WEBVTT 00:11.710 --> 00:11.970 th th 00:40.458 --> 00:44.280 We are meeting today to consider the nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. 00:44.360 --> 00:46.661 to be Secretary of the U.S. 00:46.681 --> 00:48.442 Department of Health and Human Services. 00:49.442 --> 00:56.525 We are still waiting to get all of our members here, and while we wait for that to occur, we will proceed with statements. 00:57.766 --> 01:07.850 And I will proceed first, then Senator Wyden, and then we will rotate from one side to the other until we are at a point where we are prepared for the vote. 01:13.133 --> 01:19.236 Mr. Kennedy if confirmed will have the opportunity to deliver much-needed change to our nation's health care system. 01:20.356 --> 01:31.401 He has spent his career fighting to end America's chronic illness epidemic and has been a leading advocate for health care transparency both for patients and for taxpayers. 01:32.625 --> 01:45.910 Mr. Kennedy has also clearly responded to our questions during the rigorous due diligence process in his hearing also and in the course of answering over 900 questions for the record that were asked by members of this committee. 01:47.531 --> 01:55.434 In response to members of the committee, Mr. Kennedy has even amended his ethics agreement going beyond what is required by the Government Office of Ethics. 01:56.772 --> 02:04.858 Mr. Kennedy has proven his commitment to the role of Secretary of the HHS, and I will vote in favor of his nomination. 02:05.738 --> 02:09.581 I strongly encourage my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to do the same. 02:10.021 --> 02:13.864 And with that, I recognize our Ranking Member, Senator Wyden, for his remarks. 02:14.024 --> 02:15.605 Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. 02:15.625 --> 02:21.890 I'll have a brief statement and then several of my colleagues on our side are also going to 02:22.677 --> 02:23.638 make brief statements. 02:23.698 --> 02:30.603 This morning, we're going to vote on Robert Kennedy's nomination to serve as our nation's chief health care officer. 02:31.324 --> 02:41.932 Before we get to Mr. Kennedy and why I believe he is singularly unfit to serve as HHS secretary, I'd like to say this. 02:42.853 --> 02:51.480 The last several days, we've witnessed an authoritarian takeover of our federal government by Elon Musk and Donald Trump. 02:52.230 --> 03:00.580 They have set their sights on a full purge of anyone in government that doesn't bend the knee and follow their orders. 03:01.321 --> 03:04.925 They've taken over the Treasury Department's payment system. 03:05.802 --> 03:19.329 And colleagues, that has a direct effect on major programs within our committee's jurisdiction that includes Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. 03:19.829 --> 03:27.773 For example, this committee voted for a major reform of pharmacy benefit manager legislation. 03:28.533 --> 03:33.716 We passed it 26 to nothing, but Trump and Musk killed it. 03:34.670 --> 03:39.614 think what they could do with abuse of the payment system. 03:40.735 --> 03:50.283 Now, in my view, much of this is of dubious legality and constitutional authority and certainly flies in face of congressional responsibilities. 03:51.400 --> 04:05.825 I'll wrap up on this point by saying I hope our colleagues on the other side of the aisle will not sit by while Musk and Trump make a mockery of the power Republicans hold in their congressional majority. 04:06.665 --> 04:13.168 Now more than ever, the American people need leaders that will stand up to these abuses. 04:14.448 --> 04:16.669 That brings me to Mr. Kennedy. 04:17.603 --> 04:37.895 A recent analysis showed that Mr. Kennedy has made 114 separate appearances in just the last four years where he has espoused anti-vaccine views or spread information about the efficacy of vaccines. 04:38.856 --> 04:40.917 Misinformation, specifically. 04:41.478 --> 04:46.961 In 36 of those instances, Mr. Kennedy directly linked vaccines to autism. 04:48.106 --> 04:58.731 Last week, Mr. Kennedy was given ample authority on a bipartisan basis to recant his decades-long career peddling anti-vaccine conspiracies. 04:59.611 --> 05:13.778 Instead, he spent his time with us dodging and weaving and gave no indication that if confirmed as HHS Secretary, he would stand by the long-settled science surrounding routine vaccinations. 05:14.793 --> 05:18.794 Just take the Samoa measles outbreak as an example. 05:19.315 --> 05:23.676 Mr. Kennedy told me, and I quote, we don't know what was killing them. 05:24.376 --> 05:30.759 Speaking about the 83 measles deaths during an outbreak of the disease in 2019. 05:31.659 --> 05:40.542 Just yesterday, colleagues, the Director General of Health from Samoa called this claim a total fabrication. 05:41.954 --> 05:49.528 peddling these conspiracy theories as the nation's chief health officer is going to be deadly for kids across the country. 05:50.382 --> 05:54.724 On abortion, Mr. Kennedy's answers once again raise still more questions. 05:55.185 --> 06:02.549 He refused to tell us whether he would blindly follow a directive from Donald Trump to break the law and end access to Mifepristone. 06:03.229 --> 06:11.874 And he seemed to have no understanding of his role in enforcing existing federal laws that guarantee women the right to life-saving abortion care. 06:12.731 --> 06:22.493 Mr. Kennedy also failed on several occasions to show a basic understanding of the Medicare and Medicaid programs he would be tasked with overseeing. 06:23.133 --> 06:26.873 Colleagues, that alone should be disqualifying. 06:27.554 --> 06:40.816 Mr. Kennedy has given us no reason to believe he'll be anything other than a rubber stamp for plans to gut Medicaid and rip health care away from the American people and be a yes man if ordered by Musk or Trump to take an illegal action. 06:41.616 --> 06:43.078 I close with this, colleagues. 06:45.540 --> 06:51.507 Today, we're going to make a judgment about the future of science in this country. 06:52.708 --> 06:59.236 We're going to make decisions that are going to impact the health and well-being of Americans for years to come. 07:01.002 --> 07:14.272 I agree, and I say this to my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, that the healthcare status quo needs substantial changes so we get better, more affordable care to patients. 07:15.774 --> 07:21.878 And that leaves, given my statement, the question in front of us now that's pretty simple. 07:22.915 --> 07:33.177 Do senators want their legacy to include disregarding basic health science and instead elevate conspiracy theorists? 07:34.017 --> 07:42.359 Making Robert Kennedy Secretary of Health and Human Services, in my view, colleagues, would be a grave threat to the health of the American people. 07:43.320 --> 07:45.220 And I urge my colleagues this morning to vote no. 07:55.410 --> 07:57.570 So Senator Wyden, we have all of our members here. 07:58.451 --> 08:06.352 Senator Wyden and I have agreed that we will have two or three on each side who wanted to make statements, do so before the vote. 08:06.452 --> 08:12.613 So please everyone hold with us while we have those statements made and then we will proceed to the vote. 08:13.213 --> 08:18.654 I know we've got a lot of folks here pushing on some... Do you want to vote now? 08:20.495 --> 08:21.095 Mr. Chairman? 08:21.335 --> 08:21.915 Mr. Chairman? 08:22.930 --> 08:36.766 Mr. Chairman, I've got several colleagues who were under the impression after we talked that we would have two or three and I'm happy for both sides to make brief remarks and I'd still like to stay with that. 08:37.006 --> 08:39.769 I did make that commitment and so 08:41.300 --> 08:46.342 I could say to my colleagues on my side, I would appreciate it if you would hold your remarks until after the vote. 08:47.063 --> 08:51.645 We will let a couple on your side have their remarks, and then we will proceed to the vote. 08:51.745 --> 08:52.546 Great, thank you. 08:52.726 --> 08:53.486 And who would be next? 08:53.506 --> 08:54.126 Senator Cantwell. 08:54.166 --> 08:55.247 Senator Cantwell. 08:55.407 --> 08:56.547 Mr. Chairman, thank you. 08:56.628 --> 09:05.212 I didn't, you know, when you said two or three people, I didn't know who you had in mind, but being next in seniority, I appreciate the opportunity. 09:06.692 --> 09:09.614 Today is very concerning to me. 09:10.785 --> 09:15.547 because of the future of what I think our nation faces. 09:17.028 --> 09:27.654 When I think of this issue, I think of my Pacific Northwest leadership, how Paul Allen, on his own, invested $100 million to fight Ebola. 09:30.771 --> 09:45.683 I think of Bill Gates and the Gates Foundation, not just trying to eradicate polio and work on these issues, but to think of a regime that helps not just our nation's health, but global health. 09:46.483 --> 10:04.223 So with the UW, the University of Washington, the Cancer Research Center, all of these entities are a collaboration of saying we have to go faster in solving these threats to our nation as it relates to health. 10:05.293 --> 10:12.157 Now, we can have a big discussion, which I think you guys all want to have a big discussion about whether and when what happened in the Wuhan province. 10:12.197 --> 10:15.338 But I can tell you, we were the first city. 10:15.719 --> 10:16.999 We had the first patient. 10:17.299 --> 10:19.621 We had the first people who died in nursing homes. 10:19.921 --> 10:26.504 We had an emergency room at a hospital who basically was just begging for any equipment we could get them. 10:27.065 --> 10:34.549 The whole community stood up and moved as fast as we possibly could and broke down barriers to save lives. 10:35.169 --> 10:38.830 And that is what we have to continue to do on innovation. 10:39.150 --> 10:47.891 We cannot let another country get ahead of us on some sort of warfare issue and not have a response when it comes to a vaccine. 10:48.791 --> 10:59.793 So the innovation, innovation is what Mary Holland was arguing for on Steve Bannon the other day after the after the second hearing of Robert F. Kennedy, his father gave a famous speech. 10:59.913 --> 11:04.254 I told him in my office, in my family, the Kennedys stood up. 11:06.104 --> 11:18.111 But when he answered Senator Cassidy's question, and he couldn't even give him the answer that, yes, the data is there to support vaccines today. 11:18.311 --> 11:20.012 I don't need any more data. 11:20.672 --> 11:25.435 All of a sudden, I saw this world that we got affected by in Seattle. 11:26.415 --> 11:28.117 not being stood up for. 11:28.398 --> 11:36.647 I need someone at HHS who is going to say we're going to be a leader in medical, technology, science, vaccines. 11:36.928 --> 11:38.610 We are going to fight foreign powers. 11:38.990 --> 11:41.473 We are going to be there to provide global health. 11:41.934 --> 11:43.716 And I don't want to recalcitrant. 11:44.136 --> 11:44.857 I need a leader. 11:44.997 --> 11:46.079 And that is why I'm voting no. 11:47.449 --> 11:47.869 Thank you. 11:48.790 --> 11:52.491 Senator Wyden and I have agreed that Senator Warnock will now speak. 11:52.771 --> 11:59.654 Following Senator Warnock, we will proceed to the vote, and then anyone else who wants to make remarks will be allowed to make remarks. 12:00.455 --> 12:01.115 Senator Warnock. 12:01.715 --> 12:03.636 Thank you so very much, Mr. Chairman. 12:04.597 --> 12:15.021 At a rally a few months ago, Donald Trump said that he was going to allow Mr. Robert Kennedy to, quote, go wild on health. 12:16.442 --> 12:16.942 Go wild. 12:18.376 --> 12:24.141 Of all the things that I can think of that I'd like to see a Secretary of Health and Human Services do, Go Wild is not on the list. 12:25.602 --> 12:30.666 Mr. Robert Kennedy is manifestly unqualified for the job he seeks. 12:31.807 --> 12:39.533 And in both my live and written questions for the record, he failed to commit to protecting access to affordable health care. 12:40.660 --> 12:44.642 failed to commit to protecting the people who are protecting us. 12:44.682 --> 12:53.708 The problem that the CDC has is that every day these noble civil servants and workers protect us from dangers that we don't see. 12:55.029 --> 12:59.431 And often you don't get credit for protecting people from things that they don't see. 13:00.532 --> 13:05.054 I simply do not trust him to oversee the CDC. 13:06.515 --> 13:09.277 He's unqualified, and I dare say everybody here knows it. 13:11.823 --> 13:24.569 We need a serious person at the helm of the HHS, an agency responsible for the health of about half of all Americans. 13:25.590 --> 13:39.337 Mr. Kennedy appears more obsessed in chasing conspiracy theories than chasing solutions to lower healthcare costs for working families in Georgia and to make sure that we are protected. 13:39.377 --> 13:41.498 The last thing we need is a dilettante. 13:42.998 --> 13:47.279 dabbling in conspiracy theories at HHS. 13:47.899 --> 14:02.223 I cannot vote for a nominee who is not going to lower healthcare costs for Georgians, who is going to undermine basic science in public health, who puts his own interests above the health and well-being of others. 14:02.423 --> 14:10.685 The health and well-being of all of our families, the people who count on us to think about them in these rooms of power. 14:11.872 --> 14:23.299 I urge all of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to look past politics and think of country and to find the moral courage to do what's right. 14:24.339 --> 14:25.360 Oppose this nomination. 14:27.661 --> 14:28.702 Thank you, Senator Warnock. 14:29.142 --> 14:33.125 We now have not only a quorum, but all members of the committee are present. 14:34.193 --> 14:38.955 I move that the committee favorably report the nomination of the Honorable Robert F. Kennedy Jr. 14:39.115 --> 14:42.656 of California to be Secretary of Health and Human Services. 14:42.736 --> 14:43.496 Is there a second? 14:43.596 --> 14:43.816 Second. 14:45.056 --> 14:45.757 There is a second. 14:46.337 --> 14:47.437 The clerk will call the roll. 14:47.937 --> 14:48.618 Mr. Grassley. 14:48.998 --> 14:49.078 Aye. 14:49.258 --> 14:49.898 Mr. Grassley. 14:50.138 --> 14:50.238 Aye. 14:50.298 --> 14:50.878 Mr. Cornyn. 14:50.898 --> 14:51.378 Aye. 14:51.558 --> 14:52.119 Mr. Cornyn. 14:52.139 --> 14:52.359 Aye. 14:52.379 --> 14:52.939 Mr. Thune. 14:52.959 --> 14:53.459 Aye. 14:53.519 --> 14:53.899 Mr. Thune. 14:54.059 --> 14:54.139 Aye. 14:54.179 --> 14:54.760 Mr. Scott. 14:55.020 --> 14:55.140 Aye. 14:55.280 --> 14:55.840 Mr. Scott. 14:55.860 --> 14:56.100 Aye. 14:56.140 --> 14:56.800 Mr. Cassidy. 14:56.820 --> 14:57.160 Aye. 14:57.380 --> 14:57.981 Mr. Cassidy. 14:58.001 --> 14:58.241 Aye. 14:58.281 --> 14:58.901 Mr. Lankford. 14:58.921 --> 14:59.321 Aye. 14:59.501 --> 15:00.081 Mr. Lankford. 15:00.101 --> 15:00.261 Aye. 15:00.301 --> 15:00.861 Mr. Danes. 15:00.881 --> 15:01.202 Aye. 15:01.382 --> 15:01.922 Mr. Danes. 15:02.102 --> 15:02.182 Aye. 15:02.242 --> 15:02.662 Mr. Young. 15:03.217 --> 15:03.677 Mr. Young? 15:03.697 --> 15:03.957 Aye. 15:03.997 --> 15:04.617 Mr. Barrasso? 15:04.637 --> 15:05.198 Aye. 15:05.218 --> 15:05.558 Mr. Johnson? 15:05.578 --> 15:05.838 Aye. 15:05.878 --> 15:06.338 Mr. Tillis? 15:06.398 --> 15:06.498 Aye. 15:07.118 --> 15:07.659 Mrs. Blackburn? 15:07.679 --> 15:07.799 Aye. 15:07.819 --> 15:08.299 Mr. Marshall? 15:08.339 --> 15:08.459 Aye. 15:08.959 --> 15:09.499 Mr. Wyden? 15:09.659 --> 15:09.699 No. 15:09.739 --> 15:09.839 Ms. 15:09.859 --> 15:10.099 Cantwell? 15:10.119 --> 15:10.199 No. 15:10.219 --> 15:11.040 Mr. Bennett? 15:11.060 --> 15:11.160 No. 15:11.180 --> 15:11.500 Mr. Warner? 15:11.520 --> 15:11.560 No. 15:11.580 --> 15:11.920 Mr. Whitehouse? 15:11.940 --> 15:11.980 No. 15:12.000 --> 15:12.140 Ms. 15:12.160 --> 15:12.320 Hassen? 15:12.340 --> 15:12.900 No. 15:12.920 --> 15:12.980 Ms. 15:13.000 --> 15:13.460 Cortez Masto? 15:13.661 --> 15:13.701 No. 15:13.721 --> 15:13.901 Ms. 15:13.941 --> 15:14.221 Warren? 15:14.441 --> 15:14.621 No. 15:14.961 --> 15:15.521 Mr. Sanders? 15:15.561 --> 15:15.601 No. 15:33.612 --> 15:34.352 Mr. Smith, no. 15:34.432 --> 15:35.373 Mr. Lujan, no. 15:35.553 --> 15:36.473 Mr. Lujan, no. 15:36.613 --> 15:37.674 Mr. Warnock, no. 15:37.894 --> 15:38.734 Mr. Warnock, no. 15:38.774 --> 15:39.474 Mr. Welch, no. 15:39.794 --> 15:40.575 Mr. Welch, no. 15:40.615 --> 15:41.175 Mr. Chairman? 15:42.735 --> 15:43.436 Chairman votes aye. 15:46.997 --> 15:49.678 Mr. Chairman, the final tally is 14 ayes, 13 nays. 15:59.722 --> 16:02.723 The vote was, would the clerk please restate the vote? 16:03.530 --> 16:06.252 Mr. Chairman, the final tally was 14 ayes, 13 nays. 16:06.812 --> 16:07.733 The vote was 14-13. 16:07.793 --> 16:10.454 The nomination is reported favorably. 16:10.755 --> 16:13.716 We will now turn to other senators who would like to make a statement. 16:13.836 --> 16:18.800 Since I asked my Republican colleagues to hold off at the outset, I'll go to the Republican side next. 16:18.880 --> 16:20.461 First, Senator Tillis. 16:21.481 --> 16:22.521 Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 16:22.762 --> 16:27.283 I voted aye today and I want to just briefly explain why. 16:27.303 --> 16:39.127 I believe in my 65 years, I'll be 65 in August, that Mr. Kennedy will be one of the first people coming before who is in fact not a trained health care expert. 16:39.608 --> 16:41.728 He views this through the lens of an attorney. 16:42.308 --> 16:47.610 He's brought many lawsuits on food safety, vaccine safety, a number of other things. 16:48.351 --> 16:49.051 But Mr. Chair, 16:51.266 --> 16:58.611 I think it was Senator Warnock that said that the president said he was going to go wild in the Department of Health and Human Services. 16:58.952 --> 16:59.832 I hope he does. 16:59.852 --> 17:05.937 I hope he goes wild and actually finds a way to reduce the cost of health care. 17:09.203 --> 17:25.920 I hope he goes wild and instead of having the discussions that we have had for the 10 years that I've been in the Senate of making Medicaid work and making people on Medicaid healthier, I hope he goes wild and figures out how to do it because the status quo has not achieved much in the way of gain. 17:26.941 --> 17:34.749 I hope he goes wild on food safety discussions so that we can actually improve our food safety supply. 17:34.769 --> 17:49.643 I hope he goes wild on the health care supply chains and in fact tries to make sure that drug prices go down instead of bludgeoning pharmaceutical companies get everybody in the room and make sure that we do this right. 17:50.203 --> 18:00.168 reduce the cost of bringing a vaccine to market, reduce the cost of bringing drugs and therapeutics to market, look at the full supply chain, and somebody with a legal mind may do that. 18:00.528 --> 18:02.029 He is no health professional. 18:02.469 --> 18:09.533 In fact, he's the first, I believe, since I've been alive, who's not been a healthcare professional in a scientific sense. 18:09.633 --> 18:15.916 But he is a professional in terms of carrying this forward and holding people accountable through the courts. 18:16.516 --> 18:16.957 And also, 18:17.697 --> 18:19.898 Mr. Chair, I'm not going to go much longer. 18:20.699 --> 18:22.600 But I had a lot of people call me earlier. 18:22.640 --> 18:26.543 I had people from the agriculture industry call me and express concerns. 18:26.643 --> 18:33.327 But I'm not aware of any organized, credible group, the Farm Bureau, the Department of Ag Commissioners, or others. 18:33.667 --> 18:37.510 I did not understand that this was the vote vote. 18:37.590 --> 18:39.451 I thought they had to send it to the whole Senate. 18:39.471 --> 18:41.272 Did he really just get conferred? 18:42.933 --> 18:48.161 And yet I haven't seen any pro-life organizations score this vote or recommend that we should vote against it. 18:49.062 --> 18:52.487 I heard him call the NRA a terrorist organization. 18:52.607 --> 18:55.451 And yet the NRA is silent on his confirmation. 18:57.039 --> 18:58.340 Let's buy the red book, right? 18:58.520 --> 18:59.941 Buy it for your family and friends. 18:59.961 --> 19:02.564 Give it away for birthday gifts. 19:02.604 --> 19:07.107 This book needs to be on everybody's mantle and everybody's bookshelf. 19:07.147 --> 19:08.669 It needs to be everywhere. 19:08.789 --> 19:09.209 Oh my gosh. 19:16.175 --> 19:16.876 Is it really? 19:16.916 --> 19:17.777 He got confirmed? 19:17.797 --> 19:18.297 That's it? 19:18.838 --> 19:20.859 A different kind of disrupter there. 19:21.440 --> 19:35.092 The only way that Senator Kennedy, I'm sorry, Senator Kennedy, the only way that Bobby Kennedy and I will get crosswise is if he does actually take a position against the safety of COVID vaccines. 19:35.112 --> 19:35.192 Wow. 19:35.312 --> 19:36.874 That will be a problem. 19:36.894 --> 19:37.054 Wow. 19:37.074 --> 19:39.836 He answered a very important question to me during the hearing. 19:39.917 --> 19:40.357 No way. 19:41.897 --> 19:50.804 I asked him specifically if it was his intent to let the scientists of the CDC, the NIH, BARDA, and other organizations to work independently. 19:50.844 --> 19:52.686 He said to me under oath that he would. 19:53.246 --> 19:57.870 If he fails to do that, that will be a concern for me and something I'll bring up in a future oversight hearing. 19:58.690 --> 20:07.137 But Mr. Chair, we have not made appreciable progress in Medicaid and improving the health of the population on Medicaid. 20:08.198 --> 20:16.524 We have a SNAP program that does have too much sugar and things that are eligible in that program that should be eliminated to make these people who are on free and reduced lunch. 20:17.145 --> 20:23.229 So this is nuts. 20:23.289 --> 20:26.011 I did not realize that this was the way it was going to be done. 20:28.140 --> 20:31.803 I had no idea that it was just going to be the Finance Committee and then it was over. 20:33.204 --> 20:34.285 Call me naive or whatever. 20:34.305 --> 20:36.347 I just thought they had to go in front of the whole Senate. 20:36.367 --> 20:41.971 And I thought actually what they said here was that they were going to confirm his nomination. 20:42.031 --> 20:45.874 I didn't like, you know, OK, he's acceptable enough to vote on. 20:47.717 --> 20:49.020 So this is really surprising. 20:49.060 --> 20:50.242 This is moving very quickly. 20:50.302 --> 20:59.559 So now on the radar, we should have Jay Bhattacharya, who also should need some kind of Senate hearing in order to be confirmed as NIH director, which would be. 21:00.612 --> 21:16.419 a crazy two for two with regard to the gigaohm timeline and really positive developments because we can't just be swept off of the table, we can't just be dismissed if this is indeed the case. 21:17.079 --> 21:23.842 And so I think we need to keep hammering, I think we need to keep the steady pressure on, and I think we need to keep 21:24.682 --> 21:34.330 restating the incongruencies of the pandemic narrative, and especially those incongruencies that are found in 2020, 2021, and 2022, where all the murder took place. 21:34.430 --> 21:37.473 Because I really think that we have only a few more years before this 21:45.689 --> 21:56.272 truth can be successfully handed down to our children, to the recent graduates of college, to the ones that are currently in college in the next three or four years. 21:56.352 --> 22:07.416 They can be given the real history of the pandemic by giving them this book and making sure that they understand it as the 22:09.730 --> 22:13.233 as the chess piece that it is, as the puzzle piece that it is. 22:13.313 --> 22:14.474 It's not all fake. 22:14.534 --> 22:15.615 It's not all lies. 22:15.675 --> 22:16.636 A lot of it is true. 22:17.577 --> 22:23.661 And a lot of the documents and archiving that this represents is real. 22:24.642 --> 22:30.087 It's just a question of what conclusions are drawn by the narrative that is tied around it. 22:30.984 --> 22:39.946 But if you just took this book and shook all of the primary references out of it, one of the ones that would rise to the top is the Bavari Totoro paper. 22:40.086 --> 22:41.187 It's in this book. 22:41.787 --> 22:50.969 One of the things that would rise to the top is this guy from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Jonathan Cooey, who says at the end of the book that they wouldn't even need a virus. 22:51.849 --> 22:57.271 That's what happens if you shake this book and just distill it down to its most important pieces. 22:59.304 --> 23:11.452 and dismiss all of the other speculation and hypotheticals and worst case scenarios and just think about what you can rely on as true in this book. 23:12.552 --> 23:21.758 And then you see something very real, very useful, something that could push the ball forward in the direction that we need it to go for our grandkids. 23:23.979 --> 23:26.501 I can't help it, I wanna listen to Pocahontas, hold on a second. 23:31.304 --> 23:34.425 out with his son and enrich his family. 23:35.105 --> 23:39.286 The importance of this litigation cannot be overstated. 23:39.766 --> 23:45.007 This is not only about a private company that gets sued and has to pay out. 23:45.547 --> 23:51.389 Vaccine manufacturers often operate on very slim profit margins. 23:52.069 --> 23:55.850 If they get sued repeatedly and successfully, 23:56.730 --> 23:59.552 they simply move out of the vaccine space. 24:00.072 --> 24:04.015 We've already seen this happen with vaccines in the past. 24:04.975 --> 24:12.280 20 years ago, we watched vaccines just move away if they did not have protection from these kinds of lawsuits. 24:13.361 --> 24:25.449 The consequence of Mr. Kennedy's ability to make those lawsuits easier is also the ability to shut down access and manufacturing for vaccines 24:25.816 --> 24:26.796 for every one of us. 24:26.916 --> 24:28.677 And I think that's a terrible mistake. 24:29.958 --> 24:30.298 Thank you. 24:31.378 --> 24:32.759 Senator Welch, did you wish to speak? 24:32.939 --> 24:33.239 I did. 24:33.359 --> 24:34.519 Yes, thank you. 24:34.719 --> 24:39.201 Thank you, Mr. Chairman, Mr. Ranking Member, and thank you, Mr. Ranking Member, for your statement. 24:40.261 --> 24:44.403 I want a disruptor in the health care system and one leading it. 24:45.183 --> 24:46.604 I don't want a destroyer. 24:47.844 --> 24:52.206 And there's three issues before any nominee that we have to consider. 24:52.286 --> 24:53.106 One is character. 24:53.587 --> 24:54.587 Another is competence. 24:55.290 --> 24:56.491 And a third is priorities. 24:57.591 --> 25:00.933 We did not have Carolyn Kennedy here, but she gave a statement. 25:01.614 --> 25:10.939 And she said that Bobby was able to attract people through the strength of his personality, his willingness to take risk and break the rules. 25:12.160 --> 25:17.983 And those might be desirable qualities if it was accompanied by sober judgment and behavior. 25:18.623 --> 25:23.526 Because the person who leads a major organization has to have the confidence of the people 25:24.076 --> 25:25.837 that work for him. 25:26.817 --> 25:37.341 And frankly, some of the things that he did that never explained, a chainsaw taken off the head of a whale, dumping a bear in Central Park for his own amusement. 25:37.901 --> 25:39.242 These are just weird things. 25:39.742 --> 25:46.885 And we never really got into the character issue of what is required for a person who runs such a major department. 25:48.265 --> 25:51.587 The competence question, this is all on a wing and a prayer and a hope. 25:53.317 --> 26:18.735 record of Mr. Kennedy having experience in managing a large organization in medicine, no experience with science, and none of the prior experiences required not only to run a major organization, Health and Human Services, but also the CDC, the NIH, and all the other organizations that are under the umbrella of health care. 26:19.676 --> 26:22.818 And by the way, on the competence issue, let's be candid. 26:23.683 --> 26:28.005 This was a deal where Mr. Kennedy was running for president as a Democrat. 26:28.885 --> 26:39.630 He lost and he approached President Trump to make a deal and for political reasons the deal was made and the appointment was going to be that he's Health and Human Services. 26:40.330 --> 26:42.031 The president has a right to make that deal. 26:42.091 --> 26:45.132 Mr. Kennedy can seek it but it doesn't translate into confidence. 26:45.854 --> 26:47.055 And the third is priorities. 26:47.435 --> 26:51.358 The priority for Mr. Kennedy is about the vaccines and his theory of that. 26:51.558 --> 26:57.763 And we need reliable vaccines and not conspiracy theorists on that. 26:58.423 --> 27:03.527 But you know, the health care system is not working for the American people. 27:03.707 --> 27:05.909 It is too costly. 27:06.289 --> 27:11.513 Our employers who care deeply about providing employer-sponsored health care can't afford these premiums. 27:12.025 --> 27:15.866 The folks who are getting their insurance on their own can't afford it. 27:16.006 --> 27:26.909 Even Obamacare is getting so expensive because the prices are escalating constantly with pharma expenses, with the providers having it, with private equity getting into health care. 27:27.429 --> 27:31.931 Mr. Kennedy's priority was about his view of vaccines. 27:31.991 --> 27:36.432 It was not about making health care more affordable and accessible. 27:36.912 --> 27:40.193 And in response to really a very direct and easy 27:40.862 --> 27:49.870 open-ended question from Senator Cassidy, Mr. Kennedy showed a woeful ignorance even between the difference between Medicare and Medicaid. 27:50.570 --> 28:01.839 So we have a health care system that is not serving, as it should, the interests of American citizens, of American businesses, and American taxpayers. 28:02.280 --> 28:09.245 And I, after this hearing, did not have confidence that Mr. Kennedy would be the one to lead us to a better future. 28:09.366 --> 28:09.706 Thank you. 28:12.073 --> 28:13.213 Thank you, Senator Welch. 28:14.394 --> 28:17.875 That concludes the remarks that senators have requested to make. 28:18.235 --> 28:23.697 And hearing nothing further, I'd like to thank all of our members for attending. 28:24.157 --> 28:25.878 This Finance Committee stands adjourned. 28:38.931 --> 28:49.339 I think I'll be on again at 11.11 with a brief about Brett Weinstein and his last couple podcasts which have just been unmitigated disasters. 28:50.640 --> 28:51.641 A real clown show. 28:52.302 --> 29:02.330 And so I thought I would take the opportunity to archive some of those and to point out some of the highlights of that clown show and how much they are 29:03.149 --> 29:07.152 directed missions of their role, witting or unwitting. 29:07.232 --> 29:19.740 At this point it could be possible, at this point for me, it is possible that Brett Weinstein is actually an unwitting participant in this Scooby-Doo mystery solving exercise. 29:20.480 --> 29:26.724 For the simple fact that these last couple podcasts, him and his wife, have sounded so 29:28.164 --> 29:33.253 naive as they read their script from Heather's laptop. 29:33.613 --> 29:36.859 It's actually, you can almost have pity for them. 29:39.549 --> 29:46.590 One or both of them has no idea how badly they have been used, simply because I just don't think they're that sophisticated. 29:46.811 --> 30:05.294 I don't think, despite their ability to claim their mastery over complex systems, I don't think they have any clue how magnificently they've been folded into this theater, and think it's all because they're smart, that they solved the mystery. 30:05.394 --> 30:08.535 It's really, it's laughable to me at this stage. 30:09.715 --> 30:10.816 Thanks very much for joining me. 30:10.856 --> 30:12.918 I will see you again, probably at 11.11. 30:13.058 --> 30:19.603 Let me get, I don't know, get another cup of coffee in me and see where I can... 30:20.990 --> 30:24.033 If I can get started at 11.11, I've got a decent show for you. 30:24.114 --> 30:41.112 It'll recap the pandemic as it always does and then we'll look at a couple recent videos from Brett Weinstein and kind of analyze what they're saying and what they're not saying and how magnificently they qualify as an admission either to being unwittingly duped 30:42.094 --> 31:02.929 into the theater that they're currently performing, or they have been malevolent participants since the very beginning and now find themselves, you know, basically enacting like a Star Trek script or something like that, where they're just babbling about evolution and nonsense and evolution and nonsense. 31:02.949 --> 31:07.892 And that's all they keep saying, like the beetle that's rolling the dung on their new desk. 31:09.592 --> 31:21.640 It's an extraordinary time to be an American, an extraordinary time to be a patriot, because there are just so many fake patriots on the internet right now. 31:21.800 --> 31:32.888 So many people pretending to be part of a MAGA movement, or a MAHA movement, or a unity movement, or a health freedom movement, or whatever else it is. 31:33.668 --> 31:39.012 And none of these people have a clue what they're fighting for, and have no clue how badly 31:40.112 --> 31:47.377 the military social control software that we have been duped into calling social media. 31:48.057 --> 31:54.821 How, how badly their ability to process reality has been destroyed. 31:55.761 --> 31:56.942 Let's try to help our neighbors. 31:58.523 --> 32:01.925 Let's try to work together to get this information out. 32:01.945 --> 32:02.966 Thank you very much for joining me. 32:03.006 --> 32:05.087 I'll see you in about 45 minutes or so.