Senate Health & Welfare advances resolution urging reversal of recent federal public‑health rollbacks

The Vermont Senate Health & Welfare Committee on May 30 reviewed draft 4.1 of Senate resolution SBAR16, offered by Sens. Gulick and Lyons, that opposes recent federal actions affecting public health and urges their swift reversal.

The resolution catalogs federal steps including an executive order by President Donald J. Trump to withdraw the United States from the World Health Organization; staff and program cuts at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; changes at the Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Tobacco Products and the CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health; reported NIH restrictions on grants to universities that operate certain diversity, equity and inclusion programs; and an asserted Department of Education reduction of roughly $1 billion in federal grants that supported school mental‑health services.

Committee members discussed language and facts in the draft and debated whether the text should use stronger or weaker wording. Several members proposed changing a clause that said the withdrawal "jeopardizes the health and well‑being of Vermonters" to the less absolute phrasing "may jeopardize," and to replace a clause that said the HHS secretary "lacks understanding of science" with wording that he "disregards certain science and scientific research." Jen Curry of the Office of Legislative Counsel read the draft aloud during the meeting, including the resolution’s closing language: "the state of Vermont stands in support of science, opposes these federal actions and urges their swift reversal." (Jen Curry, Office of Legislative Counsel.)

Members also questioned and clarified the factual bases cited in the whereas clauses. The draft states that HHS is "eliminating the jobs—approximately 1,000 employees— including [at] the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention," and that CDC teams whose work focused on injury prevention, mental‑health and substance‑use trend tracking, maternal and child health, and other areas were cut. The committee discussed whether to cite broader downstream effects (for example, increased strain on Vermont hospitals) and whether the CDC and FDA staffing changes are primarily research, regulation or management functions. The draft also asserts the NIH is "refusing to award grant funds to universities that operate any programs that advance diversity, equity, and inclusion," and that the Department of Education has cut about $1 billion in grants supporting school mental‑health services; committee members asked staff for sources and noted they would supply a clean copy with citations.

Not all members agreed on timing. Sen. Hart said he would "personally like to table it," urging more time before sending a potentially politically charged resolution to the full Senate. Other members argued that health policy should be nonpartisan and that the committee could craft a bipartisan version.

After discussion and wording changes (including replacing "lacks understanding" with "disregards" and considering "may jeopardize" in one clause), the committee indicated it would forward the amended resolution to the full Senate. Committee staff said they would prepare a clean, strike‑all version of the draft for further consideration. The resolution, as drafted during the meeting, directs the secretary of the Senate to send copies to President Donald J. Trump, the secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (named in the draft as Robert F. Kennedy Jr.), and Vermont’s congressional delegation.

The committee treated the draft under its rules as it would a bill for the purpose of referral and asked staff to circulate a clean copy reflecting the agreed edits; no roll‑call vote or formal tally is recorded in the transcript of this meeting.