Republican Lawmakers and Agriculture Groups Question MAHA Report
The G.O.P. chairmen of the House and Senate agriculture committees said they were “troubled” by the Make America Healthy Again Commission’s findings and urged it to use sounder science.
Republican lawmakers and agriculture industry officials on Friday criticized a federal health department report commissioned by Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. that found two weed killers widely used by farmers could be linked to chronic conditions like diabetes, heart disease and asthma.
The report, by the Make America Healthy Again Commission, singled out glyphosate and atrazine in particular. The commission, known by the acronym MAHA, cited mostly preliminary data as evidence that these and other pesticides were linked to an increase in chronic conditions.
Representative Glenn Thompson of Pennsylvania and Senator John Boozman of Arkansas, both Republicans, released a statement on Friday saying, “We are troubled by the initial findings of the MAHA commission assessment and their impact on America’s farmers and ranchers.”
The two lawmakers stressed it was “imperative” that the commission adhere to the “risk-based and scientific processes set forth by Congress,” which include prioritizing sound science, peer-reviewed research and securing buy-in from the agriculture industry.
There was no immediate response to requests for comment from the White House or the Department of Health and Human Services.
The statement marked the first public sign of friction between Republican lawmakers and Mr. Kennedy. President Trump has instructed the health secretary to “go wild on health” as he tried to overhaul the American food and health industries in alignment with his sometimes unconventional views on medicine and nutrition.
