Congressman Clay Higgins (R-LA) has sent a letter to the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health, and Human Services (LHHS), calling for federal funds to be withheld from organizations that promote COVID-19 vaccines for children. In his message, Higgins urged the subcommittee to add language to the Fiscal Year 2026 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Act that would prohibit funding for state health departments and national associations advocating for pediatric COVID-19 vaccination.
“As you continue to work on the Fiscal Year 2026 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Act, I urge the subcommittee to protect our children and adolescents by prohibiting federal funding to state health departments and national associations that promote the COVID-19 shot,” wrote Congressman Higgins. “Specifically, federal grant funding programs and cooperative agreements during the previous administration have included initiatives to advance COVID-19 vaccine outreach. In turn, national associations such as the American Academy of Pediatrics have continually used their platform to encourage the COVID-19 shot and influence state health departments’ recommended pediatric immunization schedules, now contrary to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s guidance regarding COVID-19 vaccinations for children.”
Higgins proposed specific language: “None of the funds made available under this Act may be used to enter into, extend, or renew a contract with any entity including a state’s health department that promotes, advertises, or otherwise encourages the administration of any vaccine for COVID-19 for children and adolescents.”
“This language is one step to protect our children, codify President Trump’s COVID-19 oversight, and right the wrongs of the Biden Administration in the public health sector,” continued Congressman Higgins.
The letter follows Higgins’ recent pledge to seek defunding of the New Orleans Health Department after it advised vaccinating children ages 6 months to 2 years against COVID-19—a recommendation not aligned with current CDC guidance.
Clay Higgins has represented Louisiana’s 3rd district in Congress since 2017. He previously served in the Louisiana House of Representatives. Born in New Orleans in 1961, he currently resides in Lafayette.
