New York Attorney General Letitia James held a press briefing on Monday to announce lawsuit to counter public health cuts from the Trump administration.
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00:00Good afternoon, and thank you for being here.
00:04Today, I am announcing a lawsuit to stop the most sweeping and unlawful assault on public health in our nation's history.
00:11This administration has taken a wrecking ball to the Department of Health and Human Services.
00:17HHS is responsible for protecting and preserving public health.
00:21And since taking office, this administration has fired scientists, closed labs, shuttered life-saving programs without rhyme, reason, or any legal authority.
00:34Nothing but devastating consequences for millions of Americans.
00:39This is not government reform.
00:41This is not efficiency.
00:43The federal government has cut lab capacity so much that they have all but stopped testing for measles.
00:50In the middle of an unprecedented measles outbreak, they have nearly stopped testing for measles.
00:58And right now, New York's public health lab, the Wadsworth Center, one of the only labs in the country still equipped to detect rare infectious diseases,
01:08is scrambling to fill the void left by a hollowed-out CDC.
01:13The World Trade Center, the World Trade Center, which provides medical care for over 137,000 9-11 responders and survivors,
01:26is on track to lose the doctors needed to certify new cancer diagnosis.
01:329-11 heroes will be denied care because this administration chose to fire their doctors.
01:42And at the same time, children in New York and across the country are at risk of losing access to Head Start,
01:50one of our most essential early childhood programs.
01:54With grant support frozen and regional offers shuttered, Head Start centers are facing delayed funding,
02:04staffing shortages, and a very real threat of closure.
02:09And that would mean children losing meals, losing classrooms, and losing critical care.
02:16It would mean foster families with no one to turn to for help.
02:20And it would mean working parents forced to choose between their jobs and their children.
02:28In just a few short weeks, this administration has unraveled decades of progress.
02:34In the midst of a mental health and addiction crisis, this administration fired half the staff at our nation's mental health and substance abuse agency, SAMHSA.
02:46The first and only SAMHSA regional director for New York was removed, leaving no one in his place.
02:55They revoked opioid response funding.
02:58They gutted the 988 suicide hotline support team.
03:03They slashed reproductive health offices, wiped out the disability services teams,
03:10and fired the entire team that runs the low-income home energy assistance program,
03:18and they eliminated testing for lead poisoning in children.
03:24They dismantled the agency that oversees meals on wheels,
03:29leaving local providers scrambling to keep seniors fed and safe,
03:34and eliminated the scientists responsible for tracking HIV, tobacco use, and fertility treatments.
03:43They even fired the experts who calculate the federal poverty guidelines,
03:48the numbers we use to determine who qualifies for Medicaid, SNAP, Head Start, and housing assistance.
03:54Without those numbers, millions could lose access to the help they need to survive.
04:00This is not how government is supposed to work.
04:05These actions are dangerous, cruel, and illegal.
04:10They defy Congress's authority, and they violate federal law.
04:16And that is why today I am leading a lawsuit joined by Democratic attorneys general across the country
04:21to stop this administration from tearing down our public health infrastructure.
04:26We are asking the court to halt the unlawful dismantling of HHS,
04:34to stop the mass firings,
04:36and to restore the life-saving programs that millions of Americans depend on,
04:42including 9-11 responders, children, and New Yorkers whose lives depend on HHS.
04:49And now, I'd like to invite Chanel Portia Albert to say a few words.
04:56Chanel is the founder and executive director of Ancient Song Doula Services.
05:03Chanel?
05:03Chanel?
05:03Chanel?
05:03Chanel?
05:03Chanel?
05:03Chanel?
05:03Chanel?
05:03Chanel?
05:04Chanel?
05:05Chanel?
05:07Chanel?
05:08Chanel?
05:10Chanel?
05:12Chanel?
05:14Chanel?
05:16Chanel?
05:18Chanel?
05:19Thank you very much for hosting this press conference today.
05:22As mentioned, my name is Chanel Portia Albert,
05:24and I am the founder and executive director of Ancient Song.
05:29We are standing at a critical crossroads in our country,
05:33one where the lives of mothers and babies hangs in a balance.
05:37The ongoing stripping away of our maternal health infrastructure
05:40through the dismantling of crucial information on access to IVF and family planning,
05:46and the defunding of entire departments dedicated to maternal and reproductive health is not coincidental.
05:55It is a clear signal.
05:57Mothers and babies are not being prioritized.
06:00We live in one of the most industrialized nations in the world, yet we fare far worse than our global
06:07counterparts.
06:08This is not because we lack the ability to give birth, but because of the social conditions we are
06:15forced to contend with.
06:17In a nation as wealthy and resource rich as the United States, we should not have people choosing between care and
06:26survival, between feeding their families or attending a postpartum visit.
06:31We are not failing due to our lack of innovation or our knowledge, and we are failing because we lack the
06:39political will to protect the people who bring life into this world.
06:44This crisis will only grow deeper with long-term consequences for generations to come, unless we act now.
06:52That means investing in maternal health programs, funding community-centered care, strengthening data
07:00collection, and creating bipartisan policies that center equity, health, and dignity, not political agendas.
07:08So let me be clear.
07:10The dismantling and the erasure of maternal health infrastructure reveal a devastating truth that
07:16mothers and babies are not a priority in this nation.
07:19In one of the wealthiest, most industrialized countries, we rank lowest or the worst for maternal health
07:28outcomes.
07:29If we do not invest now in data programs and the policies rooted in equity and upliftment, we will bear the
07:36generational cost of this neglect.
07:39Maternal health must be a bipartisan priority because the future of our communities depends on it.
07:50Thank you, Chanel.
07:54Next, we will hear from Gary Smiley.
07:57Gary was an FDNY hazmat paramedic and one of the first responders to the World Trade Center on 9-11.
08:05He now serves on the World Trade Center Medial Advisory Steering Committee, and he is a tireless
08:11advocate for his fellow heroes.
08:14Gary?
08:15Good afternoon, Madam Attorney General.
08:18Thank you for having me.
08:20Since February, the cuts that are going on to the World Trade Center health program, a program
08:26that is probably the only governmental program that runs completely efficient, with no waste,
08:33no fraud, and cares for 141,000 responders and survivors, is being gutted by the administration.
08:43They promised that they would not touch the program.
08:46They lied.
08:48They fired Dr. Howard, who is the director of the program.
08:52And then they said, oh, it's a mistake.
08:54They rehired him.
08:55And then we found out he wasn't rehired.
08:57He was fired.
08:58In the last few weeks, we have found that new people coming into the program with cancer have not been able to be certified for their cancer.
09:06When one of the clinics sends in a certification, Dr. John Howard or the other physicians that work with him sign off on the certifications.
09:15In the last couple of weeks, we know of at least three members of the FDNY, and there are probably dozens of others that were denied entry into the program.
09:24They said on Friday that that was fixed, but we don't know, and we don't know for how long.
09:29They say that new certifications are restarting again, but we don't know.
09:34They say Dr. Howard has been restored to full position, but that is not true.
09:39What we do know is true is that these men and women who survived one of the most horrific attacks on this country are now worried that their insurance is going to go away,
09:51that their lifesaving care for cancer or other respiratory illnesses or psychiatric care is going to go away.
09:59It's causing irreparable damage.
10:01It has already caused irreparable damage.
10:04I receive phone calls every day from these men and women saying, Gary, am I going to be able to afford the care on my own because this program is going away?
10:14This country promised 22 and a half years ago to never forget, and they have not forgotten up until now.
10:21This administration, Elon Musk, and everybody that's been involved has lied to the 9-11 community and has done damage that is just irreparable.
10:32Most of the survivors and responders have post-traumatic stress disorder.
10:37The fear alone that your care will be denied, that you won't be able to go to your therapist, is going to lead to self-harm and is going to lead to people taking their own lives because they're going to be afraid.
10:51And that includes new illnesses.
10:54As the Attorney General mentioned, they have cut the entire research staff.
10:58There is no more money for research grants.
11:01There is no money to investigate the 19 conditions that we wanted added, including the specialty conditions.
11:08So if you are a responder or a survivor that was banking on, hopefully NIOSH and the CDC will start to cover these illnesses, you have no hope any.
11:19And that is not fair to these folks.
11:22We all went down there.
11:23Those that responded responded as we did because we worked, whether you were an iron worker or a firefighter or a police officer or a paramedic, or if you lived or worked in the area.
11:33And now that program that's supposed to take care of you was ripped apart without any basis of doing so.
11:41And it is just reprehensible.
11:45And I join you in thanking you for joining to adding this lawsuit and hopefully restoring this program that is truly saving lives.
11:58Thank you, Gary.
12:00Now I'd like to welcome Paula Inogway from United Neighborhood Houses to discuss the threats Head Start programs are currently facing. Paula.
12:12Good morning, everyone, and thank you for the opportunity to speak on this important issue.
12:17My name is Paula and I'm a policy analyst at United Neighborhood Houses.
12:21United Neighborhood Houses is a policy and social change organization representing neighborhood settlement houses that serve New Yorkers from all walks of life.
12:29For nearly six decades, Head Start has provided comprehensive early learning, health and family support services to over millions of children and families nationwide.
12:40In New York alone, Head Start and Early Head Start programs serve over 43,000 children across over 200 programs, including 15 settlement houses within our network and employ more than 14,000 people.
12:53Just a few weeks ago, the federal government abruptly shut down five regional Head Start offices, including the one that supports New York, leaving providers in the dark and able to reach federal contracts and unsure how to reassure the thousands of families who count on Head Start every single day.
13:10Applications are stalled.
13:12Applications are stalled.
13:13Questions about funding for Head Start keep rising.
13:15And the fear of what comes next is growing among providers and families.
13:20The shrinking of the Department of Health and Human Services is clearly having devastating impacts on our neighborhoods and families.
13:27Undermining childcare does not help working parents.
13:30It hurts them.
13:31That's why we're here standing firmly with you, Attorney General James, as you fight to protect these programs and the families they serve.
13:38Every child deserves stability, care and the chance to thrive.
13:45And now, last but certainly not least, we'll hear from Charles King and founder and CEO of Housing Works and longtime HIV AIDS activists.
13:55Charles.
13:56Thank you, Attorney General James.
13:59And I want to thank you and the other attorneys general for bringing this litigation to restore and preserve health and human services.
14:10I'd like in my remarks to underscore four key elements that your lawsuit addresses.
14:18And the first is the elimination of HIV services and prevention out of the Centers for Disease Control.
14:28From the inception of the epidemic, the Centers for Disease Control has been critical in helping the community design effective interventions
14:38to prevent the transmission of HIV.
14:41And right now, it is the principal source in most states across the country of access to pre-exposure prophylaxis to prevent people who are at risk of HIV from contracting the disease.
14:55The role of the CDC is even more important now because up until now, we've only had a daily pill to prevent HIV.
15:05And we now have new longer lasting pre-exposure prevention devices and need them approved and implemented across the United States.
15:19And this gutting of the CDC is going to prevent that from taking place.
15:25There's also the transformation that is happening at HRSA, which has guided our HIV treatment efforts around the country here in New York.
15:39We have finally brought the epidemic down to a rate that we have more people dying of all-cause mortality than we have new infections from HIV.
15:50And with what is happening with regard to HRSA as well as what is happening with regard to CDC, we run the risk of seeing this reversed.
15:59As you know, Housing Works serves the most vulnerable and marginalized New Yorkers, including people who are presently homeless or who have experienced homelessness, who are living with HIV, other chronic conditions, and substance use disorder.
16:14So this brings me to the third issue that I want to address, and that is the dismantlement of SAMHSA.
16:21SAMHSA has provided a significant part of our funding to address substance use disorder as well as addressing mental illness.
16:31Most particularly SAMHSA only a few years ago started recognizing harm reduction as a critical intervention to work with people who have substance use disorder, even while they're still using drugs.
16:46And this has now basically completely disappeared.
16:51The last item I want to address is what has taken place with regard to research that is taking place under HHS auspices.
17:03We've now seen research being canceled having anything to do with LGBTQ health.
17:11And that includes things like treatment of the combination of sexually transmitted infections as well as HIV.
17:22It also includes research into treating TB, and in particular, treating multidrug-resistant tuberculosis.
17:31All of these things lead to the very scary prospect of a revived epidemic of HIV here in New York and across the country, as well as the potential risk of a new epidemic of tuberculosis.
17:49So we need a strong health and human services.
17:54We need these departments under health and human services to guide the community efforts that are addressing HIV and other transmissible diseases.
18:08And so for that, we're incredibly grateful for your intervention, Attorney General James.