Washington DC - Senator Bernie Sanders led a new effort calling for HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to answer for his actions seen as endangering public health.

"We write to urge you to schedule an oversight hearing as soon as possible with respect to the actions Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. has taken as Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to undermine the health and well-being of the American people and people throughout the world," reads the letter, signed by Sanders and all 10 Democratic members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee.

Directed to Republican Chair Bill Cassidy, the letter describes RFK Jr.'s agenda as "an unprecedented war on science and vaccines that have saved millions of lives."

The lawmakers lay out examples of actions RFK Jr. has taken which they view as dangerous, including:

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• Directing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to publish unfounded claims on its website suggesting childhood vaccines cause autism
  
• Spreading misinformation about the safety and effectiveness of the measles vaccine
  
• Removing Susan Monarez as director of the CDC
  
• Defunding vaccine research
  
• Packing the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices with vaccine deniers
  

"Mr. Chairman: Holding an oversight hearing on Secretary Kennedy’s ill-conceived actions is more important now than ever," the senators urged Cassidy, who is a medical doctor.

The senators warned that RFK Jr.'s actions are already having negative consequences for public health.

"Under Secretary Kennedy’s leadership, over 1,700 people have been infected with measles. Whooping cough cases are surging nationwide, and concerns about a severe flu season continue to grow. Vaccination rates across the country are falling. Children are dying from illnesses that vaccines could have prevented," they wrote.

"Secretary Kennedy’s response to these crises has been to spread misinformation, end campaigns encouraging flu vaccinations, fire officials who disagree with him, and place individuals with significant conflicts of interest in positions of power – completely undermining Americans’ faith in our nation’s public health institutions.‌"

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The letter notes that more than 1,000 current and former staff at HHS have called for RFK Jr. to resign as he "continues to endanger the nation's health."

"Failure to conduct an oversight hearing on Secretary Kennedy's actions would be an abdication of our responsibility – both from a moral perspective and as a matter of sound public health policy," the lawmakers insisted.