Stefanik Grills Becerra: Biden Admin ‘Woefully Out of Touch’

During a House Education and Labor Committee hearing on Wednesday, Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) grilled Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra on the Biden administration’s requirement that young children in the federal Head Start program wear masks.

“Why is your agency still imposing this harmful mask mandate on toddlers and young children in the Head Start program?” Stefanik asked, noting recent studies on the harmful effects of masking young children, including causing “limited vocabularies, delayed speech development, and difficulties with social interaction and confidence.” She also pointed out the inconsistencies in mask policies among various health agencies.

Becerra replied, “We know that masks are safe and they are effective. We know that many of our children, especially those that are under the age of five, can still not receive a vaccine, and so therefore they are in danger of contracting COVID.”

Fact check: the masks are not safe and effective, and children don’t need the vaccine, which prevents neither contracting COVID nor spreading it.

“If it is the position of Joe Biden to require mask mandates only on children under the age of five, that is woefully out of touch with the American people. It’s also woefully out of touch of health experts across this country,” Stefanik concluded. “I’m glad you clarified that it is this president and your agency that is circumventing the best scientific and medical advice to impose these harmful mask mandates.”