Trump's team makes the case for cuts

Politico

2 days ago

WASHINGTON WATCH
From Capitol Hill to CDC headquarters in Atlanta, this last week of June will yield important clues about the direction of health policy under President Donald Trump — and whether a GOP Congress will go along.
On Wednesday, Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins (R-Maine), who's spoken out against global health cuts, will question Russell Vought, director of the White House's Office of Management and Budget, who's spearheaded them.
At stake: Trump's request to Congress that it rescind $900 million in funds lawmakers asked the administration to spend on global health this year, including $400 million for the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief — which President George W. Bush created more than two decades ago to fight AIDS in lower income countries.
Collins told POLITICO earlier this month she wouldn't support cutting PEPFAR, touting it as an initiative that's 'saved literally millions of lives and been extremely effective.'
When Vought testified before House appropriators three weeks ago, he said the administration would continue to fund lifesaving treatment, but stood firm on scaling back prevention work.
'It is something that our budget will be very trim on,' Vought said of funding AIDS prevention work, 'because we believe that many of these nonprofits are not geared towards the viewpoints of the administration. And we're $37 trillion in debt. So at some point, the continent of Africa needs to absorb more of the burden of providing this health care.'
Follow the money: On Tuesday, the health panel of the House Energy and Commerce Committee will be the latest congressional panel to hear the case for Trump's fiscal 2026 budget, which calls for a cut of more than a quarter in funding for the Department of Health and Human Services starting Oct. 1. Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will testify.
In Atlanta: The first meeting of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's vaccine advisory panel since Kennedy replaced all its members starts Wednesday. The eight Kennedy-appointed panelists will consider the use of the preservative thimerosal in vaccines.
Kennedy wrote a book in 2014 calling for its ban, arguing it causes brain damage and probably autism. The CDC says that's not the case.
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TECH MAZE
At a meeting Friday, Europe's health ministers agreed to put their weight behind the regulation of social media to protect kids' mental health, our Claudia Chiappa reports from Luxembourg.
The agreement calls on countries to consider 'strengthening accurate, reliable, robust and privacy-preserving age verification processes' and 'protecting children from addictive design practices.'
Countries should also consider introducing screen-free zones and digital limits within schools, the ministers determined.
Why it matters: The push to regulate social media is gaining steam on both sides of the Atlantic as evidence mounts that social media can negatively affect kids.
In Washington, lawmakers continue to consider a variety of proposals, from restrictions on addictive design features to age-verification rules.
States are already moving forward, with Utah earlier this year requiring age verification by app stores. And California, Connecticut and Maryland have passed laws aimed at regulating website design.
What's next? The EU's executive body has launched a study on the impact of social media on kids and excessive screen time on mental health and well-being, which the health ministers hope will bolster the case for regulation.