>> great in this field. >> all right. doctor zeke emanuel, thank you very much. they are about to gavel in as the hearing is about to begin. that does it for us this morning. ana cabrera picks up the live coverage of robert f kennedy jr. s confirmation hearing right now. >> joining us. it is ten eastern. >> 7 a.m. pacific. i'm ana. >> cabrera reporting. >> from new york. and we're looking live right. >> now on. >> capitol hill where one of. president trump's most controversial nominees. >> robert f kennedy jr, is about to. >> go before. >> the senate finance committee. >> for his long awaited. confirmation hearing. trump's pick for secretary of health and human services has espoused a variety of unorthodox views on everything. >> from vaccines. >> to. >> fluoride in water to raw. >> milk. >> not to mention. >> a previous support of abortion rights. that puts him at odds with most. >> republicans on that very. >> panel. >> and adding new tension this

morning, new comments in a video. by his own cousin, caroline kennedy ahead of this hearing, calling rfk a. >> quote, predator. >> as we. >> await the start. >> of this hearing, i want. >> to bring in nbc news white. >> house correspondent vaughn. >> hillyard. >> our senior reporter. >> brandy zadrozny, also with us, doctor derek. >> haas, former. >> hhs regional director and. emergency medicine physician. >> and doctor kavita patel, former. obama white house. >> policy director. >> we'll take. >> this hearing. live as soon as they get going. in the meantime, vaughn, walk us through what we can. expect and this. >> new criticism. >> we're hearing from inside the kennedy family. >> right. we just watched mister kennedy, along. >> with his wife, cheryl. >> hines. >> walk here into the committee room. >> this is going to be. >> taking place any moment now. hear this, for kennedy is going to be one of two hearings. they're going to be 27 senators today with five minutes of questioning each. there's not a second round of questioning. we expect this to last about 2.5 hours here. but you are looking at for mister kennedy criticism

not only among some republicans, including former vice president mike pence, who is running essentially campaign commercials against kennedy, particularly on his abortion position. but you're also hearing from the likes of caroline kennedy, one of mister kennedy's cousins, as we watch this hearing unfold, expect not only questioning from the right, but also democratic senators as well. >> and they're just. >> about. >> to gavel in. we can see everybody now. taking their seats and. robert f kennedy in. the hot seat there. we'll hear from the senate finance committee chairman here, senator crapo, in just a moment. let's listen in. >> i thank my. >> colleagues and mister kennedy for being here today. mr. kennedy, congratulations on your nomination. >> throughout this process. >> mr. kennedy, you have been accessible to members and staff on both sides of the aisle and have demonstrated strong commitment to fulfilling. >> the responsibilities of this

role. >> the department of health and human services oversees our nation's largest health care programs, providing coverage for nearly two in every five americans. improving medicare, medicaid, and chip, among other initiatives, presents challenges, especially in the face of a rapidly aging population, stubbornly high costs, and persistent barriers to access. >> however, this also. >> provides us an opportunity to deliver bold, transformative solutions. >> as a committee, we share a commitment. >> to advancing. common sense, bipartisan policies that improve the delivery of health care in this country. this committee has. >> worked. >> to realign incentives in the prescription. drug supply chain to enhance. >> access in rural. >> communities, to expand the availability of telehealth and improve the broken clinician payment structure across these

and other issues. i look forward to working with the administration to continue pursuing meaningful reforms that serve the american people more effectively and more efficiently. too often, patients encounter a health care system that is disjointed and is a dysfunctional maze, complex and. bureaucratic chutes and ladders have become the norm. meanwhile, even as health care spending climbs, outcomes across a range of conditions continue to decline. mr. kennedy, if confirmed, you will have the opportunity to chart a new and better course for the federal approach to tackling both the drivers. >> and. >> the consequences of our ailing health care system. your commitment to combating chronic conditions that drive health care costs will be critical to our success. prioritizing disease prevention and addressing the factors that fuel conditions such as diabetes, cardiovascular, cardiovascular

disease, metabolic disease, alzheimer's disease, copd, and cancer will save lives, reduce costs, and build a healthier, stronger country. private sector breakthroughs from groundbreaking cancer medications to curative gene therapies also offer hope. but misguided government initiatives and market volatility. volatility risk eroding american leadership in life saving r&d. your advocacy for health care transparency has the potential to empower consumers across the country, promoting competition to enhance quality while cutting excessive spending for patients and for taxpayers. today's hearing will provide a forum to hear more about your vision, particularly for the federal programs under this committee's jurisdiction. mr. kennedy, you represent a voice for an inspiring. coalition of americans who are deeply

committed to improving the health and well-being of our nation, regardless of political party. everyone in this room shares a common recognition that our current system has fallen short, as well as a common desire to make our country healthier. i look forward to today's conversation as well as your testimony, mr. kennedy. and now i recognize senator wyden for his opening remarks. thank you very much, mr. chairman. the question. before the finance. >> committee this. >> morning is whether robert. >> f kennedy. >> should be trusted with. >> the health and well-being. >> of the american people. >> committee staff have. >> examined thousands. >> of. pages of. >> statements, books. >> and podcast transcripts. >> in a review of. >> his record. the receipts show that. >> mr. kennedy. >> has embraced. >> conspiracy theories, quacks.

>> charlatans. especially when. >> it comes to. >> the. >> safety and efficacy of vaccines. >> he has made it. >> his life's work to sow doubt and discourage parents. >> from. >> getting their kids life saving vaccines. >> it has been lucrative for. him and. >> put. >> him on the. >> verge of. >> immense power. >> this is the. >> profile of. someone who chases money and. influence wherever. >> they lead, even. if that may mean. >> the tragic deaths. of children and other vulnerable people. now. >> mr. kennedy is fond. >> of saying. >> he's not making recommendations. >> about whether. >> parents should vaccinate their children. >> he's just asking questions and. giving people choices. it's a. slippery tactic to dodge any real responsibility.

>> for his. >> words and actions. and it is, in my view, absurd coming from somebody who's trying to win confirmation for a job that is entirely about making recommendations. these recommendations are going. >> to have life or death. >> consequences for the american people. >> mr. kennedy, if. >> you are confirmed. >> your recommendations determine which. >> vaccines senior citizens. >> get for free. >> through medicare. your recommendation. will determine which vaccines are given to millions. >> of kids. >> peddling these anti-vaccine conspiracy theories. as our chief health officer is going to endanger the lives of kids and seniors across the nation. just look at. >> what happened. when mr. >> kennedy inserted. himself into. >> an. >> anti-vaccination crisis in

the island nation. >> of samoa. >> he traveled there himself to push his views and. >> pour fuel on the. >> fire of a measles. outbreak that began due. to low. >> vaccination rates. in the end, 83. samoans died, mostly. >> kids, from a disease that is easily preventable. >> americans cannot. afford to import. this experiment. >> to our. >> great nation. another health care matters. >> from abortion to universal health care. mr. kennedy has changed his views so often it is nearly impossible to know where he stands on so many of the basic issues that. impact americans daily lives. in a gobsmacking statement. >> of irresponsibility. >> in november 2023, mr. kennedy said that he wanted.

>> to. pause infectious. >> disease research for eight years. mr. kennedy has indicated he's open to restricting access to the abortion medication mifepristone, which remains a primary target of the republican crusade against reproductive freedom. i took this on back in 1990, when i chaired the first congressional hearing on the topic. the science was clear. then. it's even clearer today. mifepristone is safe. the only reason it's under question in 2025 is because people with a political agenda have been out lying. >> about it. >> women deserve to know if mr. kennedy will abuse his power as our country's chief health officer to essentially implement a national abortion ban by restricting access to the safe and legal medication. meanwhile, as the trump budget office, through the medicaid program into chaos yesterday,

republicans in congress are proposing deep cuts to the program that will rip away health care from millions of americans who count on this vital lifeline. cuts to medicaid of this magnitude are going to jack up the cost of health insurance. it will shutter nursing homes and rural hospitals, deprive seniors and americans with disabilities of home based care. that approach amounts to handing over our nation's health system to for profit insurance companies, who made a fortune delaying and denying care. mr. kennedy has virtually no knowledge or experience in handling these issues. it leaves him unprepared to take on a crisis like the nation witnessed yesterday, when the trump budget office shut down the federal medicaid payment portal. after a careful review of robert f kennedy jr statements, actions and views. materials that i have reviewed

personally and closely, i've reached the conclusion that he should not be entrusted with the health and well-being of the american people when he's taken every side of every issue. how can this committee and the american people believe he has anything to say? let me close by saying, i believe more strongly than ever, and i have specialized in health care. during my time in public service, there were a turning point with regard to health care in america. there's one word to describe americans feelings towards the health care system. it's disillusioned at every single turn. people feel like they're rolling a load of dice loaded dice when they try to get health care. americans are justifiably angry, fed up, and tired of a system that puts profits over patients. instead of debating meaningful ways to improve americans health care, now the committee is being forced to relitigate settled

science about vaccines and whether or not the federal government should help americans get affordable health care. i know where democrats on this finance committee stand when it comes to an agenda to lower costs and improve care, i must say i cannot say the same about the nominee sitting in front of me. and let me acknowledge, finally, mr. chairman, terry mills from portland, oregon, who is here to represent nurses for america. and i'd like to enter a statement from her organization into the record at this time. thank you, mr. chairman. >> without objection. thank you. thank you, ranking member wyden. mr. kennedy, in a few moments, you will be given the opportunity to make your opening statement and respond to these attacks and other questions committed. this the members of this committee have. i would say that with regard to the attack on medicaid that we just heard, that was a false attack. it's been proven false overnight. the

medicaid portal is operating efficiently today and was never intended to be shut down. >> would the gentleman yield? since he's mentioned my name, there was a significant amount of time yesterday where there was bedlam across the country. i hope it's being corrected, but there were problems all through the day. >> there certainly. >> were attacks yesterday. the problem has been clarified and the medicaid portal is fully operational as we speak. mr. kennedy, before i turn the time over to you to share your opening statement, i would like to give you a brief introduction. the son of senator robert f kennedy and nephew of president john f kennedy, robert kennedy jr, has been an advocate for consumers since 1985. after graduating from harvard university, mr. kennedy studied at the london school of economics and received his law degree from the university of

virginia law school and a master's degree in environmental law from pace university. he has founded two advocacy groups, and has spent the last 40 years working to restore and protect children's health. he was a former independent candidate in the 2024 presidential election, and president he. president trump nominated him this year to be the or in november of 2024 to be the hhs secretary. in announcing his nomination, president trump stated mr. kennedy will restore these agencies to the traditions of gold. standard scientific research and beacons of transparency, and end the chronic disease epidemic and make america great and healthy again. before you give your opening statement, mr. kennedy, i have four obligatory questions that we ask all nominees before

this committee. first, is there anything that you are aware of in your background that might present a conflict of interest with the duties of the office to which you have been nominated? >> all right? >> no. >> mr. chairman, thank you. do you know of any reason, personal or otherwise, that would in any way prevent you from fully and honorably discharging the responsibilities of the office to which you have been nominated? no, i do not. do you agree without reservation, to respond to any reasonable summons, to appear and testify before any duly constituted committee of congress, if you are confirmed? yes, i do. and finally, do you commit to providing a prompt response in writing to any questions addressed to you by any senator of this committee? yes, i do, thank you, mr. kennedy. and before you begin, if you would like to, you may introduce your wife and children as my wife, cheryl. >> hines, is. >> here, my daughter kit

kennedy, my son, bobby. >> kennedy. >> his wife, amaryllis fox kennedy, and my nephew jackson. hines is here too. we welcome you all. thank you. you may proceed with your statement. thank you, mr. chairman. >> chairman crapo. >> ranking member. >> wyden. >> and members of. >> this distinguished committee. >> i'm humbled to be sitting here today. >> as president. >> trump's nominee to oversee the us department of health and. >> human services. >> i want to thank president trump. >> for entrusting. >> me to deliver on. >> his promise to make america healthy again. i also want to thank cheryl and kick and bobby and all. >> of my other. >> children who. >> are here. >> today, and all the many members. of my large. >> extended family. >> for the love that they have. >> so. >> generously shared. >> ours has always been. >> a family. >> that has.

>> been involved. >> in. >> public service, and i look forward to continuing that tradition. >> my journey into. >> the issue of health. >> began with my. >> career as an environmental attorney, working. >> with hunters. >> and fishermen. >> and mothers in. >> the small town in the hudson valley and along the. hudson river. i learned very early on that. human health and environmental injuries are intertwined. the same chemicals that kill fish make people sick. >> also today, americans. >> overall health. >> is in grievous condition. >> over 70%. of adults. >> and a third of. >> children are overweight. >> or obese. diabetes is ten times more. prevalent than it was. >> during the 1960s. cancer among. >> young. >> people is rising. >> by 1 or 2% a year. >> autoimmune diseases. >> neurodevelopmental disorders. >> alzheimer's, asthma, adhd,

depression. >> addiction. >> and a host. >> of other physical. >> and mental health conditions are all on the rise, some of them exponentially. >> the united states. >> has worse. >> health than any other developed. >> nation, yet we. spend more on health. >> care at least double and in some cases. >> triple, as. other countries. >> last year we spent 4.8. >> trillion, not counting the indirect costs. >> of missed work. >> that's almost a fifth of gdp. it's tantamount. >> to a 20% tax on the. >> entire economy. no wonder america has trouble. >> competing with countries. >> that pay a third of. >> what we do. >> for health. >> and have better. >> outcomes and. >> a healthier workforce. >> but i. >> don't want to. >> make this too much about money. it's the human tragedy that moves us to care. president trump. >> has promised to restore america's global strength. and

to restore the american dream. but he. >> understands we can't be a strong nation when our people are so sick. a healthy person has a thousand dreams. a sick person has only one. >> today, over half of our countrymen and women are. >> chronically ill. when i met. >> with president. >> trump last. >> summer, i discovered. that he is more than just concerned for this tragic situation, but genuine care. president trump is committed to restoring the american dream, and. 77 million americans delivered a mandate to him to do just. >> that, due. >> in part to the embrace and. >> elevation of the make america. >> wealthy again movement. his movement. >> led largely by moms. >> from every state. and you can see. >> many of them behind us today and. >> in the hallways. >> and in the lobbies, is. >> one. >> of the most transcendent and. >> powerful movements. i've ever

seen. >> i promise president trump. >> that, if confirmed. >> i will do. >> everything in. >> my power to put the health. >> of. >> americans back on track. and i've been greatly. >> heartened to discover a deep level of care among members of this committee to both democrats and. >> republicans, i. >> came away from our conversations confident that we can put aside our divisions for the sake. >> of. >> a healthier. >> america. >> for a long time, the nation. >> has been. >> locked in a divisive health care debate about who pays well when health care costs reach 20%. there are no good options, only. >> bad ones. >> shifting the burden around between government and corporations and insurers and providers and families is. like rearranging deck chairs on the titanic. our country. will sink beneath a sea of desperation and debt. if we don't change the course and. >> ask, why are. >> healthcare costs so high in.

>> the first place? >> the obvious answer is chronic disease. the cdc says 90% of health care spending goes toward managing chronic disease, which hits lower income americans the hardest. the president's pledge is not to make some americans happy again. to healthy again, but to make. all of our. people healthy again. there is no single culprit in chronic disease. much as i have criticized certain industries and agencies, president trump and i understand that most of their scientists and experts genuinely care about american health. therefore, we will bring together all stakeholders in pursuit of this unifying goal. before i conclude, i want to make sure the committee is clear about a few things. news reports have claimed that i am anti-vaccine or anti industry. i am neither. i am pro safety.

>> we have ordered. >> please proceed mr. kennedy. >> i am pro safety. i worked for years to raise awareness about the mercury and toxic chemicals in fish. and nobody called me any fish. and i believe that all my. that vaccines play a critical role in health care. all of my kids are vaccinated. i've read many books on vaccines. my first book in 2014, the first line of it is i am not anti-vaccine. and the last line is i am not anti-vaccine. or am i the enemy of food producers? american farms are the bedrock of our culture, of our politics, of our national security. i was a four-h kid and i spent my

summer working on ranches. i went to work with our farmers. i want to work with our farmers and food producers to remove burdensome regulations and unleash american ingenuity. i simply cannot succeed without a partnership. a full partnership of american farmers. in my advocacy, i've often disturbed the status quo by asking uncomfortable questions. well, i'm not going to apologize for that. we have massive health problems in this country that we must face honestly. and the first thing i've done every morning for the past 20 years is to get on my knees and pray to god that he would put me in a position to end the chronic disease epidemic, and to help america's children. that's why i'm so grateful to president trump for the opportunity to sit before you today and seek your

support and partnership in this endeavor. i will conclude with a promise the members of this committee, to the president and to all the tens of millions of parents across america, especially the moms who have propelled this issue to center stage. should i be so privileged as to be confirmed, we will make sure our tax dollars support healthy foods. we will scrutinize the chemical additives in our food supply. we will remove financial conflicts of interest from our agencies. we will create an honest, unbiased gold standard science at hhs, accountable to the president, to congress, and to the american people. we will reverse the chronic disease epidemic and put the nation back on the road to good health. thank you. >> thank you, mr. kennedy. mr. kennedy, i will begin. each of

us will have five minutes to ask you questions. and then at the conclusion of the hearing, if there are further questions, there will be an opportunity for those questions to be submitted to you. and i ask that you respond to them promptly. mr. kennedy, you have emphasized the importance of nutrition in preventing and managing chronic disease, improving health outcomes and reducing health costs. i share your interest in the relationship between our diet and our well-being. and if confirmed, i look forward to partnering with you on those efforts. would you share with the committee why you are passionate about the nutrition oriented disease prevention and what you have learned? yes. >> mr. chairman. i had 11 brothers and sisters. i had dozens of first cousins. i was raised in a time where we did not have a chronic disease epidemic. my uncle was president. 2% of american kids had chronic disease. today he's

66% have chronic disease. we spend zero on chronic disease during the kennedy administration. today, we spend $4.3 trillion a year. it with 77% of our kids cannot qualify for military service. when i was a kid, the typical pediatrician would see one case of diabetes and his or her lifetime for 40 or 50 year career. a one out of every three kids who walks through his her office door is diabetic or pre-diabetic. and the most recent data from nih shows 38% of teens are diabetic or pre-diabetic. autism rates have gone from one inch 10,000 to 1in 1500, depending on what studies you look at. in my generation today, 70 year old man, 1 in 30 four inches my kids generation, we've seen this explosion of autoimmune disease, of allergic diseases. we are

this is not just a economic issue. it's not just a national security issue. it is a spiritual issue and it is a moral issue. we cannot live up to our role as an exemplary nation, as a moral authority around the world. and we're writing off an entire generation of kids. >> thank you very much. and if confirmed, how could we work together to integrate nutrition based interventions into our health care programs like medicaid and medicare? well. >> there are there are many ways that we can do that. a federal funding of the snap program, for example, and have school lunch programs, could be a driver for helping kids. we shouldn't be giving 60% of the kids in school processed food that is making them sick. we shouldn't be giving. we shouldn't be spending 10% of the snap program on sugar drinks. we. so we have a direct

ability to change things there. we also, you know, in medicaid and medicare, we need to focus more on outcome based medicine, on on putting people in charge of their own health care, of making them accountable for their own health care so they they understand the relationship between eating and getting sick. most importantly, we need to use deploy nih and fda to doing the research to understand the relationship between these different food additives and chronic disease so that americans understand it and make sure that americans are aware of it. i don't want to take food away from anybody. if you like a cheeseburger, a mcdonald's cheeseburger, a diet coke, which my boss loves, and i, you should be able to get them. if you want to eat hostess twinkies, you should be able to do that, but you should know what the impacts are on your family and on your

health. >> thank you. senator wyden. >> thank you very much, mr. chairman. before i begin my questions, i'd like to start by entering into the record a letter the committee received from ambassador caroline kennedy outlining what she believes is mr. kennedy's lack of personal fitness for the office. >> without objection. >> mr. kennedy, you have spent years pushing conflicting stories about vaccines. you say one thing and then you say another. and your testimony today, under oath, you denied that you were anti-vaccine. but during a podcast interview in july of 2023, you said, quote, no vaccine is safe and effective. in your testimony today, in order to prove your not anti-vax, you note that all your kids are vaccinated. but in a podcast in 2020, you said and i quote, you would do anything, pay anything to go back in time and not vaccinate your kids. mr.

kennedy, all of these things cannot be true. so are you lying to congress today when you say you are pro-vaccine? or did you lie on all those podcasts? we have all of this on tape, by the way. >> yeah. >> senator, as you know, because it's been repeatedly debunked, that statement that i made on the lex fridman podcast was a fragment of the statement he asked me, and anybody who actually goes and looks at that podcast and we'll see this. he asked me, are there vaccines that are safe and effective? and i said to him, some of the live virus vaccines are and i said, there are no vaccines that are safe and effective. and i was going to continue for every person, every medicine has people who are sensitive to them, including vaccines. so he interrupted me at that point.

i've corrected it many times, including on national tv. you know about this, senator wyden. and so bringing this up right now is dishonest. >> let's be clear. >> about what you've actually done then. since you want to deny your statements, for example, you have a history of trying to take vaccines away from people. in may of 2021, you petitioned the food and drug administration to not only block americans from having access to the covid vaccine, but to prevent any future access to the life saving vaccine. are you denying that your name is on the petition? >> we brought that petition after the cdc recommended the covid vaccine without any scientific basis or six year old children. most experts agree today, even the people who did it back then that covid vaccines

are inappropriate for six year old children who basically have a zero risk from covid. that's why i brought that lawsuit. i don't want to i want to emphasize. kennedy the facts. >> the facts are. >> the committee will be in order. and to the audience. second, mr. kennedy, to the audience. comments from the audience are inappropriate and out of order. and if there are any further disruptions, the committee will recess until the police can restore order. please follow the rules of the committee. mr. kennedy, you may proceed. >> i also want to point out that your recitation of what happened in samoa is absolutely wrong, and you know it's wrong and you know it's wrong. >> we'll get to that in a

moment. right now, we're talking about the petition that you filed to block americans from having access to the vaccine and to prevent any future access to the vaccine. those facts are on the record. my third question to you is you made almost $5 million from book deals, mostly promoting junk science in 2021. in a book called the measles book, you wrote that parents had been, quote, misled into believing that measles is a deadly disease and that measles vaccines are necessary, safe and effective. the reality is, measles are in fact deadly and highly contagious, something that you should have learned after your lies contributed to the deaths of 83 people, most of them children, in a measles outbreak in samoa. so my question here is, mr. kennedy, is measles deadly? yes or no? >> the death rate from measles historically in this country in 1963, the year before the

introduction of the vaccine, was 1 in 10,000. let me explain what happened in samoa and samoa in 2017 or 2015. there were two kids who died following the mmr vaccine. and the vaccination rates in samoa dropped precipitously from about 63% to the mid 30s. so they've never been very high. and in 2018, two more kids died following the mmr vaccine and the government in samoa banned the mmr vaccine. i arrived a year later when vaccination rates were already below the below any any previous level. i went there nothing to do with vaccines. i went there to introduce a medical informatics system with digitalized records in samoa, and make health delivery much more efficient. i never gave any public statement about vaccines. you cannot find a single samoan

who will say, i didn't get a vaccine because of bobby kennedy. i went in june of 2019. the measles outbreak started in august. oh, clearly i had nothing to do with the measles. not only that. >> mr. kennedy, senator. >> not only that, if you let me finish, you. >> have. >> had some time. >> if you let me finish, senator, if you let me finish. there are 83 people died when the tissue samples were sent to new zealand. not most of those people did not have measles. we don't know what was killing them. the same outbreak occurred in tonga and fiji, and no extra people died. there were seven measles outbreaks in the 13 years prior to my arrival. >> i would like to get my time back. the nominee wrote a book saying that people had been misled into believing that measles is a deadly disease. he's trying now to play down his role in samoa. that's not what the parents say. that's not what governor greene says. it's time to make sure that we blow the

whistle on actually what your views are. at least we're starting. >> we need to move on. >> i support the measles vaccine. i support the polio vaccine. i will do nothing. as hhs secretary, that makes it difficult or discourages people from taking it. >> anybody who believes that ought to look at the measles book you wrote saying parents have been misled into believing that measles is a deadly disease. that's not true. >> we need to move on, senator grassley. >> welcome. i'm going to do like i did in my office. i'm just going to make some points to you. >> i got. >> about seven. i want to quickly get done. and then at the. >> end. >> i'm going to ask if you disagree. with anything i say and. >> then address. >> those things you. >> disagree with. >> i'll make sure. >> i save time for you. >> to do that. >> a key responsibility of each member of congress is oversight. oversight allows us to hold

bureaucrats accountable to the rule of law, and it helps keep faith with taxpayers. i expect hhs to provide. >> timely and complete. >> responses to congressional oversight. >> number two. >> pbms. something you and i discussed in our office. i've been working to hold pharmacy. benefit managers accountable in order to lower prescription drug prices. i expect you to work with us to hold pbms accountable. and that may even asking your support. for legislation that's before the congress. but drug pricing. senator durbin and i have for. >> a while. >> been trying. >> to get. >> a bill. >> passed that requires price disclosures on tv ads for prescription drugs, knowing what something costs before buying it is just common sense. president trump tried to do this by regulation in his first term.

vice president pence co-sponsored our bill last congress. i ask you to support this bill, or. >> if you can do. >> it by regulation, to do it by regulation on rural health care. the previous administration dragged its feet in, opening up slots for rural community hospital demonstration programs. it also ignored concerns from rural pharmacies when implementing changes to medicare part d and ignored rural needs when it comes to distributing physician residency slots. i expect you to prioritize rural americans health care needs on agriculture. in our meeting earlier this month, we talked at length about agriculture. you prefaced the conversation by saying you will not have jurisdiction over these issues. i expect you to leave agricultural practice regulations to the proper agencies. and for the most part,

that's usda and epa on dietary guidelines. i've sent letters to the secretaries of agriculture and hhs requesting that they provide information regarding conflicts of interest on the dietary guideline advisory committee to increase transparency. i expect you to provide congress with confidential financial disclosures from the advisory committee before finalizing dietary guidelines. so we know that nobody. has a vested interest in it, is having undue influence. lastly, hhs office of refugee resettlement oversight. last year, i expanded my investigation into hhs office of refugee resettlement. i wrote two dozen contractors and

grantees whose job it is to place unaccompanied children with sponsors. in many cases, children's have been placed with improper, vetted sponsors, placing them at risk of trafficking. the biden administration's hhs directed these taxpayer funded contractors and grantees to not respond to my inquiry. this is obstruction by the executive branch. i expect you to produce to me the records and data i've requested and instruct hhs contractors to fully cooperate with my investigation. i also expect hhs to not retaliate against any whistleblowers, including those who. identify. or aws o r. s failures to embedding sponsors of unaccompanied. >> you got. >> 45 seconds to respond if you want to.

>> i agree with all of those provisions, senator. my approach to administration, hhs will be radical transparency. if members of this committee or other members of congress want information, the doors are open. i've spent many years litigating against nih and its subagencies. i mean, hhs and its subagencies, nih, cdc, fda on foia issues, trying to get information that we, the taxpayers, paid for and oftentimes getting back redacted copies after a year or two years of litigation. that should not be the case. and if congress asks me for information, you will get it immediately. thank you. >> thank you. senator cantwell is next. but until she returns, i will move on to down the list. and that would be senator cornyn. >> mr. kennedy, welcome to you. >> and your family. >> and congratulations. i appreciate senator grassley

raising the issue of the office of refugee. resettlement within the auspices of health and human services. i think this may surprise people, but that's actually the responsibility of hhs, the office of resettlement relocation. under the previous administration, as senator grassley alluded, there were roughly 500,000 children, unaccompanied minors that were placed with. sponsors in the interior of the united states. the previous administration took the position that it was not. >> the. >> federal government's responsibility. once these. children were placed with these. >> sponsors. >> but the new york times, in a series of investigative stories, pointed out that tens of thousands of these children, when they tried to follow up and find out how they were doing, whether they were going to school, whether they were being trafficked or abused. there was no answer. and they took the position that it was not their responsibility. so i look forward to working with you to

find those children and to make sure that they're not being abused. millions of americans are experiencing mild to moderate mental health and substance abuse issues, yet many struggle with timely and effective access. primary care physicians are most likely to be seeing these individuals as opposed to a specialist, and it makes it important that these individuals primary care physicians, be trained in patient centered care, which would strengthen the integration of behavioral health care with primary care services. is this something that you are concerned about, something you'd be willing to work with us on in order to implement? >> yes, senator. let me just reassure you that president trump has personally spoken to me about locating those 300,000 children who disappeared over the last four years. >> i don't think.

>> anybody has a not fully accurate number, but it's hundreds of thousands. i agree. >> and many of them we know have been sex trafficked and childhood slavery. and we it is a blight on america's moral authority. and we need to find those kids in terms of addiction services and substance abuse services. i this is a priority for me. it was a priority for me when i was running for president during my campaign. i was a heroin addict for 14 years. i've been 42 years in recovery. i go to 12 step meetings every day, so i hear the stories every day, and i hear the many stories about denial of or the barriers to access to care. and we need to improve that. and answer specifically to your question, i think we can do that through gm, to which is a program that is

funded by hhs, that is the largest funder for medical school students. and that's one of the things for primary care physicians should be should understand addiction care addicts almost always go through a cycle where there is a moment where they hit periodic bottoms, where they're ready to go into treatment, but it's fleeting and it's momentary, and we have that opportunity to save their lives. and then if we miss that little short window, they're off to the races again. let me. >> let me, let me. i appreciate your answer. our time is short. let me get to one more question that i think is very important. under the first trump administration, the number of people receiving hiv treatment in africa through the president's emergency plan for aids. >> relief. >> otherwise known as pepfar, it increased. this is during the

first trump administration, from 13 million people to 18 million people across 50 countries, primarily in africa. africa has about 1.3 billion people today, or in 2021, it's projected to have. 2.5 billion people by 2050, or 25%. >> of the. >> global population. in 2020, pepfar reported that 2.8 million babies were born without hiv. that was something that would not have happened. but for the pepfar program. so it has simply been one of the most successful public health programs in the world and saved approximately 26 million lives. failure to continue this program, in my view, would risk ceding that leadership to adversaries like china. and i'd like. >> to know whether. >> you support the objectives and. goals of pepfar. and would. >> you. >> work with me and my colleagues to make sure that

this program. >> continues to. provide life saving antiviral. >> drugs to people who are most in need? >> i absolutely support pepfar, and i will i will happily work with you to strengthen the program. >> thank you, senator bennett. >> thank you, mr. chairman. >> thank you, mr. kennedy, for being here this morning. and i think that, mr. chairman, we are we are truly through the looking glass this morning here in the us senate. and this committee is being asked to fulfill a really important responsibility, which is to decide. >> whether to. >> confirm mr. kennedy to one. >> of the. >> most important health care jobs in america. and the reason i think it's so important is for many of the reasons you said in your opening statement, which is that we live in the richest. >> country in. >> the. >> world, and we have some of the worst health outcomes of any industrialized country in the world. we live in the richest. >> country in. >> the world, and we have some

of the. >> lowest expected. >> healthy life expectancy rates of anybody in the industrialized world. i was a school superintendent before i was in this job, mr. chairman, and i can tell you that mr. kennedy is right. you know that when i look at the kids in the denver public. >> schools. >> if we don't change the. >> way we. >> eat in this country, 40% of them are going to suffer. >> adult onset. >> onset adult diabetes as a result of their diet. these are and we're, as i. >> said, spending more than any other. >> country in the world and our families, every single person's constituents in this senate are facing chronic shortages when it comes to health care. my friend from texas, senator cornyn, has been a champion on mental health care. we have an epidemic, as he knows, across this country in mental health care, partly because of what the, the, the,

the, the massive social media platforms that we're sitting behind the president of the united states have inflicted on our children for their profit in the last decade or so. so we have no shortage of challenges to confront. and i even agree with some of the diagnosis of, of mr. kennedy. what is so disturbing to me is that out of 330 million americans, we're being asked to. >> put somebody. >> in this job who has spent 50 years of his life not honoring the tradition that he talked about at the beginning of this conversation, but pedaling in half truths, peddling in false statements, peddling in theories that, you know, create doubt about whether or not things that we know are safe are unsafe. not that every vaccine in america is unsafe. not that you can't

possibly have an adverse reaction, but that parents and children in my old school district and school districts all over this country would be better off not getting vaccinated than getting vaccinated. unlike his own children who are vaccinated. unlike the people he invited to his house in los angeles for their party who were vaccinated. for everybody else, it's about pedaling these half truths. and he says it with such conviction that you want to believe him. and mr. kennedy, i just have some. there are many, many things in the record, but i hope that you could answer these questions yes or no. i've tried to ask these in a manner that's faithful to what you actually said, because i didn't want to have a debate about whether you actually said them. so i'm asking you yes or no. mr. kennedy, did you say that covid 19 was a genetically engineered bioweapon that targets black and white people, but spared ashkenazi jews and chinese

people? >> i didn't say it was deliberately targeted. i just i just quoted an nih funded an nih published study. >> did you say that it targets black and white people but spared ashkenazi? >> i quoted a study, your honor. i quoted an nih study that showed that. >> i'll take that as. >> a yes. >> i have to move on. mr. i have to move on. did you say that lyme disease is a is highly likely a materially engineered bioweapon? i made sure i put in the highly likely. did you say lyme disease is a highly likely militarily engineered bioweapon? >> i probably did say that. >> did you say that? >> that's what. the developer of. >> i want all of our colleagues to hear it, mr. kennedy. i want them to hear it. you said yes. did you say that exposure to pesticides causes children to become transgender? >> no, i never said that.

>> okay, i have the record that i'll give to the chairman, and he can make his judgment about what you said. did you write in your book? and i it's undeniable that african american african aids is an entirely different disease from western aids. yes or no? mr. kennedy? >> i'm not sure. if i may. >> i'll give it to the chairman. mr. mr. kennedy, and my final question, did you say on a podcast and i quote, i wouldn't leave it abortion to the states. my belief is we should leave it to the woman. we shouldn't have the government involved, even if it's full term. did you say that, mr. kennedy? >> senator, i believe that every abortion is a tragedy. >> did you say it, mr. kennedy? this matters. it doesn't matter what you come here and say that isn't true. that's not reflective of what you really believe that you haven't said over a decade after decade after decade. because unlike other jobs where confirming around this place, this is a job where

it is life and death. for the kids that i used to work for in the denver public schools and for families all over this country that are suffering from living in the richest country in the world, that can't deliver basic health care and basic mental health care to them. it's too important for the games that you're playing, mr. kennedy, and i hope my colleagues will say to the president, i have no influence over him. i hope my colleagues will say to the president, out of 330 million americans, we can do better than this. thank you. we need to move on. senator cassidy. mr. kennedy, president. >> trump has. >> sworn to protect medicare. >> republicans are exploring reforms. >> to medicaid that could help pay for trump. administration priorities. >> with this. >> context, what will you do about dual eligibles? about dual

eligibles? >> well, dual eligibles are not right now served very well under the system. those are people who are eligible for both medicaid and medicare. and, you know, the i suppose my answer to that is to make sure that the that the programs are consolidated, that they're integrated and the care is integrated. i look forward to working with you, doctor cassidy, on making sure that we take good care of people who are eligible. >> and how would we how do you propose that we integrate those programs? >> does medicare pay more medicare. >> pay less. >> medicaid. pay more. >> medicaid, pay less? how do we do that? >> well, the i'm not exactly sure because i'm not in there. i mean, it is difficult to integrate them because medicaid is medicare is under a fee for service, it's paid for by

employer taxes. medicaid is a has is fully paid for by the federal government. and it's not fee for service. so it's i don't i do not know the answer to that. i look forward to exploring options with you. >> republicans again are looking at ways to. potentially reform medicaid to help, you know, pay. >> for president trump's priorities. >> but to improve outcomes. what thoughts do you have regarding medicaid reform? >> well, medicaid is not working for americans. and it's specifically not working for the target population. most americans like myself, i'm on medicare advantage. i'm very happy with it. most people who are on medicaid are not happy. the premiums are too high. the deductibles are too high. the networks are narrow. the best

doctors will not accept it. and the best hospitals, and particularly medicaid, was originally designed for a target population. the poorest americans. it's now been dramatically expanded. and the irony of the expansion is that the poorest americans are now being robbed. their services have dramatically different. decreased even though we've increased the price of medicare by 60% over the last four years. the target population is being robbed. would that would that said other options? >> obviously you've thought about that and i appreciate that. what reforms do you recommend again that would improve. >> services i. >> suppose, but also make it more cost efficient. >> president trump has has given me the charge of improving quality of care and lowering the price of care for all americans. there are many things that we can do. i mean, what we want to

the ultimate outcome, i think, is to increase transparency, to increase accountability, and to transition to a to a value based system rather than a fee based system. so a medicare, a service based. >> on. >> medicaid in. >> particular, can you just kind of take take those kind of general principles and apply it to the medicaid program? >> you know, i listen, i think that there is there are many, many options with telemedicine, with ai right now. and, you know, there's. a including direct primary care systems. we're seeing that movement grow across the country. there's a one of the largest providers. so. >> so knowing. so going back to medicaid though and speaking of these specific advances, how would you what reforms are you proposing with these ideas vis a vis medicaid? >> well, i don't have a broad

proposal for dismantling the program. i did. >> not say, of course, not saying that. >> i think what we need to do is we need to experiment with pilot programs in each state. we need to keep our eye on the ultimate goal, which is value based care, which is transparency, accountability, access. >> and one more thing. going back to medicare. you mentioned you're an ma. you mentioned earlier the medicare fee for service. do you have any kind of thoughts as to whether or not patients on fee for service should move into ma, or how should we handle that? >> whether patients. >> who are on. >> medicare fee. >> for service, traditional medicare? >> yes. >> that's their choice right now. i mean, we have, i think, 32 million americans or 30 million americans on medicare, on traditional medicare, and then another 34 or 30, 34 on medicare advantage, roughly half

and half. and i think more people would rather be on medicare advantage because it offers very good services, but people can't afford it. it's much more expensive. so in answer to your first question there, you know, there's there are all kinds of exciting things that we can be doing, including cooperatives, which president trump has supported, including health savings accounts, which president trump has supported. but all of these things to make people more accountable for their own health. >> and so it would bring the cooperatives and the health savings accounts into medicare and medicaid. >> exactly. we try to. we try to increase those. the use of those, and to direct primary care to, to, to continue to transition to into a value based program. that is that is private. americans don't. americans don't, by and