Senate Republicans blocked a resolution that would have forced the Department of Health and Human Services to reopen its rulemaking to public comment, after the agency had previously removed those requirements.
What the Resolution Aimed to Do
The measure, introduced under the Congressional Review Act, would have rescinded a rule that HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. issued earlier this year. That rule had exempted HHS from the public-comment requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act, allowing the department to set policies without the usual transparency.
The 50-50 Vote
On Thursday, the Senate deadlocked at 50-50. Three Republicans-Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Thom Tillis of North Carolina-joined 47 members of the Senate Democratic Caucus to vote for the resolution. The remaining Republican senators voted against it.
King’s Critique of HHS
Senator Angus King (I-Maine), who sponsored the resolution, said the measure would have addressed what he called “radical obfuscation” under Kennedy at HHS. He highlighted that the department has canceled thousands of grants and billions of dollars of research funding without notice or an opportunity for public comment.
“A Disservice to the American People”
King remarked on the Senate floor: “To do it arbitrarily and behind closed doors and with no notice and no opportunity for people to have input is a disservice to the American people.” He argued that if HHS is cutting research into Alzheimer’s disease and other serious illnesses, it should inform the public and allow them to weigh in.
Nearly $11 B in Canceled Research
King added that almost $11 billion in medical research has been canceled, including funding for clinical trials. He said, “Here we are, canceling these with no notice, no opportunity for people to comment.”
The Administrative Procedure Act in Context
Congress passed the Administrative Procedure Act in 1947, a law that requires public comment and transparency for federal rulemaking. At that time, the Department of Health and Human Services did not yet exist and had few responsibilities, so it was initially exempt from the Act’s requirements.
The 1970s Waiver
In the early 1970s, Elliot Richardson, the HHS secretary under President Nixon, issued a waiver that required the department to follow the Administrative Procedure Act. That waiver had kept HHS from bypassing public-comment rules.
Kennedy’s Repeal and Its Effects
Earlier this year, Secretary Kennedy repealed the 1970s waiver in a policy memo. The repeal did not affect Medicare payment rule processes but did remove public-comment requirements for policymaking at the National Institutes of Health and for Medicaid regulations.
Closing the Door on Public Input
King said the repeal effectively closed HHS’s processes to the public and obscured “activities that they were making so the public only learned about them after they happened.”
Key Takeaways
- The Senate deadlocked 50-50 on a resolution that would have required HHS to reopen its rulemaking to public comment.
- Three Republicans joined Democrats in supporting the measure, while all other Republicans opposed it.
- Senator King cited nearly $11 billion in canceled research and a lack of public notice as reasons for his opposition to Kennedy’s rule.
The vote leaves HHS’s current exemption from public-comment requirements in place, maintaining the agency’s ability to set policies without the transparency mandated by the Administrative Procedure Act.
