close at least
11 rural and inner-city hospitals in my home state of Illinois,
making it harder for kids to get the healthcare they need.
Health systems that are unable to continue operating will be
forced to lay off staff and cut services because of these
budget shortfalls. Families will lose access to doctors,
medications, and preventive care. The next generation, namely
our children, will unfortunately suffer the consequences.
Additionally, Secretary Kennedy and others at HHS have been
unrelenting in eroding public trust in vaccines that save
children's lives. RFK has made outrageous claims, literally
saying that vaccinating our children is ``a Holocaust, what
this is doing to our country.'' These outrageously wrong claims
are driving states like Florida to remove critical vaccination
mandates, even for school children. Even President Trump says
the following about vaccines, they are: ``Pure and simple, they
work. They are not controversial at all, and I think those
vaccines should be used.'' That is what President Trump said. I
may never say this again, but RFK should listen to his
President.
Protecting kids' health is not new to me. It has been at
the heart of my work since I came to Congress. I held Big
Tobacco accountable when they began targeting our children with
flavored vapes. I began an investigation and helped later
introduce legislation to keep toxic heavy metals out of baby
food. And I devoted myself to increasing access to mental
health services for students no matter where they live by
introducing the Connecting Students to Mental Health Services
Act.
Any child can see the plain, simple truth here. This
Administration's policies are harming our health and
jeopardizing our future. If we, as a country, truly care about
making America's children healthy again, the first step is
holding HHS and USDA accountable for the roles they are
currently playing in worsening our children's health today.
Thank you, and I yield back.
Mr. Grothman. Well, thank you. You kind of are in the
ballpark, but not--okay.
Without objection, Representatives Subramanyam and Crockett
are waived onto the Committee for the purpose of questioning
witnesses at today's hearing. Okay.
Now, I am pleased to welcome, so pleased to welcome, our
witnesses for today, Dr. Dorothy Fink and Dr. Eve Stoody. Dr.
Fink is the Acting Assistant Secretary for Health and the head
of U.S. Public Service Commission Corps at the U.S. Department
of Health and Human Services. Dr. Stoody is the Director of the
Nutrition Guidance and Analysis Division of the U.S. Department
of Agriculture. We look forward to hearing what you have to
say. I really look forward to it.
Pursuant to Committee Rule 9(g), and the witnesses will
please stand and raise their right hand. I will say it again,
pursuant to Committee Rule 9(g), the witnesses will please
stand and raise their right hand.
Do you solemnly swear or affirm that the testimony that you
are about to give is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing
but the truth, so help you God?
Mr. Grothman. Let the record show the witnesses answered in
the affirmative. Thank you. You may take your seat. We
appreciate you being here today--I really appreciate you being
here today--and look forward to your testimony.
Let me remind the witnesses that we have read your
statement, and it will appear in full in the Committee record.
I am a flexible guy, but please--as you know, right, I am
flexible?
Mr. Krishnamoorthi. Yes.
Mr. Grothman. My counterparts say I am flexible. Let me
remind witnesses we have read your statement. Please try to
limit the statement to 5 minutes.
As a reminder, please press the button on the microphone in
front of you so that when it is on, Members can hear you. When
you begin to speak, the light in front of you will turn green.
After 4 minutes, the light will turn yellow. When the red light
comes on, time to wrap it up.
Now, I do not know how we decided this. We flipped a coin.
Dr. Fink, we are going to let you go first. Doesn't she look
great?
STATEMENT OF DOROTHY FINK, M.D.
ACTING ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR HEALTH, HEAD OF THE
U.S. PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE COMMISSIONED CORPS
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Dr. Fink. Thank you, Chairman Grothman, Ranking Member
Krishnamoorthi, and all the Members of this Committee for
inviting me today to speak on a matter of national importance
in our country, focusing on the rising epidemic of chronic
disease in our Nation's youth.
First, I would love to tell you a little bit more about
myself. I am triple board certified in internal medicine,
pediatrics, and endocrinology. Prior to joining HHS, I
practiced as an endocrinologist, treating patients with many of
the chronic diseases that we will be discussing today. Since
joining HHS, I have led the Office on Women's Health, and
currently, I am leading the Office of the Assistant Secretary
for Health as the Acting ASH.
Addressing chronic disease in children, including obesity,
hypertension, diabetes, autoimmune conditions, mental health
conditions, and cancer, is a signature priority of President
Trump's Administration and Secretary Kennedy's U.S. Department
of Health and Human Services. For too long, the public health
and medical establishments have described conditions such as
type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and obesity as progressive,
incurable, and lifelong conditions. Americans are bombarded
with advertisements suggesting that medications alone can
manage these conditions. Missing from this narrative, and
central to Secretary Kennedy's vision, is the recognition that
many of these conditions are preventable and potentially
reversible.
Chronic diseases take a heavy toll on children, families,
and our economy. But the American people should know that there
is hope. We can change the trajectory of these conditions
through evidence-based prevention, nutrition, physical
activity, and lifestyle interventions.
In my clinical experience as an endocrinologist, I have
helped patients, who believe their diseases were irreversible,
regain their health and vitality through such interventions. To
change the trajectory of chronic disease, HHS is putting
greater attention on prevention and research into the root
cause of disease.
Promoting lifelong health and nutrition begins at birth,
with a goal of exclusive breastfeeding for at least the first
six months, with continued breastfeeding as long as the mother
and baby desire until two years or beyond. Through Operation
Stork Speed, HHS is working to ensure that safe, nutritious,
and wholesome formula options are available to every mother,
child, and family when supplemental or exclusive formula is
necessary for the baby's growth or survival.
As children grow, they are exposed to unprecedented levels
of processed foods that are high in sugar and chemical
additives. The results are devastating. Approximately 32
percent of adolescents in the United States have prediabetes,
and furthermore, 36 percent of children and adolescents have
excess weight. Furthermore, American girls are reaching puberty
earlier, and boys are experiencing declining testosterone
levels and reduced sperm counts compared with previous
generations. These trends may be linked to diet, obesity, and
environmental exposures, and they demand immediate
investigation. The long-term health of future generations
depends on our ability to confront these issues with urgency
and evidence-based solutions.
The good news is that these outcomes are not inevitable. In
fact, they are preventable. To counter these trends, HHS is
prioritizing access to whole, nutritious food in schools and
communities, updating the dietary guidelines for Americans to
reflect gold-standard science, and improving Federal nutrition
programs for low-income families in partnership with the
Department of Agriculture. HHS is also investing in
comprehensive nutrition education, ensuring that physicians and
health professionals understand how food impacts health, while
equipping families with practical tools for healthy eating.
HHS is also restoring physical activity as a central part
of childhood development. By reestablishing the Presidential
fitness test and working with schools and families to integrate
daily exercise, we are giving children the tools to build
strength, endurance, and lifelong habits of movement. These
strategies, taken together, may offer an alternative to
medications for many children.
Beyond diet and lifestyle, we face new and pressing
concerns. The mental health crisis among adolescents has led to
increasing use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or
SSRIs, despite the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)'s 2004
black box warning, noting an elevated risk of suicidal thoughts
and behaviors in young people. While these medications have
benefits, they must be paired with careful monitoring and
expanded access to nonpharmacologic interventions in
adolescents that address the underlying causes of depression
and anxiety.
Today, we stand at a crossroads. The chronic disease
epidemic in our children is the defining public health crisis
of our time. By focusing on safe, wholesome food, clean water
and environment, nutrition education, and physical activity, we
can reverse disease, reduce dependency on medication, and
restore hope to millions of families.
Under the leadership of President Trump and Secretary
Kennedy, HHS is committed to making America healthy again. With
your help and collaboration, we can ensure that America's
children are not burdened with lifelong illness, but instead
thrive as the healthiest generation in our Nation's history.
Mr. Grothman. Thank you. I was a little bit flexible there,
as advertised.
Okay. Dr. Stoody, fire away.
STATEMENT OF EVE STOODY, PH.D.
DIRECTOR, NUTRITION GUIDANCE AND ANALYSIS DIVISION
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Dr. Stoody. Thank you, Chairman, Ranking Member, and
Members of the Subcommittee, for the opportunity to appear
before you today. I am Dr. Eve Stoody. I am the Director of the
Nutrition Guidance and Analysis Division at the Center for
Nutrition Policy and Promotion within the Food Nutrition
Service at USDA. I have served at USDA for over 15 years and
have supported the development of the dietary guidelines for
Americans since the 2010 edition.
As has been mentioned, a healthy diet is made up of
nutrient-dense whole foods, including a variety of protein
foods, dairy, vegetables, fruits, and whole grains. Substantial
research has shown that when children and adolescents consume a
dietary pattern that emphasizes these food groups, they have
healthier growth and development and that it sets the stage for
better health and disease prevention across the lifespan.
Unfortunately, the state of the American diet is poor. This
poor diet has resulted in worsening health outcomes among
children and adolescents, which have contributed to increased
rates of chronic disease. The healthy eating index, or HEI, is
an analytic tool that has been developed by USDA and HHS that
measures the quality of the overall diet. HEI scores can range
from zero to 100, with a score of 100 indicating alignment with
a healthy diet. The average HEI score for children and
adolescents 2 to 18 years of age is a 54 out of 100.
Among the top sources of calories in the American diet are
desserts and sweet snacks, sugar-sweetened beverages, and chips
and savory snacks. These foods illustrate that the American
diet is high in added sugars and refined grains. Regarding
added sugars, Americans consume about 270 calories, and that
comes to about 17 teaspoons of added sugars a day, and intakes
can vary substantially. For example, adolescent males consume a
range of about 100 to 725 calories from added sugars per day.
For refined grains, intakes are also high, with average
intakes ranging from four to seven ounce equivalents per day
from foods like desserts, muffins, and chips. Collectively,
many of these foods can be described as highly processed or
ultra-processed foods. A recent report has found that 61.9
percent of calories consumed by youth were categorized as
ultra-processed.
While intakes of refined grains, added sugars, and highly
processed foods are high, intakes of vegetables, fruits, whole
grains, and dairy are low. As examples, only one to two percent
of adolescents meet daily recommendations for vegetables or for
whole grains. In fact, on any given day, about half of our
youth do not consume a vegetable or a fruit. Intakes of protein
food varies. Of note, 78 percent of adolescent females do not
consume enough protein foods like meat, seafood, beans, and
nuts.
The displacement of nutritious foods by non-nutritive foods
has contributed to the current chronic disease crisis. The
prevalence of overweight and obesity among children and
adolescents is 36 percent, or about one in three. Additionally,
about one-third of adolescents have prediabetes. These health
concerns have immediate impacts and contribute to an increased
rate of developing chronic disease later in life.
USDA is committed to working collaboratively to fulfill
President Trump's mandate to make America healthy again.
Recently, USDA and HHS partnered to request data and
information that will be used to help develop a uniform
definition for ultra-processed foods. A uniform definition
would allow for consistency in research and policy to pave the
way for addressing health concerns associated with the
consumption of these foods. We encourage anyone with an
interest in this issue to submit comments by September 23 at
Regulations.gov.
USDA has also already started to take action to ensure
healthy families and communities, for example, by issuing state
waivers to restrict the purchase of non-nutritious items like
soda and candy from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance
Program, or SNAP, and by purchasing millions of dollars in
fresh seafood, fruits, and vegetables from American farmers and
producers to distribute to nutrition assistance programs across
the country.
USDA and HHS are also working together to develop the next
edition of the dietary guidelines based on sound science. USDA
looks forward to continuing to work together with our Federal,
state, and community partners on identifying innovative
solutions to support healthy choices, healthy outcomes, and
healthy families.
Thank you, and I look forward to our conversation today.
Mr. Grothman. Okay. I guess I am going to start off by
giving myself 5 minutes.
First of all, Dr. Fink, you heard my opening statement in
which we talked about the huge number of people who are not
eligible for military service, right? Did you hear that?
Dr. Fink. Yes.
Mr. Grothman. Do you want to comment on that and how things
have changed since I was a child?
Dr. Fink. Sure. Thank you for the question, Congressman. It
is horrifying to see and hear the statistics that you shared
and that Dr. Stoody and I shared during our opening statements.
When we discuss that 36 percent of children and adolescents in
America have excess weight, it is a tragedy.
Mr. Grothman. How is that compared to 50 years ago? Do you
know?
Dr. Fink. Yes, compared to the 1970s, obesity rates have
soared. When we look at obesity, it is at least four times
higher compared to the 1970s, and then rates of severe obesity
have gone up even higher than that. It is----
Mr. Grothman. That is one of the reasons why we cannot get
these people in the military?
Dr. Fink. Exactly. And we need to find solutions, and that
is exactly what we are doing at HHS under Secretary Kennedy's
leadership to really focusing on taking our healthcare system
from a sick-care system to a healthcare system where we can
address chronic diseases and work to give patients hope, to not
just talk about chronic diseases as these lifelong progressive
conditions that they require many medications to treat, but
instead conditions that we can work far--much farther upstream
through physical activity and healthy nutrition.
Mr. Grothman. Okay. Is the problem a lack of food? I mean,
I talked to my own doctor, or a doctor they assigned to me or
whatever, here. He laughed so hard I thought he was going to
cry that President Biden had said that we need greater caloric
intake than we have had. Do you think the problem is the lack
of calories here?
Dr. Fink. It is multifactorial, most definitely, and, so,
food plays a huge role in our health, and that is why we are
currently working on the dietary guidelines and ensuring that
they are based on gold standard scientific evidence so that
every American family across America knows the best foods, and
furthermore, they can take steps to reverse their chronic
diseases.
Mr. Grothman. We will ask both of you the question. We will
start with Dr. Stoody because we want to get her in the mix.
Part of this, do you think we should continue to, through the
SNAP program, up the number of sugar drinks or processed foods
that our poorer citizens are right now consuming?
Dr. Stoody. As I mentioned in my opening remarks, Secretary
Rollins has encouraged states to submit waivers to restrict the
purchase of non-nutritive items, including sodas, candy. Some
states have chosen other options. To date, the Secretary has
signed 12 waivers to restrict those purchases, and we look
forward to continuing conversations with additional states.
That does include states such as Texas, Louisiana, and Florida,
who I know are represented here.
And the intent of those waivers is really to increase the
purchase of more nutritious items, so allowing those funds to
be used to purchase whole, nutritious, and healthy foods. And
Secretary Rollins and Secretary Kennedy have been very active
in supporting states in pursuing those waivers.
Mr. Grothman. We have seen a dramatic--we are going in
reverse here as far as, you know, kids' obesity, kids'
prediabetes. I mean, it is scary that over time, we are going
in reverse here. Do you think this ought to be a Federal
mandate? We ought to change the Federal rules and prevent these
kids from eating junk food? I mean, it is going to take a lot
of guts to stand up to the processed food industry. Like I
said, I am sure they are very politically active. But do you
think the Federal Government should step in and say, no, we are
not going to buy any more Pop-Tarts, we are not going to buy
any more Mountain Dew?
Dr. Stoody. Well, I will say at USDA, we really feel like
agriculture and America's farmers, ranchers, and producers are
at the core of the solution, so really supporting getting
whole, nutritious, healthy foods to kids. I think how we get to
the next phase is similar to what Dr. Fink said. Just as we got
here, there are a lot of multifactorial considerations. I think
to move--to really change the landscape is going to involve a
lot of people. It is going to involve industry. It needs to
involve schools, restaurants. It needs to involve a variety of
different players to have a meaningful impact, and I think the
Federal Government is part of that conversation.
Mr. Grothman. Okay. Dr. Fink, you said the Federal
Government is part of the solution. Is that what you just said?
Dr. Stoody. [Nonverbal response.]
Mr. Grothman. Yes, Dr. Fink, do you feel that the Federal
Government is part of the solution in changing around what we
eat here insofar as we are paying for so much of the food that
our kids eat?
Dr. Fink. Absolutely, and empowering families, children to
fully understand--you know, when we talk about a third of
adolescents with prediabetes, they can reverse that, and they
can reverse that through eating better, whole, nutritious
foods.
Mr. Grothman. Should the politicians stand up to the junk
food lobby and say, enough of this, the children come first?
Dr. Fink. Absolutely, but then also empowering the doctor-
patient relationship, and then really working as we are doing
through education with nutrition and healthcare professionals
is going to help that as well.
Mr. Grothman. Okay. Well, I guess I have been generous
enough to myself.
My Ranking Member here, would you like to comment on this
or ask questions? We are giving you 5 minutes to ask questions.
Mr. Krishnamoorthi. Six, yes?
Mr. Grothman. And we are being flexible.
Mr. Krishnamoorthi. Six?
Mr. Grothman. I told you I am flexible.
Mr. Krishnamoorthi. Okay. Good. Okay. Okay. Hey, thank you,
Mr. Chair, I appreciate it.
Dr. Fink, Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell were found
guilty of running a child sex trafficking ring where they
abused at least 1,000 young girls over decades. In a Fox News
interview with Jesse Waters, RFK admitted to flying on
Epstein's plane, the Lolita Express, at least twice. Dr. Fink,
you have never been on Epstein's plane, I take it, right?
Dr. Fink. Thank you for the question, Congressman. No, I
have not, and while I appreciate the question, I would really
love to talk about chronic disease today.
Mr. Krishnamoorthi. We are going to get to that. Here are
the flight logs showing the exact flights that RFK was on with
Jeffrey Epstein. Now, RFK is also excusing his friendship with
Epstein in the following clip.
[Video shown.]
Mr. Krishnamoorthi. Can you turn up the volume? Okay. I
will read the clip here. He said the following in his podcast.
``I ran into everybody in New York. I knew Harvey Weinstein. I
knew Roger Ailes. O.J. Simpson came to my house. Bill Cosby
came to my house.'' Dr. Fink, you have never socialized with
Harvey Weinstein or Roger Ailes, I take it?
Dr. Fink. No, I have not.
Mr. Krishnamoorthi. You never had Bill Cosby or O.J.
Simpson to your home, right?
Dr. Fink. No, I have not.
Mr. Krishnamoorthi. In that same podcast, RFK described
Ghislaine Maxwell saying, ``She was always wonderful to me and,
you know, kind.'' You would not call her kind, would you?
Dr. Fink. Representative, I respect these questions, but I
really do not think that this is the time to go into this. We
have a chronic disease crisis in our country.
Mr. Krishnamoorthi. You would not call Ghislaine Maxwell
kind, would you, who ran a child sex trafficking ring that
abused more than 1,000 girls.
Dr. Fink. No, I would not. And I also would say that we
have a chronic disease crisis in our country right now, and we
need to address it.
Mr. Krishnamoorthi. We have a crisis. We are going to get
to that. The fact that RFK hosted and socialized with
murderers, sex traffickers, and serial rapists is deeply
disturbing. That is why I am going to seek to have this
Committee interview Secretary Kennedy under oath about his
relationships with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.
Let me turn to my next topic, the 988 suicide hotline. Dr.
Fink, you are the Acting Assistant Secretary of HHS, right?
Dr. Fink. Yes, I am.
Mr. Krishnamoorthi. And Substance Abuse and Mental Health
Services Administration (SAMHSA) and the CDC are components of
HHS, correct?
Dr. Fink. Yes, they are agencies within HHS.
Mr. Krishnamoorthi. This September has been deemed and
recognized by SAMHSA as Suicide Prevention Month. The CDC, for
three different years under President Trump, namely 2017, 2018,
and 2020, concluded that lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender,
queer or questioning (LGBTQ) youth are about four times more
likely to attempt suicide than their peers. You do not dispute
those stats, right?
Dr. Fink. No, I do not. There are also many other stats
that we could discuss here today to address chronic disease.
Mr. Krishnamoorthi. SAMHSA reported that in June 2025,
nearly 70,000 calls were answered by this LGBTQ youth hotline,
doubling the number of calls that had been received just two
years earlier. You do not dispute those stats, right?
Dr. Fink. With all due respect, Representative, I do not
oversee SAMHSA, and so I am not able to comment on the number
of calls.
Mr. Krishnamoorthi. Do you dispute that, though?
Dr. Fink. I----
Mr. Krishnamoorthi. Do you dispute what SAMHSA just put out
this June?
Dr. Fink. I am not disputing it, but I am just telling
you----
Mr. Krishnamoorthi. Okay. That is what I want to ask you.
Dr. Fink [continuing]. I do not oversee SAMHSA.
Mr. Krishnamoorthi. Okay. Despite this rising demand, when
I led a bipartisan letter strongly supporting this hotline, HHS
responded that it had ended this specialized hotline, ending
this specialized hotline based on anti-diversity, equity, and
inclusion (DEI) efforts. You do not dispute that, right? This
is your agency, ma'am. We are talking about children----
Dr. Fink. We----
Mr. Krishnamoorthi [continuing]. On the verge of committing
suicide.
Dr. Fink. We are here to talk about the metabolic chronic
disease epidemic.
Mr. Krishnamoorthi. No, we are here to talk about children
as well and their health. And ma'am, let us just be clear. At a
time when LGBTQ youth and children are reaching out for help
like never before, this Administration is shutting the door.
This hearing is about meals and pills, but it should also be,
Mr. Chairman, about fewer suicides among our children.
Let me turn to my next topic, and this is about healthy
food. Dr. Stoody, USDA dietary guidelines recommend Americans
at every stage of life should eat ``nutrient-dense foods.''
That includes, I take it, eating your veggies, right, Dr.
Stoody?
Dr. Stoody. Yes.
Mr. Krishnamoorthi. Seemingly at odds with that mission,
Axios reports that President Trump's economic policies, namely
tariffs, have caused wholesale vegetable prices to go up by 40
percent in just one month. And I just went and bought some
today with my staff. These peppers and this broccoli at the
wholesale level are skyrocketing in prices, Dr. Stoody. You do
not dispute that Axios reported a 40 percent increase in
wholesale prices for vegetables, right?
Dr. Stoody. I am not aware of their reporting.
Mr. Krishnamoorthi. You do not dispute their statistics,
right?
Dr. Stoody. I do not have specifics on prices. I am here to
discuss in my capacity as an expert on childhood nutrition, but
we do have an entire agency, the Economic Research Service, who
I am sure could provide more information on this.
Mr. Krishnamoorthi. I am just saying you do not dispute the
statistics.
Dr. Stoody. I have no awareness of the specifics----
Mr. Krishnamoorthi. That is better.
Ms. Stoody [continuing]. Of the----
Mr. Krishnamoorthi. You do not have an awareness----
Ms. Stoody [continuing]. Statistics.
Mr. Krishnamoorthi [continuing]. Of it. Dr. Fink, in your
testimony, you wrote that HHS priority is to ``improve Federal
nutrition programs for low-income families,'' but healthy foods
are costing more for everybody at this point. And according to
Congressional Budget Office (CBO), this Administration is going
to cut SNAP benefits such that at least 300,000 families living
with children 14 and older will lose food assistance. You do
not dispute that, right, Dr. Fink?
Dr. Fink. Representative, we--as Dr. Stoody shared, we,
between HHS and the USDA, are collaborating to take SNAP to the
next level. Our goal is to ensure that children have access to
wholesome, nutritious food.
Mr. Krishnamoorthi. And they are losing access, ma'am. They
are losing access----
Dr. Fink. With all----
Mr. Krishnamoorthi [continuing]. Because your
Administration----
Dr. Fink. With all due----
Mr. Krishnamoorthi [continuing]. Is cutting----
Dr. Fink. With all due----
Mr. Krishnamoorthi [continuing]. SNAP benefits.
Dr. Fink. With all due respect, sir, we are challenging
states, as Dr. Stoody said, to submit waivers so that we do not
poison our children with junk food and sugary soda.
Mr. Krishnamoorthi. This is not junk food.
Dr. Fink. I am not saying that.
Mr. Krishnamoorthi. This is going up 40 percent in cost,
and you are cutting the supports to buy this stuff.
Dr. Fink. Through the SNAP----
Mr. Krishnamoorthi. I yield back.
Dr. Fink [continuing]. Program, we are offering waivers to
states so that they can provide children with wholesome,
nutritious foods. And we are really emphasizing that we cannot
continue to provide soda and junk food and call that a
``nutrition program.''
Mr. Grothman. Thank you much.
Mr. Sessions?
Mr. Sessions. Mr. Chairman, thank you very much. And I want
to thank the Administration officials who have taken time to be
here and are here for the purpose that we are talking about,
and that is food security, food safety, and the opportunity for
us to make sure that Federal funds are used on foods that do
not encourage further diminishment of a person's life.
I am interested and see that, I think it is Dr. Stoody,
your presentation before us, we talked about ultra-processed
foods, and then you did not struggle. You just said we are
looking for a better definition. What are some examples of
ultra-processed foods? Where are these found? Is it something
that a family does? Is it taught in schools? What is ultra-
processed food?
Dr. Stoody. Ultra-processed foods is really a topic that
has grown in discussions, I would say, in the last decade.
There has been a lot of research. One of the prime definitions
that has been used in research is one that came from Brazil,
and it is called NOVA. The way that foods are categorized
within that system and similar systems is the level of
processing that they undergo, whether they have additives,
flavorings, things like that, colorings, as well as there are
considerations around added sugars, added fats, salt.
So, there are a number of definitions, some that are
primary. You know, NOVA, I noted, was the primary one. But
there has been discussion that some of these definitions are
really broad and that they are including things--like, I think
a lot of us, when we think of ultra-processed foods, things
like sodas or candy are really front of mind, and they are
pretty generally agreed upon as ultra-processed foods. But
there are some things like whole grain products, like yogurt,
like bagged salads or canned vegetables, that there are
questions. Like should those be included in that larger
definition of ultra-processed foods?
So, what we are doing in a partnership, USDA and HHS in
partnership, is going into that process and trying to
understand, when we are talking about ultra-processed foods,
what are we talking about? There are some things that really
cast a broad net, and is that the net, or is there kind of a
subset of that? And those questions are things that we are
trying to answer in that conversation.
Mr. Sessions. Thank you. The things that are necessary for
women who may be pregnant or children that are born before, I
guess, we will say the age of ten or twelve, are those
generally things that the Department and certainly under the
Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and
Children (WIC) program and certainly maybe at grocery stores,
are there guidelines, are there things that encourage women
who, in particular, pay attention to children, their
nutritional needs, balance? How do people generally understand
what would be in a child's best interest? What would be in a
mother's best interest? Do you do advertising? Is it at the
grocery store? Is it at the pediatrician? I have seen things
throughout my life and my children where, when you go, you
learn about the importance of a child seat in a car. You get
healthy reminders. You do things. And I am around things. I
have never seen really advertisement or information for
children to get the caloric intake that would be important. How
do you get this information out?
Dr. Stoody. I think it is probably all of the above of what
you just said. We do have nutrition recommendations for those
populations within the dietary guidelines. The 2020 edition was
the first that provided comprehensive guidance from birth
through older adulthood, so we have that guidance in the
dietary guidelines for Americans. And, as we both noted, that
work to update the dietary guidelines is underway.
We communicate that through various channels. Dr. Fink is
from the Office of Women's Health, so there is work that--
communicating healthy nutrition there. We have tools within
USDA as well. WIC has a lot of educational components.
I do think, though, you make a very good point that there
should be even more. And I think one of the really important
parts about this conversation in MAHA is that it is increasing
awareness. It is increasing this conversation that childhood
nutrition does matter. I think there has been a notion that
they are kids, they will kind of grow out of it. I do not
really need to think about my diet or my physical activity or
other aspects until I am older, until I have a health concern.
And I think this conversation has been really important in
saying it does matter. It matters for kids. And so, I am
hopeful that these conversations continue. I do think, though,
that it does require more education campaigns, so that is
something that we hope to see as a part of this continuous work
on promoting healthy eating within the departments.
Mr. Sessions. Thank you. Mr. Chairman, I just want to take
just an additional few seconds. I intend to use this
opportunity to highlight to me, and I am going to begin putting
together something that when we talk to people or send things
out or do town hall meetings, I am going to include these
things. We have talked about diabetes, but sometimes what I am
interested in is, you know, two bananas equal healthy or
whatever it might be. And, Mr. Chairman, I would hope that the
Members of this Committee would take back something that they
can highlight to their constituents and others.
I want to thank you for holding this hearing today and for
the expertise that we have here today. Thank you very much. Mr.
Chairman, I yield back.
Mr. Grothman. Thank you. I will have to send something out
on my email list telling people they got to do better.
Ms. Randall?
Ms. Randall. Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you to our
witnesses for being here today.
You know, for some kids, school is the only place that they
can get a nutritious meal. And in 2023, the USDA found that 7.2
million children were at risk of not getting enough food to
meet their nutrition needs. And not everyone may believe that
it is enough food or enough calories, but there are plenty of
kids in this country who are not getting enough food and the
right kind of calories.
And for those children, programs like SNAP and TFAP, the
Emergency Food Assistance Program, which supports, among other
things, the ability for food banks and schools to buy fresh
produce from local farmers and school lunch and breakfast
programs, they are a lifeline. They are meaningful nutrition
for kids so they do not fall asleep in class, so that they can
learn, so that they can grow and be healthy.
And as the USDA's Food and Nutrition Services notes on its
own website, there are clear associations between food
insecurity and poor health, links to chronic disease and
diabetes and cancer. Dr. Stoody, what does USDA's research say
about the impact of poor nutrition on children's health and
well-being?
Dr. Stoody. As noted, poor nutrition has immediate impacts
on health. We have evidence around performance in school, but
now we are, as we both noted in our remarks, it is extremely
concerning that we have such a high prevalence of overweight
and obesity, as well as something that has been more recently
seen in the literature is that these various factors, poor diet
being one of them, low physical activity and other factors have
resulted in about one in three adolescents having prediabetes.
That statistic, I think, is extremely alarming. So, yes, we
definitely see that link.
Ms. Randall. Thank you. And what are the long-term effects
of physical health, cognitive development, and academic
performance of poor nutrition? So, you mentioned immediate
results, but long term, what do we see from these kids who do
not have healthy food to eat?
Dr. Stoody. It sets a stage for poor health throughout the
lifespan. So, it is immediate impacts but also impacts later in
life.
Ms. Randall. The SNAP cuts included in President Trump's
big, ugly bill could result in as many as nine billion fewer
meals for families, for children. The SNAP cuts included are
making a huge impact on vulnerable populations, gutting food
assistance. Based on what you have just shared with us, I think
it is fair to say that H.R. 1, the cuts in that bill will have
a detrimental impact on children, not just right now in the
immediate, but for years to come, long-term, chronic health
impacts that will plague our society.
Dr. Fink, since the big, ugly bill passed, community
members I have met with have warned that fewer Americans
qualifying for SNAP and Medicaid will lead to fewer schools
offering universal free lunches in low-income areas, reducing
children's access to essential nutrition. As a pediatrician, is
it important for children to have regular access to nutritious
food?
Dr. Fink. Thank you, Congresswoman, for that question. As
an endocrinologist and as a pediatrician, I can definitely say
that having good, healthy nutrition is the cornerstone of
developing the best health you have for your future.
Ms. Randall. Thank you.
Dr. Fink. And that is why----
Ms. Randall. Thank you, Dr. Fink. So, it is safe to say
that losing access to consistent and nutritious meals would be
harmful to a child's health?
Dr. Fink. Well, what I would like to say is we are actually
looking to totally reform these programs because, right now,
the N in SNAP stands for nutrition.
Ms. Randall. But Dr. Fink, what we are seeing is a cut of
funding available for nutritious meals for kids in schools,
meals that are often the only available nutritious meal for
children from some low-income families. Do you see increased
anxiety, depression, or behavioral issues in children
struggling with hunger?
Dr. Fink. Food most definitely impacts all aspects of
health, and that is why, in collaboration with the USDA and
HHS, we are updating the dietary guidelines because, as you can
imagine, the dietary guidelines provide all of the information
that then schools use to make these decisions for what goes
into the meals.
Ms. Randall. Yes, thank you. But in the meantime, we are
cutting significant funding to SNAP for actual food assistance
to children and their families. Do you agree that losing access
to consistent and nutritious meals due to cuts in programs like
SNAP and TFAP under the big, ugly bill will be harmful to a
child's health while, like, recognizing that any of your work
to plan and reevaluate is not immediate, but that is forward-
looking? So, do you agree that losing access to consistent and
nutritious meals would be harmful to a child's health?
Dr. Fink. Right now, we are working in the immediate in
terms of getting access----
Ms. Randall. So, no.
Dr. Fink [continuing]. To better health for all of
America's children. And so, we----
Ms. Randall. So, if a child, say, relies on breakfast after
the bell, they get their healthy meals at school, and they are
not able to access those meals, that child is hungry, would you
agree that that is detrimental to that child's health?
Dr. Fink. We are ensuring that schools have the support
they need so that they can give the best nutrition to all of
their children.
Ms. Randall. Thank you for not answering my question.
I yield back.
Mr. Grothman. Thank you. We are going to go to Mr. McGuire.
Mr. McGuire. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you to the
witnesses for being here today.
This hearing is truly bipartisan, as it is in everyone's
interest to ensure American citizens, especially our children,
are healthy. I have to commend the Trump Administration, the
MAHA Commission, and, of course, the working families tax cut
for making efforts to streamline and improve our programs that
help kids.
The MAHA Commission report released worrisome data about
the health of American children. I would like to take the time
to highlight some of the top-line items from the report. And,
first of all, this will tie into everything we are saying here,
is I think that we need to relook at healthcare, not just for
adults, but for children, and that we should have a
preventative healthcare system. And by bringing back the
Presidential test and things like that, I think it is
preventative. Also, you cannot exercise your way out of bad
nutrition, and we have to build a strong foundation at a young
age.
But we found out that more than one in five children over
six years old is obese in America. More than one in four teens
have prediabetes, which is preventable. Teenage depression
rates nearly doubled from 2009 to 2019. Three million high
school students seriously considered suicide in 2023. You know,
during the Depression when we had tough time in our country,
and in World War II when people were losing family members,
depression rates were not where they are today. Even though we
are most educated today, we are wealthier today than ever, our
children are not as healthy as they once were or should be. Dr.
Fink, in your opinion, does living in a sedentary lifestyle
contribute to the likelihood of a child being included in one
of the previous statistics I mentioned?
Dr. Fink. Yes.
Mr. McGuire. And Dr. Fink, how does a sedentary lifestyle
impact mental health?
Dr. Fink. There are so many factors, but when our
children's youth are tied to a screen all day long, and they
are not being active, they have a buildup of fat in their
bodies, right? You are not eating right, you are not active,
you have excess body weight. Through excess body weight, you
start making extra hormones, and you have all sorts of
metabolic impacts that impact every aspect of your body,
including the developing brain.
And so, we most definitely want to make considerations for
how we can get our kids active, which is, as you said, bringing
back the Presidential fitness test, and just really challenging
families to become active is the way we need to go.
Mr. McGuire. Well, I think you just said it, but President
Trump recently signed an executive order that reinstates the
Presidential fitness test, which was phased out by President
Obama in 2013. Dr. Fink, how do you believe the reinstatement
of the Presidential fitness test will benefit school-aged
children?
Dr. Fink. Well, speaking from someone who did the
Presidential fitness test as a child, it is really a fun
experience to get together with your classmates and do those
exercises and challenge yourself to get better each year.
Mr. McGuire. Yes, I mean, it is really an education on how
to prepare and take care of your body and mind the rest of your
life. And people that work out, statistically, are less likely
to be depressed.
Dr. Stoody, an estimated 70 percent of American diets come
from ultra-processed sources. What problems can ultra-processed
foods cause for children who consume them on a regular basis?
Dr. Stoody. I think it is really around the overconsumption
of ultra-processed foods, and there has been research that
suggests and kind of gets--tries to look at what are those
mechanisms. There has been studies suggesting that
overconsumption of ultra-processed foods have been associated
with higher body weight, increased risk of different risk
factors associated with disease.
There are a number of reasons why that may be. Is it
because they are high in added sugars, added fat, added sodium?
Is it because they are low in fiber? Is it because they are
displacing healthy foods in the diet? I think it is probably
many different things, but we do see a relationship between
over-consumption and risk, including in childhood.
Mr. McGuire. You know, lack of healthy food is a concern in
my district, which is very rural, and I would ask both of you,
how can HHS, how can USDA work together to expand successful
community-based nutrition programs in my district, either one
of you?
Dr. Stoody. Actually, I will take this opportunity to just
mention that, today, Secretary Rollins has announced farm-to-
school grants for Fiscal Year 2026 that are--they will be
coming soon, so she has made that announcement, but we think
that is a really important way to get locally raised or locally
produced foods into child nutrition programs.
Mr. McGuire. Thank you. I yield back.
Mr. Grothman. Mr. Bell.
Mr. Bell. Thank you, Mr. Chair, and our witnesses for being
here today.
Speaking of preventable, over the past seven months, we
have witnessed a concerning and dramatic shift in public health
policy under the leadership of RFK Jr. at the Department of
Health and Human Services. This overhaul has included the
removal of CDC Director, the Vaccine Advisory Committee, and
now the widespread promotion of misinformation. The
consequences of these actions are real and alarming, and the
health of the American people, especially our children, face
significant risk.
One of the most pressing threats is the growing antivaccine
rhetoric that undermines decades of scientific consensus and
lifesaving health policy. Vaccines have long been one of the
most effective tools in preventing disease. Currently, the CDC
recommends over 15 childhood vaccines to protect against deadly
illnesses. Some of the diseases these vaccines help prevent
include influenza, measles, and polio, to name just a few. The
CDC has found that from 1994 to 2023, routine childhood
vaccinations in the United States are estimated to have
prevented over 508 million cases of illness and more than 1.1
million deaths.
Before widespread vaccination efforts, diseases like polio
infected over 457,000 Americans causing severe paralysis and
life-threatening effects. Today, polio remains a risk in only
communities with low vaccination rates.
Diseases like measles, which once caused over 880,000
deaths globally, have become increasingly rare. Research shows
that with proper vaccination, the measles vaccine is up to 97
percent effective.
Yet, we are now seeing a resurgence. Over 1,400 measles
cases have been reported in the United States this year across
42 jurisdictions under your watch. Reports from the CDC and
John Hopkins have shown a decline in vaccination rates from
2024 to 2025, a trend that, if left unaddressed, will have
catastrophic consequences. We are not living in the early 20th
century, and we cannot allow disinformation to drag us
backward.
Vaccinations are not new, and the science supporting them
is clear, consistent, and decades strong. The current efforts
under RFK Jr. to attack the use of vaccines is irresponsible
and endangers the public health of our most vulnerable
populations. Public health should never be a political tool,
especially when the facts are so clear.
So, Dr. Fink, as a physician, you do believe in
scientifically backed medical practices such as vaccines,
correct?
Dr. Fink. Thank you, Congressman. As a physician----
Mr. Bell. That is a real simple question because I do not
have a lot of time. You do believe in scientifically backed
medical practices such as vaccines, correct?
Dr. Fink. I need to clarify that because, of course, as a
physician, I vaccinate my patients.
Mr. Bell. Okay. And you believe----
Dr. Fink. Of course.
Mr. Bell [continuing]. In that medical----
Dr. Fink. Absolutely. And as a mother----
Mr. Bell. Okay.
Dr. Fink [continuing]. I want to tell you----
Mr. Bell. And so, you agree that vaccines save lives,
right? These are easy.
Dr. Fink. Absolutely.
Mr. Bell. These are softball.
Dr. Fink. Absolutely----
Mr. Bell. Okay.
Dr. Fink [continuing]. Save lives.
Mr. Bell. Well, that is great. Dr. Fink, and do you agree
that when communities are ill-informed, that it makes it harder
to make rational decisions regarding their health?
Dr. Fink. Communities deserve to have the best gold-
standard evidence-based information so that they can have----
Mr. Bell. And when they do not get that information, it is
harder to make a rational decision.
Dr. Fink. Absolutely.
Mr. Bell. Okay. After her firing, Dr. Monarez wrote in The
Wall Street Journal, ``If we stay silent, preventable diseases
will return, as we saw with the largest measles outbreak in
more than 30 years, which tragically killed two children.'' I
ask for unanimous consent to enter into the record Dr.
Monarez's full op-ed.
Mr. Grothman. Okay. So entered.
Mr. Bell. Thank you. I yield back.
Mr. Grothman. Okay. Mr. Gill.
Mr. Gill. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for hosting this
hearing, and it is good to know that we have an Administration
that is prioritizing making America healthy again and fighting
for children who want safe, healthy food and for Americans, and
I think that that is refreshing, so we really appreciate this.
Dr. Stoody, I have got a few questions for you. First of
all, what is health equity?
Dr. Stoody. It is the consideration that all individuals
have equal access to healthy foods or different aspects of the
health system.
Mr. Gill. I think all individuals should ideally have
access to healthy food. Do you think that that should be the
central lens through which we look at health?
Dr. Stoody. It is certainly an area of research and
discussion.
Mr. Gill. But the central lens, do you think that that
makes sense?
Dr. Stoody. You are relating to the work of the 2025
Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee that the previous
Administration did ask them to conduct their review of evidence
with a health equity lens.
Mr. Gill. Are you familiar with this article entitled--it
was from the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. It is
called ``Addressing misinformation about the Dietary Guidelines
for Americans.''
Dr. Stoody. Yes.
Mr. Gill. Okay. And were you an author of this article?
Dr. Stoody. Yes.
Mr. Gill. Okay. I thought so. Your name is on the top. It
is the second author. One of the statements in this says, ``In
addition, HHS and USDA have prioritized health equity as the
central lens through which all scientific questions will be
considered in the 2025 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee
(DGAC).'' Do you think that that makes sense?
Dr. Stoody. That was the request from the Administration,
and that was carried in through the charge to the committee.
Mr. Gill. But do you think that this is a proper way to go
about promoting nutrition?
Dr. Stoody. It is one of the discussion points that--I
mean, it is one of the topics that is being discussed.
Mr. Gill. Well, I am asking if you think that this is a
proper way of going about promoting nutrition in the United
States. Your name is on this article.
Dr. Stoody. My perspective on that is, I think it is good
to look at evidence in all ways, and that can include through
that perspective.
Mr. Gill. Do you think it should be the central lens?
Dr. Stoody. I did not--that was the request from our
Administration that----
Mr. Gill. But you do not think that that is----
Ms. Stoody [continuing]. Is the charge.
Mr. Gill. You do not think that that is proper?
Dr. Stoody. I did not write the specific charge to the
committee, so.
Mr. Gill. Well, your name is on the article.
Dr. Stoody. It is--yes, and----
Mr. Gill. It is an article.
Dr. Stoody. Yes, and the article is talking about what the
request was to the 2025 committee.
Mr. Gill. And I am asking you if you think that that is a
proper lens to view nutrition through.
Dr. Stoody. I think it is a lens that you can view
nutrition through.
Mr. Gill. Right.
Dr. Stoody. I do not think it is the only one.
Mr. Gill. But is it a proper lens? Well, this says central
lens.
Dr. Stoody. Again, as a career employee in the Department
of Agriculture, I implement the requests of our administration.
And that was, at the time with the Biden Administration, the
request with the----
Mr. Gill. Right, but we have a new Administration with
different priorities that do not include DEI and health equity.
Do you think that this is a proper way to view nutrition?
Dr. Stoody. I think it, as I have mentioned, that it is
appropriate to look at literature in every----
Mr. Gill. So, you are not going to answer the question,
respectfully. We can move on then. I thought that that would be
a simple one.
You are familiar with the scientific report of the 2025
Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee. Is that correct?
Dr. Stoody. Yes.
Mr. Gill. And you are familiar with the members who wrote
that, who were on the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee,
right?
Dr. Stoody. Yes.
Mr. Gill. Got it. One of the things in this same article,
which you wrote, as a bit of, you said, misinformation, which
you are attempting to dispel, is that there are no conflicts of
interest. Is that correct?
Dr. Stoody. The discussion is that conflicts of interest is
considered--was considered in the process to establish the
Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee. I think conflicts of
interest, whether real or perceived, is an extremely important
conversation in nutrition science.
Mr. Gill. Right. One of the members of that committee is a
man named Chris Gardner. He is a practicing vegan. He is an
environmentalist activist, receives funding from a company
called Beyond Meat, which is trying to run cattle producers out
of business, wants to move toward plant-based diets. Do you
think that that is a conflict of interest, that he is on this
panel, advising the United States in an official capacity about
what foods are nutritious and what are not whenever he has an
obvious financial interest in Beyond Meat?
Dr. Stoody. I am not--I will say that conflicts of interest
were reviewed by our----
Mr. Gill. I am just asking if it is a conflict of interest.
Ms. Stoody [continuing]. Office of Ethics within the
Department of Health and Human Services who chartered the
committee. I think that those things should be disclosed and
discussed. And the Department--the administration was aware of
those affiliations.
Mr. Gill. So, that is a conflict of interest? Is that your
testimony?
Dr. Stoody. I am not an attorney in ethics.
Mr. Gill. Neither am I, but it is pretty obvious, isn't it?
Dr. Stoody. Well, if you are talking about financial
conflicts of interest, that is something that our ethics
attorneys review and assess. So, I do not do that review of our
members in that process. We do have individuals who support.
Mr. Gill. So, your testimony is that you do not know if
this is a conflict of interest or not?
Dr. Stoody. Well, I will say--I mean, there are processes,
and I think part of what----
Mr. Gill. It is just a yes or no question.
Ms. Stoody [continuing]. The conversation is with MAHA is
should those processes be stronger?
Mr. Gill. Right, it is just a straightforward yes or no
question. Is this a conflict of interest, or is it not?
Dr. Stoody. It could be----
Mr. Gill. That somebody who is----
Ms. Stoody [continuing]. Perceived as a conflict of
interest----
Mr. Gill [continuing]. Advising us----
Ms. Stoody [continuing]. Yes.
Mr. Gill [continuing]. On what is----
Dr. Stoody. I will also say----
Mr. Gill [continuing]. Nutritious food has a financial
interest in a business that is trying to run cattle producers
out of work.
Dr. Stoody. Again, I will say that that is reviewed by our
legal counsel----
Mr. Gill. I yield my time back. It is fine.
Ms. Stoody [continuing]. Looking at conflict of interest.
Mr. Grothman. Thank you.
Ms. Simon. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you,
Ranking Member. And I really appreciate this discussion for
many reasons.
And after hearing parts of the discussion, you know, I
believe many of us would contend that the greatest threat to
public health in the United States today is not a virus, it is
not a chronic disease, but in fact, the leadership of Secretary
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Under his watch, our Federal health
institutions are collapsing. He has forced out leading
physicians and scientists with expertise on vaccines and
infectious diseases. He has politicized the CDC and has
undermined a trust in science at the very moment when families
most need facts, not politics. Now, this is reckless, and it is
dangerous, and it is costing lives in real time.
On September 3, 2025, more than 1,000 current and former
HHS employees took the extraordinary step of demanding
Secretary Kennedy's resignation, 1,000. Mr. Chair, I ask
unanimous consent to enter that letter into the record.
Mr. Grothman. Go ahead.
Ms. Simon. Thank you, sir.
Secretary Kennedy should have never been confirmed. His
leadership is a direct danger to the very health of every
family in this Nation, and I join in calling for his
resignation.
But families face an even more sinister threat in real
time. That danger is hunger. And cuts to SNAP and Medicaid will
unleash what some have called the most considerable shock to
public health in modern history. In California's 12th
congressional District, my district, approximately 9,000 adults
could lose SNAP. Nationwide, nearly 40 million people rely on
this program. Two-thirds of them are children, are seniors, are
people with disabilities.
In my district, I met a mother of three who told me, right
now, before the cuts actually take place, she says, ``I water
down my kids' milk so that it lasts to the end of the month.''
She said, ``I go to school, I go to work, and still, at the end
of the month, my children go to bed hungry.'' Now, that is not
a policy or poverty by choice. That is a working parent doing
everything right, holding down a job, raising kids, studying to
build a better life, and still unafraid to keep going, but
unable to afford groceries. Families like hers are, in fact,
feeling abandoned all over the country, left out into the cold,
and following every rule, but met with the reality that her
government will continue to look the other way.
These attacks are ripe while grocery prices soar. If you
have been in a grocery store any time in the last week, you
know, you know, while the rent takes half of most poor
families' paychecks, while corporations raise prices faster
than wages, a mom working full-time as a second grade teacher,
or a mom working retail, or at a reception desk, or a student
trying to hold down two jobs, trying to feed her children and
paying the rent, ended up at the end of the month far from in
the black. SNAP is the difference between food and hunger. Cut
it, and families will go hungry.
We know what comes next. You have mentioned it. We know
what comes next when children are hungry. Children face worse
health outcomes, and those health outcomes live and linger with
them throughout their lives when they grow up in hunger.
Poverty reproduces itself. It becomes permanent with empty
stomachs and untreated illnesses. That is fact.
So, I ask--and thank you, both of you, for being here--Dr.
Stoody, is it not true that children deserve safe and healthy
meals every single day, including food that is grown locally?
Dr. Stoody. Yes.
Ms. Simon. Thank you. I agree. I agree. And again, I thank
you for being here.
So, then, I would have to ask all of us, including our
wonderful panelists here today, then why--and we talked about
the new grant programs coming out and would love to hear more
about those. So then why, in March 2025, did USDA cut more than
$1 billion in planned funding for local school meals and food
banks? Why did we cut local food for schools' Cooperative
Agreement Program? And why did we cut Local Food Purchase
Assistance programs?
I would ask that you agree with me that children need more
than slogans. They need food in their stomachs. I would love an
answer from both of you if we have some time. And the question
was, why did we cut those programs?
Dr. Stoody. Thank you for the question. I will just note
that, as mentioned, I am here in my capacity related to an
expert in childhood nutrition. I am happy to take your question
back, though, and we can get you a response related to that.
Ms. Simon. I appreciate that. Thank you, ma'am.
And with that, I would yield my time. But before yielding,
I would say, as someone who grew up, was a young mom, I had
WIC, and it is an amazing program. I was in college with my
kid, and even with WIC, even working half-time, in college
full-time with a baby on my hip, I still had to put food back
at the checkout counter. It is expensive being poor.
If we want to create a nation of healthy children, we would
be expanding these programs instead of cutting them. We would
be expanding school lunches instead of cutting them. We would
ensure that every low-income family in this Nation had what
they needed to make sure that their children went to bed with
full stomachs.
And I yield back. Thank you, Chairman.
Mr. Grothman. First of all, I would like to thank Secretary
Kennedy and bring it back to him for standing up to the drug
companies and standing up for the pharmaceuticals. This is what
happens when you take on a special interest. But next one up
here, Mr. Subramanyam.
Mr. Subramanyam. Subramanyam, thank you.
So, let us be clear the dismantling of SNAP and Medicaid is
not making any kid healthier in this country, I mean,
especially when you are also dismantling the very agencies that
are tasked with child nutrition. We are talking about USDA, we
are talking about HHS, we are talking about firing experts at
these agencies that have a long, deep expertise in these
fields. And, you know, what happens when you do cut SNAP and
Medicaid is malnutrition, developmental issues, developmental
delays, long-term chronic health issues. That is what happens
instead.
And I want to focus especially on what is going on at the
USDA, though, because in 2019, they tried to move two offices
at the USDA, National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA)
and Economic Research Service (ERS). And what ended up
happening is that these agencies lost a ton of expertise. They
lost half their staff, a lot of their experts, and they ended
up not having the ability to get out grants and loans that
institutions needed to do their research.
And now there is a proposal on the table to move all of
USDA away from this region. And think of the impact that had on
those two offices. Multiply that by 100. Think about all the
farmers that will suffer, all the kids that will suffer, all
the work that will suffer because of that and at a huge expense
to taxpayers.
And so, Dr. Stoody, is it true that employees at USDA were
sent a survey on the potential move away from the region?
Dr. Stoody. There is an open public comment period related
to the reorganization, so I can speak to that. But beyond that,
I do not have additional comments in my capacity. But again, we
would be happy to take that back and get any responses to you.
Mr. Subramanyam. So, were USDA employees sent a survey
about a potential move?
Dr. Stoody. We were--we have been encouraged to provide
comments.
Mr. Subramanyam. You have been encouraged to provide
comments?
Dr. Stoody. Yes.
Mr. Subramanyam. Okay. Because I was told by a USDA
employee in your office that they were actually asked about
this move. And what was interesting was then they were asked to
put their name on their comments as well. Do you think if
someone requested or said that they did not like the move and
put their name on it, that there would be any retaliation to
that employee?
Dr. Stoody. Again, I am here in my capacity as a nutrition
expert. I do not have specific comments to this.
Mr. Subramanyam. I am not laying blame for what is going
on, on you. But I am just saying, generally, that I have many
USDA employees in my district, and they are very concerned
about this. And again, in 2019, when they moved those two
offices, NIFA, ERS, those two offices, they do research mostly.
Is that correct? Do you know the--can you tell us?
Dr. Stoody. Yes.
Mr. Subramanyam. They do economic research, right?
Dr. Stoody. Yes. Yes.
Mr. Subramanyam. And so, it was just economic research. But
now you talk about USDA also administers SNAP benefits,
correct?
Dr. Stoody. Yes.
Mr. Subramanyam. And what else does USDA do for children?
Your office does nutrition guidance. Is that correct?
Dr. Stoody. Correct.
Mr. Subramanyam. Great. And any other functions at USDA
that you think are worth mentioning here today?
Dr. Stoody. Related to child nutrition?
Mr. Subramanyam. Yes.
Dr. Stoody. Our child nutrition program that supports
school meals, our special Supplemental Nutrition Assistance
Program for women, infants, and children, so WIC, they are all
within USDA as well.
Mr. Subramanyam. So, would you say your office does a lot
of important work?
Dr. Stoody. Yes.
Mr. Subramanyam. This is the easiest question you will get
today.
Dr. Stoody. Yes.
Mr. Subramanyam. What if you lost half of your staff? Would
you be able to do the same amount of work or quality of work?
Dr. Stoody. I cannot speak to specifics across the agency.
Mr. Subramanyam. Very diplomatic answer. I think if I lost
half of my staff, I would not be able to do the same quality of
work.
But I will just end with a story from a constituent. She is
actually a farmer. And she says that ``Farming is already an
extremely challenging profession. And these changes at USDA
make it even harder for us to continue feeding hundreds of
millions of people each year. Farmers need stable and reliable
access to the financial and technical resources required to
farm. This year's funding freezes, programmatic cancellations,
and staff downsizing at USDA have already impacted my farming
operation by canceling critical grants. The proposed
`reorganization' is not only unnecessary, it will only compound
these problems for farmers all across the U.S.'' Sometimes our
constituents say it better than we can.
And I will say that I will continue to stand up and fight
against this USDA relocation.
I yield back.
Mr. Grothman. Okay. Ms. Crockett.
Ms. Crockett. And Mr. Chair, before I begin, I do have two
UCs that seemingly work really well right here. One says ``Farm
bankruptcies in 2025 already exceed 2024 levels.'' That is from
Hoosier Ag. And the second one says, ``Farm bankruptcies rising
in 2025.''
Mr. Grothman. Okay.
Ms. Crockett. All right. The reason that I wanted to talk
about farming is because it seems like we think that we can
talk about things in some sort of vacuum. You cannot talk about
healthy children if you do not talk about whether or not they
have money to access any food, whether it is good or bad. Some
would argue that if you do not have money to access food at
all, whether it is good or bad, it is probably bad for the
child to not have anything in their body.
The reason that those on my side of the aisle keep bringing
up these cuts is because we know that we already have a hunger
problem in this country. Considering the fact that we have a
hunger problem in this country, it is now only been compounded
by the poor policies of this Administration and House
Republicans, as well as Senate Republicans.
You see, I do not believe that you can just have a mantra
where you say, ``Make America Healthy Again'', without actually
doing the work because, as the good book says, faith without
works is dead. So, let us talk about the work that really needs
to be done.
Number one, it is in policy, policy that does not look like
ridiculous tariffs that unfortunately now have our farmers
going under. In fact, to be very specific, farm bankruptcies
are up 55 percent compared to 2023, which minimizes the amount
of food that we do have that will be available, and ultimately,
that food will be more expensive because that is simple
economics. Yet at the same time, the $6 a day that people get
to eat, that is going away.
And besides the SNAP benefits themselves, we are talking
about those kids that only get their food at school. And we are
able to set the guidelines for whether or not that is healthy
food or not.
The reality is that I am so disturbed because, under this
Department of Health and Human Services, literally, they have
become the threat to the American people. Serving from the
State of Texas, unfortunately, we had to endure the very
beginning of the measles outbreak. For the first time in 20
years, children are dying. That does not look like making us
healthier again. In fact, a lot of people want to talk about
measles, but the plague is back now. We had our first contact
of that, that recently came out. And we know how the Secretary
feels about polio. Polio may end up coming back.
Right now, President Trump, Secretary Kennedy, and
congressional Republicans are perpetuating the most significant
public health attack on Americans ever. In just a few months,
they have diminished HHS' ability to respond to outbreaks and
emerging health threats. They have dismantled teams that ensure
Americans are consuming safe foods. They have weaponized the
Federal Government against universities performing world-class
research. They have implemented the most significant cut to
healthcare in American history.
These people hate it when American families have access to
healthcare. They hate it when American families have access to
healthy foods. They hate it when American families have access
to affordable housing. They hate it when American families have
access to affordable childcare because these people simply hate
America.
Nearly everything they have done makes Americans less safe
and less healthy. The consequences of their actions are simple.
More children will die and have. More children will go hungry.
More children will live in extreme poverty. More children
living with disabilities will lose access to school-based
therapies and services.
So, Dr. Fink, you are here to rubberstamp this agenda, an
agenda that is so unpopular the Republicans are deciding to
cheat in next year's elections. But nevertheless, let us talk
about it. Dr. Fink, in 2021, you provided a presentation at the
University of North Texas Health Speakers Bureau titled
``Women's Health.'' Do you remember that, yes or no?
Dr. Fink. Yes, I do.
Ms. Crockett. Well, during this presentation, you spoke at
length about the importance of vaccines. In fact, one of your
slides stated, ``Clusters of under-or non-immunization have the
potential to foster transmission of vaccine-preventable
diseases, including measles.'' Is this a slide from your
presentation, yes or no?
Dr. Fink. I have not reviewed that presentation recently,
so I am----
Ms. Crockett. So, we are going to go you do not know. You
work under someone who has become the face of the antivax
movement. So, who is right, you or the Secretary?
Dr. Fink. Thank you so much for that question.
Ms. Crockett. You or the Secretary?
Dr. Fink. I would like to tell you that Secretary Kennedy--
--
Ms. Crockett. You or the Secretary?
Dr. Fink [continuing]. Is challenging us to use the gold
standard----
Ms. Crockett. So, you are going to filibuster, and I only
have 25 seconds. So, I am going to go with you assume you, but
you know that he is your boss.
This Administration has lost all credibility with the
American people and our global partners. No one believes you
care about improving health outcomes when you are slashing
National Institutes of Health (NIH) research into Alzheimer's
disease, women's health, cancer, and diabetes. No one believes
you care about public health when you cut programs that support
maternal and child health and eliminate Healthy Start. No one
believes you care about children when you implement the largest
cut to Medicaid in history. Americans know the truth, and the
truth is that this Administration, with the help of
congressional Republicans, has unleashed the most significant
assault on public health in American history. The people will
die as a result.
I yield back the remainder of my time.
Mr. Grothman. Okay. Pursuant to Committee Rule 9(c), the
Majority and Minority shall each have five additional minutes
to question the witnesses. Do you mind if I let you go first,
Mr. Bell?
Mr. Bell. That would be nice, Chair. Thank you. I have two
UCs, but first, a quick question, Dr. Stoody. Correct me if I
am wrong, but health equity, equity actually talks about
everybody, correct?
Dr. Stoody. Correct.
Mr. Bell. And poor White kids would be included in
equitable outcomes. Is that correct?
Dr. Stoody. Correct.
Mr. Bell. Poor Black kids, poor Hispanic kids, poor Asian
kids would all be included in equitable outcomes when we are
talking about health equity. Is that correct?
Dr. Stoody. Yes.
Mr. Bell. I find it very interesting that my colleague
insinuated, Dr. Fink, that your Administration under RFK Jr.
does not care about or does not prioritize health equity when
we are talking about everyone.
Mr. Chair, I ask for unanimous consent to enter into the
record an op-ed from nine former CDC directors who served under
both Republican and Democratic Presidents titled, ``We Ran the
CDC: Kennedy is Endangering Every American's Health,'' as well
as a report from my colleagues on the Senate side, Senator
Wyden and Senator Alsobrooks, which details the chaos and
corruption of Secretary Kennedy's leadership.
Mr. Grothman. So entered.
Mr. Bell. Thank you. And I yield the remainder of my time.
Mr. Grothman. Okay. A couple of comments and some questions
for Dr. Fink. First of all, I just did a little check here. We
right now have about four times as many people on SNAP as we
did 20 years ago. I do not know what you want to do with that
statistic, but it is illuminating.
Now, Dr. Fink, could you comment a little on the massive
increase on pharmaceuticals going to young people today? And
are you working at HHS or FDA to study the impacts on this
massive increase in pharmaceuticals our young children are
having?
Dr. Fink. Thank you, Congressman, for your question.
Absolutely. Our children's youth are now, more than ever,
receiving way too many medications instead of focusing on
lifestyle changes first, which means focusing on what we are
here today to focus on, which is fewer pills and better meals.
When you think about mental health, we have our children's
youth survey that comes out of the Department of Health and
Human Services. Of the children who experience mental health
and behavioral health conditions, over half of them receive
medications for these conditions.
Mr. Grothman. Oh my god.
Dr. Fink. We need to look at the treatment regimens that we
have, and we really need to work with our families, work with
our schools, to think about what are the root causes of these
conditions. And when I share that--and I think it is
unfortunate this entire discussion has really missed out on the
crux of what we are here today to talk about, which is that
we're at a crossroads in our country. And Secretary Kennedy is
the bravest Secretary in our country's history to take a stand
and say, we will not stand for chronic disease in our country
anymore. We are not just going to sit back and watch these
obesity rates grow at such tragic ways that our children are
going to be the unhealthiest generation of our lifetime. We are
committed to saying we are no longer content with a sick
healthcare system. We are no longer putting Band-Aids on every
condition that comes forward.
And when someone comes to see you in the doctor's office,
you know, saying I am depressed, here is your pill, we cannot
do that anymore. Now, that is not to say that there are
medications that are important, and, as a physician, I use
medications all the time, but we have to go to the root cause
and really treat each patient individually and not treat them
as a cookbook where we say, you report symptom, here is your
pill, have a good life, you can consider stopping this
medication at the end of your life, which will be much shorter
because we never addressed your chronic disease.
Mr. Grothman. Thank you. I have a very high opinion of
Secretary Kennedy. He is standing up to the drug companies. He
is standing up to the junk food industry. And believe me, we
all know the establishment is going to fight back. And I
appreciate what you are doing along with Secretary Kennedy. And
I know it has got to be difficult, but I will give you one more
quick question. When you saw patients in your practice, how did
you work to reverse chronic diseases such as obesity and
diabetes?
And I will mention again, as someone who goes to my local
schools, it is obvious that the young people today are heavier
than the young people when I was a child. When I look at people
who travel around the world, it is obvious to them that
America's children are fatter than the children in India or the
children in Italy or the children in Sweden. It is obvious. And
people ought to care about that, and they ought to demand a
little bit of disruption and a different sort of leadership in
the Department than they have had the last 20 years as American
kids get worse.
But could you let us know what you did to try to reverse
obesity and diabetes in young kids?
Dr. Fink. Absolutely. And, you know, it is not just in
children, it is in adults as well because unless we treat
adults as well in the same way we are treating children with
reversing chronic disease, we are not going to make headway
because of all the habits that are within families.
And so, when I treated patients, I would not just say,
okay, you are here for diabetes, alrighty. What are your blood
sugars? Alrighty, check, check, here is your medicine, go have
a good life. You know, we, as physicians, we ask questions in
terms of what they are eating, when they are eating, how they
are eating, when they are exercising, and empowering with
patients to have them check their blood sugar an hour after
they eat to realize how a given food impacts them because all
of us respond differently can work magic because they see how
foods directly impact their blood sugar levels.
And when you empower them to really see how food, as well
as movement--because another, I hope, you know, someone had
mentioned earlier, you know, about what they could take back to
the people of your states. You know, even walking after eating,
more and more research shows that your blood sugar level goes
down after you eat very quickly when you have walked right
after eating. Doing these simple measures can make profound
impacts. So, rather than just saying, oh, great, you have come
back for your follow-up visit with me for diabetes, blood
sugars are still high, let us increase the insulin. It is more
so how can we change what you are eating so that you do not
have blood sugar fluctuations up and down all day.
And so, my message for you today is there is hope. And
through Secretary Kennedy's leadership, we are now encouraging
medical schools and the accreditors to include nutrition in our
education so that physicians and other allied health providers
are empowered to give this important information to their
patients to change health outcomes.
Mr. Grothman. Thank you very much. Do you want a closing
remark? Do you want to comment?
Mr. Bell. Sure. I am encouraged to hear that solving
childhood obesity is a priority and that it is considered
brave--I think that was mentioned--and that the goal is to see
a decline in obesity rates. I think that is commendable, and so
I want to give credit where credit is due. Michelle Obama
introduced Let's Move in 2008, which was ridiculed by many of
my Republican colleagues. And so now, to see RFK Jr. in a
circuitous way, I should say, to speak on that, if he is the
bravest, I think he would have to be second in line to the
individual former First Lady Michelle Obama, who initiated that
initiative in the first place.
The concern that we have is that it is important that we
follow the science and we follow what the data tells us and
what the data shows us. And we have to be consistent with it.
We cannot pick one or two issues that everyone agrees on and
claim to be a champion when we are looking at diseases that are
preventable, but that endanger lives, having a resurgence
because of messaging and policy decisions that are being made.
And so, I hope that, as Americans, not just Republicans or
Democrats, we can start looking at these issues through a
bipartisan lens. And if we are really serious about obesity, if
we are really serious about healthcare and making folks
healthy, then let us actually follow the data and the science
and do that as opposed to some of these fringe conspiracy
theories that are being given light and given a platform
because of RFK Jr. If RFK Jr. is so brave, then stand up to
these conspiracy theorists that he seems to empower and tell
the truth. Tell the American people the truth. Lives depend on
it.
I yield back.
Mr. Grothman. Thank you. One more comment on--I guess we
call him Bobby Kennedy, huh? I read his book, you know, The
Real Anthony Fauci. Percentage-wise, not much of that book is
about Anthony Fauci. Everybody ought to read it. I talked to
one of the heads of UW Hospitals after I read the book, and I
asked him if it was really that bad. You know, did the
pharmaceutical industry really run the medical industry in this
country to that degree? And he told me, if anything, that book
was understated, so just a recommendation to read that book.
I will emphasize again, 77 percent of the 17-to 24-year-
olds would not qualify for military service. Every American
should be scared to death when they hear that. And every
American ought to know we got to clean house in the medical
establishment and the public health establishment that has led
to a statistic out there and things keep getting worse and
worse.
And I mention again, the number of people on food stamps in
this country has gone up fourfold in the last 20 years. I mean,
people ought to be scared about that too and say what in the
world is going on as we let these programs just continue to
explode, and the people are not getting any healthier at all.
I would like to thank you, Dr. Fink, one more time for
being here. I hope you guys do not give up. I have watched so
frequently in my years in Congress the special interests at the
end always get what they want. And I know that junk food lobby
is hovering around here doing all they can to try to discredit
Secretary Kennedy. I know the pharmaceutical industry must just
dread when he was appointed in this job, and they are doing all
they can to give ammunition to people to try to tear him down.
I just encourage, Dr. Fink, when you get back to whoever
you hang out with on a daily basis, that you let Secretary
Kennedy know that a lot of people really appreciate, finally,
after the number of people getting--as the number of shots
keeps going up over a period of years and the number of mental
health professionals keeps going up, that we have somebody who
questions the establishment, and that is why we are glad he is
here.
In any event, I would like to thank you guys for coming
here. I know efforts were made to kind of change the topic, but
you stuck on point. And, like I said, I wish you a productive
three and a half years.
With that and without objection, all Members have five
legislative days within which to submit materials and
additional written questions for the witnesses, which will be
forwarded to the witnesses.
If there is no further business, without objection, this
Subcommittee stands adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 4:10 p.m., the Subcommittee adjourned.]