“Our Children are Sicker, More Medicated and Less Fit Than Any Generation in History”
WASHINGTON — Today, Congressman Vern Buchanan, Vice Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee and Chair of the Health Subcommittee, released the following statement after joining President Trump at the White House to commemorate the release of the Make America Health Again (“MAHA”) Commission’s “Make Our Children Healthy Again Assessment:”
“As Chairman of the Health Subcommittee on Ways and Means, I applaud President Trump and Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for their bold leadership in releasing the ‘Make Our Children Healthy Again Assessment.’ It was an honor to join President Trump at the White House today to hear firsthand about the report’s findings and the urgent need to reverse America’s chronic disease crisis. This report is a wake-up call: our children are sicker, more medicated and less fit than any generation in history, driven by ultra-processed foods and sedentary lifestyles. The Commission rightly calls for a transformative shift toward prevention, including investing in ‘food is medicine’ strategies to understand how diet is connected to chronic disease prevention. We must move away from a system that waits too long to treat disease and instead invest in keeping people healthy. I look forward to working with the administration and my colleagues in Congress to advance commonsense reforms that make America healthy again.”
Buchanan has been a leading advocate in Congress for the MAHA agenda and combatting chronic diseases. In March 2025, Buchanan’s Chronic Disease Flexible Coverage Act (H.R. 919), which expands treatment options provided through employers’ healthcare coverage for Americans living with chronic diseases, passed the House with a unanimous bipartisan vote. Buchanan is also the Co-Chairman of the bipartisan Congressional Preventive Health and Wellness Caucus and a cofounder of the Make America Healthy Again Caucus, both of which focus on the critical role preventive medicine and healthy living play in combatting chronic disease and the obesity epidemic.
