A Senate hearing revealed sharp contradictions between federal claims and local realities over the lead contamination crisis in Milwaukee schools, with city officials denying they are receiving the support U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. described.
Brenda Goodman reports for CNN.
In short:
- HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told Congress a federal team is helping Milwaukee with its school lead crisis, but city officials say no such help has arrived and their request for assistance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was denied.
- The CDC previously laid off its childhood lead poisoning prevention staff and has not reinstated them; instead, the Biden-era program is being moved to the newly formed Administration for a Healthy America.
- The City of Milwaukee Health Department acknowledges a brief visit from a CDC lab tech to help with equipment but emphasizes that support was unrelated to the current school crisis and no further federal aid is expected.
Key quote:
“There are no staff on the ground deployed to Milwaukee to address the lead exposure of children in schools, and there are no staff left in that office at CDC, because they have all been fired.”
— Tammy Baldwin, U.S. senator from Wisconsin
Why this matters:
Lead exposure remains one of the most preventable environmental health threats to children, yet it persists in American cities with aging infrastructure and under-resourced school districts. In Milwaukee, deteriorating paint and outdated plumbing in public schools pose ongoing risks to student health and development, especially in neighborhoods already burdened by poverty and health disparities. Scientific studies have linked even low levels of lead exposure to reduced IQ, attention disorders, and behavioral problems in children. The crisis in Milwaukee highlights not only the fragility of local health systems but also the consequences of federal budget cuts that dismantle expert teams capable of rapid response.
Read more: Milwaukee schools scramble to manage lead crisis after CDC cuts its lead poisoning team
