National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026

Floor Speech

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Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I rise today with a pretty simple message: Fire R.F.K., Jr. This man is burning down our public health system from the inside. We have got to take his matches and his keys away, and we need to do it now.

We need to make his latest attack on public health--firing a CDC Director, why? Because she stood up for science. The stakes are sky- high. Our medical research, our public health, our pandemic preparedness, our food safety--R.F.K. Jr., is putting all of that in jeopardy and putting communities across this country in danger.

We cannot put our heads into the sand. We absolutely need a Secretary of Health and Human Services--not a ``Secretary of Conspiracies,'' not a ``Secretary of Measles and Food Poisoning,'' certainly not a ``Secretary of Canceled Research and Chemtrail Nonsense.'' It does not take a shred of imagination to see how dangerous R.F.K., Jr.'s, leadership has been. It just takes two eyes and 2 seconds, if that.

I mean, one of the first things he did right off the bat was fan the flames of a measles outbreak by ignoring the science, peddling quack treatments, and spreading falsehoods about vaccines. The result, no surprise, was the largest measles outbreak we have seen in decades, one that tragically took the lives of two children.

Did that spark one iota of reflection from R.F.K., Jr.? Of course not. The largest measles outbreak since 1992, and do you know how R.F.K., Jr., described the response this week? Effective.

Effective? Are you kidding me? I shudder to think what it would take for a man like that to admit failure. We should all hope that we never find out. Instead of learning even a single lesson, all he has done now is doubled down on doing as much damage as possible.

When it comes to vaccines, he has not only spouted off nonsense and falsehoods to families who are looking to him for reliable guidance, he fired every single member of CDC's Vaccine Advisory Board, down to the very last one. And then he started replacing them with a who is who of anti-vax alarmists who have already started shaping Federal policy to fit their anti-science conspiracies.

And when the new CDC Director--nominated by Trump, endorsed by R.F.K., Jr., himself, confirmed by the Senate--dared to stand up and say: You know, I think we should follow the science instead of nonsense, R.F.K., Jr., pushed to fire her too. This is unbelievable.

Meanwhile, when it comes to medical research, he is tossing promising work and potential breakthroughs into the garbage. One example, mRNA research is on the cutting edge of medical innovation--not just for lifesaving vaccines, by the way, but for lifesaving cancer treatments. And you don't have to just take my word for it. President Trump's own health leaders championed mRNA research as groundbreaking scientific advancement.

But with all the lives hanging in the balance, R.F.K., Jr., pulled the plug on all Federal funding for mRNA research. Now, not only is this a massive blow to our researchers and to our patients, but it is a massive win, by the way, for China, which just has been handed a huge opening to now take the lead on biomedical innovation.

And mRNA research isn't the only cancer research R.F.K., Jr., has upended. He and Trump are cutting research grants across the board, across the country, and cutting patients off from clinical trials that were their last best chance at beating a deadly disease. They are now condemning some of these patients to death. They are killing their hope for a cure. And some of these patients are kids, are children.

Last month, in fact, the National Cancer Institute's Pediatric Brain Tumor Consortium stopped enrolling kids with brain cancer in clinical trials that could save their lives, all after Trump and R.F.K., Jr., ended Federal funding for that work.

What do my colleagues want to say to those parents? I don't even know what there is to say. Yes, we can fight to restore funding. Yes, we will fight here to restore funding, especially as so many of Trump's cuts are, in fact, outright illegal. But we cannot restore from here lost time--invaluable time--for kids fighting an incredibly deadly disease. For some of them, it may be too late. And that is heartbreaking, and it is a direct result of R.F.K., Jr.'s, disastrous leadership at HHS.

To my colleagues, ``sorry'' does not cut it, especially if you aren't sorry enough to demand the person who is responsible to be fired. What happened to the accountability Republicans pretend to care so much about?

And that is not all. R.F.K., Jr., is sabotaging food safety. I am glad that some companies are now choosing to remove artificial dyes from some of their products. But when it comes to bedrock regulations that keep all Americans safe and prevent foodborne illnesses, R.F.K., Jr., may as well be pro-food poisoning because, on his watch, CDC is throwing in the towel on food safety monitoring.

This summer, our food surveillance network stopped monitoring requirements for all but two dangerous pathogens. I know R.F.K., Jr., doesn't like listening to public health experts, but I don't think it takes an expert to understand listeria will not go away just because States don't track it. It will not go away because nobody is looking. Shigella outbreaks will not go away if you ignore them.

Foodborne diseases sicken people. They actually kill people. This isn't about following the science. That is as plain as day. You don't follow the science by defunding it. You do not follow the science by shutting it down. And you don't follow the science by firing scientists. That is exactly how R.F.K., Jr., has been operating.

As I mentioned last week, we saw some of the most egregious examples yet when he fired the CDC Director, all because she chose to listen to science instead of falsehoods, all because she insisted on protecting lives instead of pandering to anti-vax conspirators.

As we continue to see the damaging aftershocks of R.F.K., Jr.'s, reckless decision to steamroll a CDC Director that refused to bow to his will, several other experienced, respected, trusted public health experts resigned from the CDC in protest. Some are now also sharing alarming allegations of the widespread culture of conspiracy and incompetence and willful ignorance of science that is now defining R.F.K.'s leadership. Just this week, 1,000--1,000--HHS workers demanded he resign because of how his actions are compromising the health of our Nation.

And it is clear R.F.K., Jr., has no intention of changing gears. Earlier today, he had a Senate hearing, and he continued to flaunt his ignorance like a badge of honor, not even knowing the COVID death toll, outright lying about established science, refusing to take any accountability for his actions.

Mr. President, great leaders leave behind a track record of accomplishments, but it is painfully clear R.F.K., Jr., will leave behind a body count. How high will it go? Well, that all depends on how long Republicans let him go around setting fires. How much damage will my colleagues let him do? How many children will die before they finally take action? We should not let him have one more day in power.

I know some of my colleagues understand the grave reality of the situation. What I don't know is how long they are going to be willing to stay silent. You can talk about oversight; what are you actually doing? You can talk about the need to follow science, but that is not the path we are on.

If you want to show us you are serious, if you want to save lives, you need to join us in talking about how important it is President Trump fire R.F.K., Jr. Anything less is lying to yourself, while R.F.K., Jr., lies to the American people about things as basic, as established, and as lifesaving as vaccine safety.

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