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Floor Speech

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Mr. PETERS. Mr. President, I rise today in opposition to Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.'s nomination to serve as Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, also known as HHS.

Throughout his entire nomination process, it has become clear that Mr. Kennedy is wholly unprepared to lead this Department, which is charged with promoting, as well as protecting, the health of all Americans.

If confirmed as Secretary, he would be tasked with managing programs that millions of Americans depend on each and every day, including Medicaid and Medicare; the Centers for Disease Control, or CDC; the Food and Drug Administration, or FDA; the National Institutes of Health, or NIH; as well as a number of other initiatives aimed at preparing for and responding to public health and medical emergencies. In total, HHS has a nearly $2 trillion budget and manages more than 90,000 employees. HHS is an extremely, extremely complex organization that requires a leader with expertise on how these critically, critically important programs are actually administered.

Yet, during his hearings before the Senate Finance and HELP Committees, Mr. Kennedy showed his severe lack of knowledge and understanding about the most basic of Federal health programs. Mr. Kennedy could not answer the most basic questions about how the Medicaid Program works or how it benefits more than 70 million Americans who depend on health insurance.

At a time when Republicans are proposing drastic cuts to the Medicaid Program to pay for their tax cuts to billionaires, we need a Secretary who not only knows how the program works but will protect the access to healthcare services it provides for children and some of the most vulnerable people in our country. It is very clear Robert Kennedy, Jr., is not that Secretary.

During his nomination process, Mr. Kennedy also made it clear he does not understand the differences between the various components of Medicare, a program that keeps our seniors cared for well into their golden years and often plays a key role in a person's decision about whether or not they can retire with dignity.

Amid ongoing threats from Republicans to privatize Medicare, we need a Secretary who will protect this program that generations of seniors have counted on to get care and generations to come that are paying into that fund for their future.

Mr. Kennedy's lack of experience and basic understanding of our Nation's healthcare system is, to say the least, extremely alarming. We cannot confirm a nominee who doesn't even know the most basic answers about programs that he is actually in charge of administering.

Since Mr. Kennedy was nominated to lead HHS, I have heard from thousands of my constituents from every corner of Michigan--from densely populated cities to some of the most rural areas in our State-- who are deeply concerned about how his plans for the Department would impact families. For example, I have heard from countless folks about the rising cost of healthcare that is squeezing Michigan families' budgets. Healthcare prices are rising faster than inflation, making it even harder for people to get the care that they need.

I have heard from a constituent who has operated a food pantry in her community for 13 years. She worries about what will happen to the people that she serves if they do not have access to the food security programs made possible by HHS. In her letter, she shared that most of the people in her pantry services are literally one ER visit or one car breakdown away from being able to feed themselves or their families.

Public health initiatives are a lifeline for so many in Michigan as well as across our country. When our neighbors have access to basic health resources, it allows them to focus on improving their lives, whether that is gaining meaningful employment or getting an education. So we need an HHS Secretary who is focused on improving access to Medicaid and expanding the premium tax credits for the Affordable Care Act that allows millions of Americans to access affordable healthcare.

That clearly is not Robert Kennedy. He would not be that Secretary. Instead, he believes that Americans would rather be on privatized, for- profit healthcare.

HHS is also in charge of providing mental health services and support to communities all across our country. Unfortunately, we have a mental health crisis impacting Americans today, with record high levels of mental illness and suicides, especially among our youth.

I received a letter from a social worker in Michigan who helps students who were traumatized by the horrific shootings at Oxford High School in Michigan and at Michigan State University. She is worried that, without proper mental health resources, Americans who have been impacted by senseless gun violence--whether at school, at their places of worship, at nightclubs, or at shopping malls--will grieve and struggle alone.

Unfortunately, Mr. Kennedy has only further stigmatized these important resources, even making comments during his confirmation hearing linking an increase in school shootings to an increased use of antidepressants. Mr. Kennedy's ideas would only worsen the mental health crisis that we are seeing today.

Instead, we need a Secretary who will invest in SAMHSA, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. We need a Secretary who will ensure that everyone has access to the programs and health professionals needed to address this mental health crisis. Robert Kennedy, Jr., is not that Secretary.

HHS oversees our Nation's major medical research, helping to advance breakthroughs in science and development of new treatments for deadly diseases, from childhood cancers to Alzheimer's. Research institutions across my home State of Michigan are conducting critically important research to improve health outcomes for Americans who suffer from these diseases.

A Michigan scientist who specializes in CDC research contacted my office. They fear that if Mr. Kennedy is confirmed, it could impact their ability and the ability of thousands of researchers all across our country to conduct medical research that is literally saving lives.

In a matter of weeks, we have already seen the Trump administration freeze funding and halt critical work at the National Institutes of Health and its research partners across the country. We need a Secretary who will fight to do this important research moving forward, research to cure cancer, to treat deadly viruses, and to address cardiovascular disease. Mr. Kennedy is not--he is not--that Secretary.

Advancing medical research is especially important today as we face increased cases of vaccine-preventable infectious diseases like measles. And despite this, Mr. Kennedy has time and time again sown doubt and promoted dangerous lies about the safety of vaccines.

My constituents are alarmed at what that will mean for their families. A concerned mother-to-be--who wrote to me and my office when she was 38 weeks pregnant--told me that Mr. Kennedy's long history of spreading dangerous medical disinformation and undermining public health initiatives is directly at odds with how she plans to keep her future child from infectious disease.

I also heard from a constituent who was born before the polio vaccine was approved. She said that, to this day, she can still remember the relief on her mother's face when the polio vaccine became available. This moment has stuck with her throughout her 30-year career as a registered nurse, where she has made it her life's work to study and safely administer vaccines in her community.

Let's be clear. Let's be absolutely clear. Vaccines are scientifically proven to protect against diseases like chickenpox, polio, influenza and, yes, COVID-19.

We have eradicated deadly diseases and protected our children due to incredible scientific advances in vaccine research. But now vaccine skeptics like Mr. Kennedy have risen to prominence, discouraging people from getting safe, proven vaccines, and putting every American's health at risk when it comes to infectious diseases.

We need a Secretary who understands the effectiveness of vaccines and who will do more to prevent these diseases through routine childhood immunizations. Mr. Kennedy is not that Secretary, and, if confirmed, Mr. Kennedy has made it perfectly clear that he will stand in direct opposition to this evidence-based medicine.

Mr. Kennedy's falsehoods about basic public health practices have impacts that stretch far beyond our physical health. Another constituent, a clinical therapist, said she is seeing firsthand the devastating impacts that misinformation can have on mental health, adherence to treatment, and overall patient well-being. Specifically, she mentioned that ``the spread of falsehoods about vaccines, psychiatric care, and medical service fuels distrust in lifesaving interventions, exacerbates existing mental health crises, and hinders efforts to connect patients with effective, evidence-based treatments.''

I have even heard from parents who are concerned about Mr. Kennedy's narrative suggesting vaccines cause autism. Because he has given credibility to these lies and questioned facts from scientists and doctors, these parents worry that their children will not receive the most basic, routine care they deserve.

In the midst of so many healthcare challenges, from prescription drugs to mental health, to various public health threats, we cannot afford to have someone as unprepared as Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., in charge of all these public health Agencies.

Even well-respected organizations know that Mr. Kennedy would be an absolute disaster for our public health. Take the American Public Health Association, for example. In a letter, they said:

To effectively lead our nation's top health agency, a candidate should ideally be trained in health administration, clinical care, or a related field and must believe in and follow the scientific evidence that serves as the basis of our nation's system to protect and to promote the public's health from the many threats we face.

We simply cannot afford to have someone as unqualified as Robert Kennedy, Jr., be in charge of our top public health Agency. He has failed to exhibit even the most basic knowledge of how HHS programs are administered to the millions of Americans who depend on them each and every day. He has misrepresented scientific evidence that is at the foundation of what HHS sets out to accomplish, which is keeping Americans healthy and protected from disease. He has demonized doctors, scientists, researchers, and medical professionals who, unlike him, have actually done the important work to keep our communities safe.

I urge my colleagues to judge Mr. Kennedy on his lack of qualifications. It is clear he simply does not have the expertise, the training, or even the leadership skills necessary to lead a Department as important as HHS.

We need a Secretary who will protect the health of Americans. Robert Kennedy is not that Secretary, and if he is confirmed to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, the American people will ultimately pay the price with their health.

I urge my colleagues to join me in voting no.

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