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Sen. Barrasso on RFK Jr.: ‘He has my vote’

Senator John Barrasso says that RFK Jr. has his vote to be the HHS Secretary.

Photo courtesy of Senator John Barrasso

CHEYENNE, Wyo. — On Tuesday, the Senate Finance Committee advanced Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in his quest to become the head of the Department of Health and Human Services, and Wyoming’s senator has gone on record voicing his support of the move.

Last week, Kennedy appeared before the Senate Committee on Finance, which was the first step to decide whether his HHS secretary nomination will be confirmed.

If confirmed, Kennedy will head an agency worth $1.7 trillion that oversees vaccines, scientific research, food and tobacco products, government-funded healthcare and more.

During the first hearing, Kennedy took questions and comments from a variety of senators, including Wyoming’s own Sen. John Barrasso.

But while Barrasso would eventually pledge his support of RFK Jr., many other members of congress had some tough questions, and comments, for the founder and chief legal counsel of the Children’s Health Defense, which, CNBC reports, is “the most well-funded anti-vaccine organization in the U.S.”

One of the major topics of discussion at the hearing was Kennedy’s views on vaccines and whether they work or not.

Senator Bernie Sanders was one of the individuals questioning Kennedy’s views, even going so far as to call Kennedy’s response “troubling.”

“There have been, as I understand it, dozens of studies done all over the world that make it very clear that vaccines do not cause autism,” Sanders said. “Now you just said, if I heard correctly, ‘Well, if the evidence is there’ — The evidence is there. Vaccines do not cause autism. Do you agree with that?”

RFK Jr. said that if data to the contrary was brought to him, he would apologize for his statements that “misled people.”

“The studies are there,” Sanders responded. “Your job was to have looked at those studies as an applicant for this job.”

Another senator who had important questions for Kennedy was Sen. Peter Welch, who argued that the confirmation hearing wasn’t just “a debate about vaccines” but, rather, was about “the qualifications, experience, and priorities as to the person that will head Health and Human Services.”

Sen. Welch questioned Kennedy’s experience, or lack thereof.

It was Sen. Elizabeth Warren, however, who pressed RFK Jr. the most, beginning with her very first question.

“So here’s an easy question,” Sen. Warren began. “Will you commit that when you leave this job, you will not accept compensation from a drug company, a medical device company, a hospital system, or a health insurer for at least four years — including as a lobbyist or board member?”

Kennedy asked Warren if she could repeat “the last part of the question.”

“Sure,” she replied. “You’re not going to take money from drug companies in any way shape or form?”

“Who? Me?” Kennedy asked.

“Yes, you.” Warren replied.

“I’m happy to commit to that,” he said. “I don’t think any of them want to give me any money, by the way.”

Whether they would or not is not the issue, Warren argued.

“You are right to say yes because every American has the right to know that every decision you make as our number-one health officer is to help them — not to make money for yourself in the future,” she told Kennedy.

Continuing, Warren referenced the fact that Kennedy represents the law firm Wisner Baum. Warren said that Kennedy encourages individuals to sign up with Wisner Baum to join lawsuits against makers of vaccines. For every person that signs up, Kennedy gets a profit. And if somebody wins their lawsuit, he gets 10% of the winnings. For instance, Warren theorized, if somebody wins a lawsuit for $10 million, Kennedy would receive $1 million.

“Now, you just said that you want the American people to know that you cannot be bought, your decisions won’t depend on how much money you could make in the future, you won’t go work for a drug company after you leave HHS,” Warren said. “But you and I both know there’s another way to make money.  So, Mr. Kennedy, will you also agree that you also won’t take any compensation from any lawsuits against drug companies while you are Secretary and for four years afterwards?”

Kennedy argued that Warren was asking him not to sue drug companies, which, Warren clarified, was not what she was asking. She stated she was simply asking if he would commit to not taking fees from other people suing drug companies.

“So, let’s do a quick count here of how, as Secretary of HHS, if you get confirmed, you could influence every one of those lawsuits,” Warren said. “Well, let me start the list: You could publish your anti-vaccine conspiracies, but this time on U.S. government letterhead — something a jury might be impressed by. You could appoint people to the CDC vaccine panel who share your anti-vax views and let them do your dirty work. You could tell the CDC vaccine panel to remove a particular vaccine from the vaccine schedule. You could remove vaccines from special compensation programs, which would open up manufacturers to mass torts. You could make more injuries eligible for compensation even if there’s no causal evidence. You could change vaccine court processes to make it easier to bring junk lawsuits. You could turn over FDA data to your friends at the law firm, and they could use it however it benefitted them. You could change vaccine labeling. You could change vaccine information rules. You could change which claims are compensated in the vaccine injury compensation program. 

“There’s a lot of ways you can influence those future lawsuits and pending lawsuits while you are Secretary of HHS, and I’m asking you to commit right now that you will not take a financial stake in every one of those lawsuits so that what you do as Secretary will also benefit you financially down the line.”

Kennedy responded, saying that he “will comply with all the ethical guidelines.”

“That’s not the question,” Warren said. “Look, no one should be fooled here. As Secretary of HHS, Robert Kennedy will have the power to undercut vaccines and vaccine manufacturing across our country. And for all his talk about ‘follow the science’ and his promise that he won’t interfere with those of us who want to vaccinate our kids, the bottom line is the same: Kennedy can kill off access to vaccines and make millions of dollars while he does it. Kids might die, but Robert Kennedy can keep cashing in.”

Kennedy said that he supports vaccines; he just wants “good science, and that’s it.”

Chairman Mike Crapo clarified that RFK. Jr. had gone through the same Office of Government Ethics process as any other Finance Committee nominee, and that he had listed his assets and signed an ethics letter that was reviewed by the Office of Government Ethics regarding any possible conflict that might interfere with his potential duties.

“And we have a letter from the Office of Government Ethics that he has complied completely with all applicable laws and regulations governing conflicts of interest,” Crapo said.

Sen. John Barrasso also had the opportunity to speak with RFK Jr. at the hearing.

“Mr. Kennedy, thank you for taking time to visit with me in my office prior to today’s hearing to talk about a lot of the important issues affecting healthcare in my home state of Wyoming, as well as the nation, and I appreciate your willingness to serve our country,” Barrasso said. “During our meeting, we discussed the challenges that healthcare providers and patients are facing in rural America.”

Barrasso referenced financial obstacles facing rural hospitals, workforce shortages, OBGYN issues and more. He also referenced “new regulations that are painful, that have come out of the Biden administration, hurting our ability to provide nursing home staffing.”

Barrasso said that Wyoming currently has 33 hospitals in rural Wyoming, 26 of which are “hard to get to” due to weather impact. He said that six of those hospitals are at risk of closing and two of those hospitals are at “immediate risk of closing in the next two years. Ten hospitals, Barrasso said, have had to cut services.

With all of that in mind, Sen. Barrasso asked RFK Jr. if he could “commit to working with us on a plan to address the critical, nationwide issue of rural healthcare.”

Kennedy immediately said yes.

“Our nation made a commitment over a hundred years ago to put up a hospital within 30 miles of every American,” Kennedy said. “We generally succeeded in doing that. It’s absolutely critical. It’s life saving. And rural hospitals are closing at an extraordinary rate right now. They not only provide important healthcare for the locality, but also they’re economic drivers for localities all over this country.”

Kennedy, a former Democrat who once compared the current president to Adolf Hitler, stated that “President Trump is determined to end the hemorrhage of rural hospitals and he’s asked me to do that through use of AI (artificial intelligence), through telemedicine which — these are innovations that I saw the other day.”

Kennedy referenced an AI “nurse” at a Cleveland hospital that “you cannot distinguish from a human being.” He said the AI nurse has diagnostics “as good as any doctor.”

Barrasso did not ask if “AI nurses” would replace human beings in the workforce.

Kennedy also pledged that America can provide concierge’s care to every American in the country, “even those in the most remote parts of Wyoming.”

That was good enough for Sen. Barrasso, who shortly thereafter took to his Facebook page to pledge his support.

“I just had the opportunity to speak with Robert Kennedy Jr. during his Senate confirmation hearing,” Barrasso wrote. “As HHS Secretary he pledged to prioritize access to rural healthcare services in Wyoming and America. He has my vote.”

The Senate Finance Committee advanced RFK Jr.’s bid, in a 14–13 party-line vote in the Republican-controlled committee.


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