WASHINGTON – AFSCME President Lee Saunders released the following statement in opposition to Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s confirmation to lead the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS):
“Front-line health care workers need a leader at HHS who shares their values – someone who believes, as they do, in safeguarding public health. But Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s values could not be further from the front lines. Instead of increasing our communities’ access to vital care, he is only interested in increasing profits for his billionaire backers. RFK Jr. has made it clear that he will execute his boss’s orders to dismantle critical HHS programs like Head Start, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, Medicaid and end negotiations to lower prescription drug prices for Medicare beneficiaries. He is an accomplice in their plan to rob our most vulnerable communities of critical health services to make the ultra-rich even richer.
“AFSCME’s 1.4 million members – including hundreds of thousands who work in health care, social work, home care, early childhood education and beyond – make sacrifices daily to care for the health of our communities. We will keep organizing to make sure that Kennedy and his anti-worker friends don’t get in the way of their essential work.”