-9999

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. HEINRICH. Mr. President, just over 5 years ago, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., traveled to the Pacific island Samoa. Mr. Kennedy was on a mission to spread baseless and debunked conspiracy theories about the safety and efficacy of children's vaccines.

Trading in his esteemed family name and peddling himself as some sort of expert, Mr. Kennedy discouraged parents in Samoa from vaccinating their children. The impact of Mr. Kennedy's visit was undeniable. Health providers in Samoa reported that anti-vaccine voices ``got louder'' after his visit, and the rate of measles vaccinations for eligible 1-year-olds in Samoa fell to under 33 percent--well below herd immunity.

Five months after Mr. Kennedy's visit, Samoa had a massive measles outbreak, with 5,000 of its citizens contracting the disease and 83 Samoans dying, the vast majority of whom were children under the age of 5.

During his recent Senate confirmation hearings, Mr. Kennedy doubled down on his denialism, claiming, ``We don't know what was killing'' those children in Samoa.

Mr. Kennedy also claimed in written responses to Senate questions that ``my words had nothing to do with vaccine uptake in Samoa or with the 2019 epidemic.'' But the current top health official in Samoa has denounced Mr. Kennedy's characterization of the measles outbreak in his country and Mr. Kennedy's role in it as ``an outright lie'' and ``a total fabrication.''

As someone with a background in science but more importantly, just as a father of two young men, I am horrified by this story. The measles vaccine has been one of the most successful public health and science stories of the last century. One vaccine administered in two doses now provides protection against four devastating diseases: measles, mumps, rubella, and chickenpox.

In the late 1950s and early 1960s, nearly twice as many young people died from measles as from polio. Thanks to incredible scientific research and medical advances, we now have a vaccine that is proven to be safe and effective at protecting our kids from these deadly diseases. This vaccine has largely eradicated the measles outbreaks that used to result in the devastating loss of babies and young children--that is, until anti-vaccine crusaders like Mr. Kennedy started promoting phony science and conspiracy theories in places like Samoa.

Over the last two decades, thanks in large part to Mr. Kennedy, this anti-science movement has moved from the darkest corners of the internet into the mainstream. The Samoan story provides us a heartbreaking example of just what is at stake if we give this movement's leader a national platform to spread his junk science.

I hope all of my colleagues take seriously what it would mean to confirm this anti-vaccine, anti-science, snake oil salesman as our next Secretary of Health and Human Services.

As the leader of the largest anti-vaccine organization in the country, the so-called ``Children's Defense Fund''--and I use air quotes for a reason--Mr. Kennedy has repeatedly pushed junk science studies to spread fear and skepticism of vaccines. And it is not limited to the measles. Mr. Kennedy has repeatedly and falsely alleged that safe and effective vaccines for tetanus, for the flu, for COVID, for HPV are dangerous to human health.

Mr. Kennedy has even promoted the completely discredited conspiracy theory that vaccines lead to autism. I want to be really clear that decades of extensive, peer-reviewed, scientific studies have found no connection--zero connection--between vaccines and autism. When he was pressed about this during his confirmation hearings, Mr. Kennedy continued to promote junk science studies rather than walk back his misinformation.

In response to Mr. Kennedy's words in his confirmation hearing, Christopher Banks, the president and CEO of the Autism Society of America, said:

The Autism community deserves leadership that prioritizes evidence-based policies and respects the lived experiences of Autistic individuals and their families. The continued promotion of debunked vaccine theories only serves as a distraction from the critical research needed to better understand Autism and provide support for the Autism community today.

I completely agree with Mr. Banks.

Financial disclosures from his confirmation process have also revealed that Mr. Kennedy has made millions of dollars in referral fees from law firms suing vaccine manufacturers based on baseless conspiracy theories. If confirmed, his own personal financial interests could still be tied to these anti-vaccine lawsuits.

At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic that led to more than a million deaths in the United States alone, Mr. Kennedy campaigned to end the nationwide vaccination effort that helped us save millions more lives. He continued his well-worn and, again, completely evidence-free message that no vaccine is safe and effective. And just like with all vaccines, the COVID vaccines went through independent review and extensive trials to ensure they were safe and effective. If Mr. Kennedy had had his way, we might still be losing thousands and thousands of our family members and neighbors to that virus.

Mr. Kennedy has, again, without any sound evidence also pushed conspiracy theories claiming that antidepressant medications cause mass shootings and chemicals in our water make children gay. If those claims sound nuts, it is because they are.

Mr. Kennedy has said that he is opposed to promoting prescription medications to treat chronic diseases, including anti-obesity medications like Ozempic that are currently used by millions of Americans.

Mr. Kennedy has said that he would eliminate the entire nutrition department at the Food and Drug Administration, jeopardizing the safety of our Nation's food supplies.

Mr. Kennedy has said that he supports gutting the National Institutes of Health, which supports the development of medicines to treat diseases and delivers untold resources to healthcare institutions in New Mexico and every other State in this country.

During his confirmation process, Mr. Kennedy also reportedly made commitments to my Republican colleagues to support restrictions on mifepristone, a medication abortion and miscarriage management drug. Mifepristone has been approved by the FDA for 25 years.

It is true that Mr. Kennedy has made a number of conflicting statements in the past about his personal views on women's reproductive healthcare, but during his confirmation process, Mr. Kennedy signaled to Republican Senators that he will go along with whatever President Trump wants to further roll back women's reproductive rights.

Mr. Kennedy is not who any of us should want to put in charge of our Nation's health and food safety. The Department of Health and Human Services oversees health coverage programs that serve half--half--of all Americans. HHS plays a critical role in overseeing Medicare, overseeing Medicaid, and the Affordable Care Act. HHS also supports the medical research that helps us to develop the next vaccines, prevent the next pandemic, and find cures for cancer and chronic diseases like diabetes.

We have already seen President Trump, Elon Musk, and his DOGE minions target scientific and medical research at Agencies like the National Institutes of Health. Just last week, we saw them announce an estimated $4 billion cut for health research at universities across the Nation, including an estimated $17 million impact at the University of New Mexico alone. And just like many of the unilateral and illegal actions of this emboldened Trump administration, this one received a temporary halt from a Federal judge 2 days ago.

But whether this particular attack holds up in court or not, the Trump administration's intention is clear: dramatic cuts to medical research into treatments and cures that countless Americans are depending upon to save their lives. Mr. Kennedy plans to lead this effort and even to expand on it.

Mr. Kennedy is not who my constituents in New Mexico want to see leading our Nation's health Agency. In fact, New Mexicans have raised their concerns in letters and emails and phone calls day in and day out, and I am going to take a few minutes to read to you from some of these New Mexicans who are terrified about the danger that Mr. Kennedy would pose as our Nation's healthcare Agency leader.

Melissa from Albuquerque is concerned that Mr. Kennedy's past of promoting misinformation about vaccines and his lack of experience will endanger Americans.

Melissa said:

This role demands a leader who relies on evidence-based decision-making, upholds public trust, and prioritizes the health and safety of all Americans. RFK Jr.'s history of promoting conspiracy theories makes him fundamentally unfit for this critical position. If RFK Jr. were confirmed to head HHS, millions of American lives would be put at risk. His policies would jeopardize public health and undermine efforts to protect our communities from preventable diseases and health crises.

William from Albuquerque, a retired University of New Mexico health communications professor and longtime NIH principal investigator, knows that Mr. Kennedy's harmful rhetoric and lies will hurt public health efforts and lead to unnecessary deaths.

William said:

My research team and I have had to continually battle anti- vax misinformation. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is often at the center of that misinformation. I urge you in the strongest possible terms to oppose his nomination as Secretary of HHS. The damage he would do will take decades to undo and will lead undoubtedly to US morbidity and mortality increasing due to infectious diseases.

Jane from Albuquerque is concerned that Mr. Kennedy's lack of experience will negatively impact the health of New Mexicans.

She said:

The administration has nominated manifestly unqualified individuals and those openly hostile to evidence to head the Department of Health and Human Services and the individual agencies that are charged with protecting the health of everyone in the U.S. This abdication of responsibility will undoubtedly impact vulnerable populations most profoundly, including those living in New Mexico.

Mark from Albuquerque, a survivor of polio, knows that the polio vaccine effectively eradicated this relentless and deadly disease. He is worried that Mr. Kennedy's confirmation could stifle future vaccinations like the one that saved his life.

Mark said:

I am a polio survivor. I know that I was very fortunate in my recovery and I also know that the vaccines effectively eradicated this relentless and deadly disease. So, I ask that you do whatever you can to prevent RFK Jr. from overseeing the healthcare of all Americans!

Lori from Las Cruces is also worried that Mr. Kennedy's history of spreading misinformation could harm Americans.

Lori said:

If the Senate confirms RFK Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, Americans' health care will be put at risk and we'll be ill-prepared for another public health catastrophe. We need to push for a qualified, trustworthy nominee to lead America's health policy.

Meghan from Albuquerque, a primary care physician, is worried that Mr. Kennedy's lack of experience and disregard for evidence-based medicine pose a danger to Americans.

Meghan said:

As a primary care physician in New Mexico, I am also very worried about the possibility of RFK Jr. being confirmed as HHS Secretary. His past actions have shown that he has little regard for research, evidence based medicine or the expertise of scientists and physicians. He is dangerous to the American people.

I agree with these New Mexicans that Mr. Kennedy is unprepared, he is unqualified, and he is dangerously unfit to be confirmed as our next Health Secretary--unfit to protect our kids' health from debunked conspiracy theories, unfit to defend women's reproductive rights, unfit to safeguard the future of Medicare and Medicaid, and unfit to continue lifesaving medical research and medical care in my State and across the country.

For all of these reasons, I would urge all of my colleagues to join me in voting no on confirming Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source