On Tuesday, Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha and 23 other attorneys general filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in an attempt to block the termination of nearly $11.4 billion in public health grants, according to a press release from Neronha’s office.
HHS officials confirmed the grant cuts on March 25, saying that “the COVID-19 pandemic is over, and HHS will no longer waste billions of taxpayer dollars responding to a non-existent pandemic that Americans moved on from years ago.”
The cuts went into effect on March 24, according to Vianca Rodriguez, a spokesperson for the HHS.
“HHS is prioritizing funding projects that will deliver on President Trump’s mandate to address our chronic disease epidemic and Make America Healthy Again,” she wrote in an email to The Herald.
According to Neronha’s press release, the HHS “terminated these grants ‘for cause’ effective immediately claiming that the pandemic is over, and the grants are no longer necessary.”
The terminated grants funds previously funded COVID-19 testing, vaccination, programs to train and deploy community health workers as well as a national initiative to reduce COVID-19 health disparities, according to Rodriguez.
Rodriguez did not address the lawsuit further, noting that the “HHS does not comment on ongoing litigation.”
In their suit, the attorneys general said the grants supported initiatives like tracking infectious diseases, “ensuring access to immunizations,” “fortifying emergency preparedness” and “modernizing critical public health infrastructure,” among other projects.
The plaintiffs further argued in the suit that the terminations violate the Administrative Procedure Act, claiming there is “no legal or factual support” that the grants were intended to be used only during the pandemic.
“These grants originally came to the Rhode Island Department of Health during the COVID-19 pandemic,” wrote Joseph Wendelken, RIDOH’s public information officer, in an email to The Herald. But “as they were renewed over time, their scopes were expanded by (the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention).”
The funds were allocated toward preparing for future pandemics and bolstering the state’s public health system. These preparations include infectious disease surveillance and prevention, biosafety programs and vaccination-related public health infrastructure, among other initiatives.
According to the suit, the HHS has already rescinded $13 million from Rhode Island’s Immunization and Vaccines for Children program. An additional $14 million in the state’s Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity Program funds — which support state and local health departments in responding to infectious disease outbreaks — have also been cut.
RIDOH released a statement in support of the lawsuit shortly after it was filed. In the statement, RIDOH reported that it has received notice of the termination of four of its grants from the CDC — amounting to about $31 million.
“The HHS cuts threaten the urgent public health needs of states around the country at a time when emerging disease threats — such as measles and bird flu — are on the rise,” Neronha said in the press release.
Neronha’s office did not provide additional comments to The Herald.
The White House did not respond to The Herald’s request for comment.
Avani Ghosh is a Metro editor covering city and state politics. She is a junior from Ohio studying Health and Human Biology and International and Public Affairs. She is an avid earl grey enthusiast and can be found making tea in her free time.
