WASHINGTON — Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. sought to distance himself from U.S. measles outbreaks on Friday at a House Education and Workforce Committee hearing on the administration’s fiscal 2027 budget request.

The hearing, part of Kennedy’s weeklong tour of Congress on the budget, was relatively light on spending discussions, as Democrats who have repeatedly requested such a hearing with Kennedy looked to pin him down on a range of issues. The hearing was often combative, with Democrats drawing attention to issues such as vaccines and Kennedy’s focus on school nutrition.

Rep. Tim Walberg, R-Mich., chair of the committee, repeatedly reminded members to keep their tone appropriate, noting that a second-grade teacher should be able to safely present the hearing for kids.

Kennedy defended himself against assertions that his rhetoric is partly responsible for the ongoing measles outbreak. He said most cases of measles have occurred in people over the age of 5, meaning that the parents’ decision not to vaccinate pre-dated his term as secretary.

“The accusation is not science-based,” he said. “The measles outbreak began in January 2025, before I took office. Almost 90 percent of the people affected are over 5 years old, so they made the decision not to, that their decision to not vaccinate predated my occupation of their seat.”

Most children are recommended to receive the measles vaccine at 1 year of age, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s childhood vaccine schedule.

This measles outbreak this year has totaled more than 1,700 cases as of Thursday, according to the CDC. About 72% of those are people under 19 years old, with about 1 in 5 being under age 5.

The United States is at risk of losing its measles elimination status for the first time since 2000. Losing that status would mean that the country no longer goes for long periods of time without major outbreaks.

Kennedy said the families of children who died from measles were treated like “pariahs” at hospitals and weren’t given the proper treatment.

“I believe that we need to treat them with compassion and understanding and empathy and get them the treatments that they would get anywhere else in the world except for this country,” he said.

Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., asked about a recent study from Denmark showing no link between Tylenol use during pregnancy and autism, a claim that President Donald Trump made earlier this year. Kennedy came down hard on the study, saying that it didn’t involve the proper populations.

“The study is a garbage study,” he said. “It should be retracted.”

Rep. Alma Adams, D-N.C., questioned Kennedy on the budget’s proposed cuts to childhood nutrition programs.

“It seems like a betrayal of the people who have been promised by you as secretary to use your position to make food healthier,” she said.

The issue of childhood nutrition programs falls under the budget for the Agriculture Department, though Kennedy has been vocal about the issue in his post at HHS.

Kennedy pushed back against Adams’ line of questioning, saying he would be open to discussing the issues further.

“If you want just a sound bite that you can come in here, you can get that and you did it,” he said. “But if you actually want to solve the problem, call me, because we’re aligned on the issue of getting good food to children.”

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