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During his second day of confirmation hearings for HHS secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said the U.S. \u201cwill sink beneath a sea of desperation and debt if we don\u2019t change course and ask the fundamental question, \u2018Why are healthcare costs so high in the first place?\u2019 The obvious answer to that question is chronic disease.\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Robert F. Kennedy Jr. hit back at Congress members who attacked his stance on vaccines and the chronic disease epidemic, suggesting today during his second U.S. Senate hearing to lead the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that several members have accepted donations from Big Pharma.<\/p>\n One day after his\u00a0first confirmation hearing<\/a>\u00a0in the Senate Finance Committee, which included an exchange with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) about onesies sold on the\u00a0Children\u2019s Health Defense<\/a>\u00a0(CHD) website, Kennedy testified before the\u00a0Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee<\/a>, for which Sanders is a ranking member.<\/p>\n During an exchange with Sanders, Kennedy said, \u201cCorruption is not just in the federal agencies, it is in Congress too. Almost all the members of this panel \u2026 including yourself, are accepting\u00a0millions of dollars from the pharmaceutical industry<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n \ud83d\udd25 MIC DROP: @RobertKennedyJr<\/a> calls out Bernie Sanders for his Big Pharma money. pic.twitter.com\/Gm7uLIsmZ8<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Children\u2019s Health Defense (@ChildrensHD) January 30, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n This was one of several contentious moments during today\u2019s meeting, which also focused on vaccine safety, the\u00a0chronic disease epidemic<\/a>\u00a0and conflicts of interest in scientific research.<\/p>\n Kennedy frequently questioned the effectiveness of U.S. public health agencies in addressing the chronic health epidemic, which he said has come at a great cost both in terms of fatalities and the epidemic\u2019s economic burden.<\/p>\n \u201cThe focus is on infectious disease, and we almost altogether ignore chronic disease, which causes 92% of the deaths in this country,\u201d Kennedy said. Noting that the U.S. had a disproportionate percentage of\u00a0COVID-19<\/a>-related deaths during the pandemic, Kennedy said it is because \u201cwe are the sickest people on earth.\u201d<\/p>\n \ud83d\udea8 WAKE UP: The CDC Is Keeping You Sick!<\/p>\n \u201cDuring COVID, we had the highest death rate of any country in the world\u2026 and you ask @CDCgov<\/a> why was that? They said, \u2018because we have the sickest people on earth.’\u201d @RobertKennedyJr<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/VlQDopSGQK<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Children\u2019s Health Defense (@ChildrensHD) January 30, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Kennedy pledged to reverse this trend, if confirmed as HHS secretary, by emphasizing transparency and \u201cgood science.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2018I\u2019m pro-good science\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n Unlike yesterday\u2019s hearing, today\u2019s hearing focused extensively on Kennedy\u2019s views on vaccines and vaccine safety. Kennedy responded to claims he is \u201canti-vaccine\u201d and \u201canti-industry.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m neither. I\u2019m pro-safety. I\u2019m pro-good science,\u201d Kennedy said. \u201cWe should always follow the evidence no matter what it says.\u201d Kennedy said he wouldn\u2019t \u201cimpose\u201d his opinions on HHS scientists. Instead, he would support examining \u201call the data\u201d by empowering HHS scientists to do their job.<\/p>\n \u201cWe will have the best vaccine standards, with safety studies,\u201d Kennedy said.<\/p>\n Much of the discussion about vaccines centered on\u00a0rising autism rates<\/a>, with Kennedy noting that they have increased from 1 in 10,000 to as high as 1 in 34, calling this an \u201cexplosion\u201d that public health agencies have long overlooked.<\/p>\n Kennedy referred to a recent peer-reviewed study of 47,000 9-year-olds to respond to claims by members of the committee that the link between autism and vaccines has been definitively debunked. The study found that\u00a0autism rates were higher among vaccinated children<\/a>\u00a0and increased as the number of vaccinations grew.<\/p>\n \u201cI just want to follow the science.\u201d @RobertKennedyJr<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/JJ4YKUP3Tq<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Children\u2019s Health Defense (@ChildrensHD) January 30, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n \u201cWhy don\u2019t we know what\u2019s causing this epidemic?\u201d Kennedy asked. \u201cWhy hasn\u2019t CDC [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] been looking at other hypotheses to determine the etiology of why we\u2019ve had this dramatic 1,000% increase in this disease that is destroying our kids?\u201d<\/p>\n Several members of the committee openly agreed with Kennedy\u2019s stance on autism.<\/p>\n SEN. MULLIN: \u201c1-in-36. If that\u2019s not a pandemic, then what is? It used to be 1-in-10,000 have autism. Can any of you guys with a straight face say that we shouldn\u2019t look at every aspect to what we\u2019re putting in our kids, be it from the food to the vaccines?\u201d pic.twitter.com\/lzgGQF9IlQ<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Chief Nerd (@TheChiefNerd) January 30, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n \u201c1-in-36<\/a>. If that\u2019s not a pandemic, then what is?\u201d asked Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.). \u201cCan any of you guys with a straight face say that we shouldn\u2019t look at every aspect to what we\u2019re putting in our kids, be it from the food to the vaccines?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI just want to follow the science where it leads, without presupposition,\u201d said Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.)<\/p>\n We will know for certain what causes autism, if @RobertKennedyJr<\/a> is confirmed as Secretary of HHS. pic.twitter.com\/kCzi1XQJyq<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Children\u2019s Health Defense (@ChildrensHD) January 30, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n \u2018We need a trustworthy government\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n Kennedy also addressed the COVID-19 vaccines, stating that mandates and a lack of public trust in their safety have contributed to\u00a0waning vaccination rates<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cIf we want uptake of vaccines, we need a trustworthy government,\u201d Kennedy said. \u201cThat\u2019s what I want to restore to the American people and the vaccine program. I want people to know if the government says something, it\u2019s true. It\u2019s not manipulative.\u201d<\/p>\n (Atleast) 77% Of Americans No Longer Trust CDC<\/p>\n Watch @RobertKennedyJr<\/a> ensure this change when he\u2019s Secretary of HHS. \ud83d\udc47 pic.twitter.com\/s2CsLFlSXg<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Children\u2019s Health Defense (@ChildrensHD) January 30, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Kennedy responded to claims by some committee members that the COVID-19 vaccines saved millions of lives, pointing out that this statement can\u2019t be made definitively because public health agencies \u201cdon\u2019t have a good surveillance system.\u201d<\/p>\n Kennedy cited a 2021 lawsuit he\u00a0filed against the U.S. Food and Drug Administration<\/a>\u00a0(FDA) over its approval of the COVID-19 vaccines, as an example of deficiencies in the safety testing by public health agencies.<\/p>\n \ud83d\udd25 RFK Jr. Corrects @SenatorBaldwin<\/a> on Post Surveillance Safety Studies<\/p>\n WILD IDEA: Maybe lend an ear to hear from the scientists from opposing viewpoints rather than accept these broken systems, Senator? pic.twitter.com\/mjB5b5cIIu<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Children\u2019s Health Defense (@ChildrensHD) January 30, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n \u201cI filed that lawsuit after CDC recommended the vaccine for 6-year-old children without any evidence that it would benefit them and without testing,\u201d Kennedy said.<\/p>\n Kennedy said he would \u201csupport the vaccine program\u201d \u2014 but by ensuring \u201cthat we have gold-standard, evidence-based science.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2018A generation of kids\u2019 has been \u2018written off\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n Kennedy suggested that\u00a0agency capture<\/a>\u00a0and the entanglement of\u00a0Big Pharma<\/a>\u00a0with drug regulation and safety, have adversely affected Americans\u2019 health outcomes.<\/p>\n \u201cPrescription drugs are now the third-largest cause of death in our country \u2026 Americans are getting less and less healthy. Seventy percent of pharmaceutical profits globally come from our country, which has 4.2% of the world\u2019s population. We\u2019re the only country that allows full-scale\u00a0pharmaceutical ads on TV<\/a>,\u201d Kennedy said.<\/p>\n \u201cA generation of kids\u201d has been \u201cwritten off\u201d as a result of factors such as \u201cmisplaced institutional loyalty\u201d and \u201centanglements with the drug companies,\u201d Kennedy said.<\/p>\n A generation of kids have been written off because of drug company entanglements. Time to change that. pic.twitter.com\/3bswPQShsJ<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Children\u2019s Health Defense (@ChildrensHD) January 30, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n \u201cOur country will sink beneath a sea of desperation and debt if we don\u2019t change course and ask the fundamental question, \u2018Why are healthcare costs so high in the first place?\u2019 The obvious answer to that question is chronic disease,\u201d Kennedy said.<\/p>\n According to Kennedy, \u201ca very little, low percentage\u201d of the budget of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is devoted to studying chronic disease \u2014 and the\u00a0toxins<\/a>\u00a0that cause them. He vowed to change this if confirmed.<\/p>\n Why are they allowing companies to mass poison our children? pic.twitter.com\/nFlw4rOdCf<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Children\u2019s Health Defense (@ChildrensHD) January 30, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n \u201cWe are allowing these companies \u2014 because of their influence over this body, over our regulatory agencies, to mass-poison American children. And that\u2019s wrong. It needs to end,\u201d Kennedy said. \u201cThe president\u2019s pledge is not to make some Americans healthy again, but to make all Americans healthy again.\u201d<\/p>\n Kennedy\u2019s message drew the support of some of the committee\u2019s members including Paul, who in a post on X said, \u201cRFK Jr. has my vote<\/a>.\u201d Despite his contentious series of exchanges with Kennedy, Sanders also expressed\u00a0support for Kennedy\u2019s agenda<\/a>\u00a0to \u201cMake America Healthy Again<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n According to Kim Mack Rosenberg, general counsel for\u00a0CHD<\/a>, today\u2019s hearing was \u201ca courtesy hearing.\u201d Yesterday\u2019s hearing before the Senate Finance Committee \u201cis the decisive vote that will take the final vote to the Senate floor.\u201d<\/p>\n Kennedy will then require a simple majority vote in the Senate to be\u00a0confirmed as HHS secretary<\/a>. If confirmed, Kennedy will lead a department that oversees 13\u00a0public health agencies<\/a>, including the CDC, FDA and NIH.<\/p>\n \n\t<\/div>\n\n
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