by Amy K. Matsui | May 13, 2026 | budget cuts, Child Care, fraud, Health and Human Services, iran war, Medicaid, One Big Beautiful Bill Act, Op-Ed, Reconciliation Bill, Safety Net, SNAP
Congress hasn’t finished the second reconciliation bill that funds the Department of Homeland Security, but Rep. Jodey Arrington (R-Texas), who chairs the House Budget Committee, has already started laying out his caucus’s wish list for a third. In particular, he specified that Republicans want to pour billions of dollars into military spending. To offset those costs, Arrington is eyeing more cuts…
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by Arielle Zionts | May 1, 2026 | access to health care, Doctors, Health and Human Services, Hospitals, J-1 visas, News, Visa Waiver
Hundreds of foreign doctors about to complete training in the U.S. will have to leave the country if the federal government doesn’t rapidly process their visa waiver applications, which have been languishing since the fall and winter, immigration attorneys say. The waiver program, run by the Department of Health and Human Services, allows physicians who aren’t U.S. citizens to stay in the…
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by Erin Reed | Apr 22, 2026 | CMS, Health and Human Services, Medicaid, Medicare, News, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trans Health Care
On Saturday, U.S. District Judge Mustafa T. Kasubhai issued a blistering 49-page written opinion vacating the Kennedy Declaration — the December 2025 declaration that threatened to revoke all federal funding, including Medicare and Medicaid, from any hospital or provider that offered gender-affirming care for transgender youth, a virtual death sentence for any hospital system.
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by Chris Walker | Apr 21, 2026 | Anti-Vax, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Donald Trump, Erica Schwartz, Health and Human Services, News, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Vaccines
In testimony before the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on Tuesday, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. refused to say whether he’d commit to accepting policy advice from the nominee to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) if she contradicted his anti-vaccine views. The hearing was meant to discuss budgetary matters…
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by Chris Walker | Apr 17, 2026 | Health and Human Services, Mental Health, News, Racism, re-parenting, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
On Thursday, during congressional testimony, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was questioned on his past remarks promoting the “re-parenting” of Black children being treated with mental health medication. Rep. Terri Sewell (D-Alabama), one of several lawmakers who questioned Kennedy during the hearing, referred to a 2024 interview in which he made the comments.
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by Chris Walker | Feb 20, 2026 | Donald Trump, Glyphosate, Health and Human Services, MAHA, Make America Healthy Again, News, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump executive orders
President Donald Trump has issued an executive order calling for an increase in production of phosphorus and glyphosate-based herbicides — chemicals that research has linked to an increase in multiple types of cancers among individual users. The executive order stated that “glyphosate-based herbicides … play a critical role in maintaining America’s agricultural advantage by enabling farmers…
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