Washington, DC – Wednesday, U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) engaged with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to discuss the reorganization of HHS programs that assist vulnerable Alaskans including Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), Head Start, and community-based programs that support survivors of domestic violence.

Read the Senator’s transcript below:

TRANSCRIPT

Murkowski: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Secretary, welcome, good to see you. I want to talk a little bit about the HHS reorganization on some of the programs that impact Alaska’s most vulnerable populations. I sent you a note letting you know that just after this hearing, I’m going to be chairing a Senate Committee on Indian Affairs [hearing] specifically examining HHS Tribal programs that are outside of IHS [Indian Health Service]. I really thank you for your early efforts to exempt IHS healthcare providers from the RIFs [reductions in force], that was very important.

But, I’ve also heard concerns from Tribal leaders on the impacts of RIFs to key HHS programs serving their communities. So, I know you’re going to have some of your folks tuning in on that, and I really appreciate that. But some of the other reductions that we’re looking at within your budget do have significant consequences to a state like mine.

One is the LIHEAP program, the low-income energy assistance. For us it’s not a budget line item. You’ve been to Alaska. You know that the temperatures there can get really, really tough. [LIHEAP] keeps people from freezing to death in their homes.

Another program is NIOSH, and I know that HHS had rescinded a number of those employees, that was great news. But employees that received RIF notices for the program were not rescinded in the NIOSH center for Marine Safety and Health Studies. So, this is a big deal for our commercial fishing safety. It could effectively leave our fishing fleet out of compliance with Coast Guard safety [regulations], so we’re watching that very, very carefully. And then again, shared focus here on making sure that our children are as healthy as they possibly can be. I want to look to ways that we can strengthen and not eliminate the Head Start program.

Kennedy: You’re talking about the NIOSH program? You should talk to me about that. As you know, that’s something that I’m deeply concerned with, with the commercial fisheries. So, we should talk about it. Let’s work for the solution.

Murkowski: Got it. I am with you right there.

Let me ask about domestic violence and sexual assault funding. Right now, I’m talking and I’m receiving a lot of incoming from our community-based domestic and sexual violence program operators. They’re really concerned about the delayed release of FY 25 funding, the absence of notices of funding opportunities, as well as proposed cuts or consolidations that might threaten the Office of Family Violence Prevention and CDC’s Division of Violence Prevention. So, you’ve got some programs there that are really foundational to domestic and sexual violence. They’ve been reauthorized with bipartisan support.

So, I’m going to enter into the record a letter from the National Task Force [to end Sexual and Domestic Violence], and it was sent to you yesterday, just urging the communication of concrete plans for releasing some of these funds. I want to raise that to your level, but I want to make sure that we’re sending the right signal to so many who are just really on the edge with, again, these community-based services that are helping the most vulnerable of the most vulnerable. So, we’ve got the funding that’s out there. It’s just delayed. We need help releasing that.

###

  Alaska, hhs, kennedy, liheap, murkowski, nioch, rifs