Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility PA General Assembly’s only elected physician, Rep. Venkat: ‘Kennedy is endangering our health’

PA General Assembly’s only elected physician, Rep. Venkat: ‘Kennedy is endangering our health’

Comes ahead of HHS secretary’s Wednesday appearance in Harrisburg

Rep. Arvind Venkat    January 20, 2026 | 9:31 AM

HARRISBURG, Jan. 20 – State Rep. Arvind Venkat, M.D., D-Allegheny, the only physician in the Pennsylvania General Assembly, has issued the following statement ahead of U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s appearance in the state Capitol:

“Secretary Kennedy has undertaken a deliberate effort to undermine vaccine access and America’s public health as a whole,” Venkat said. “Since he assumed office, we have seen chaos unfold in federal public health policy because of Kennedy’s anti-science ideology.

“From anti-vaccine activists being appointed to vaccine policy boards, to the firing of scientists from leadership positions, to cuts to scientific research funding, to the childhood vaccine schedule being gutted without any scientific evidence or even deliberation, Kennedy’s actions are endangering the health of Pennsylvanians and costing lives. We are seeing the consequences of Kennedy’s dangerous actions in real time, with outbreaks of measles and whooping cough across the nation. More outbreaks are sure to follow.

“Our nation has already been greatly harmed by Secretary Kennedy’s actions, and as he comes to Harrisburg, I will continue to use my position as our only physician-legislator to ensure that Pennsylvanians can receive vaccines as they choose and avoid the damage to healthcare and science policy Secretary Kennedy has caused.”

The House has passed two bills introduced by Venkat, H.B.s 1828 and 1881, with bipartisan support that would protect Pennsylvanians’ access to vaccines. These bills now await consideration in the Republican-controlled Senate.

Venkat is a practicing emergency physician. In 2022, he became the first physician elected to the Pennsylvania General Assembly in nearly 60 years.