Doggett Opening Statement at Health Subcommittee Hearing on Modernizing American Health Care
(As prepared for delivery)
A few months ago, this subcommittee convened to talk about healthy lifestyles and access to nutritious foods. It is a critical topic with an estimated two million Americans dying each year from a chronic condition. Sadly, the health care agenda being pursued outside of this hearing is one that will leave even more Americans unhealthy, paying even higher prices, and suffering from preventable diseases.
Today is not a time for business as usual when nothing usual is happening. As we hold this hearing, Republicans are preparing legislation to cut care to pay for even more tax breaks for billionaires and multinational corporations.
Outside the halls of Congress, the Trump Administration continues to deny federal funds to innovative scientific researchers developing the miracle treatments and cures consumers deserve. He is delaying funds to community clinics treating vulnerable children and seniors. His layoffs, hiring freeze, and offers to buy out remaining workers are worsening our health workforce crisis.
His conspiracy theorist nominees to lead key health agencies threaten the return of polio, measles, and more. Important public health data on topics ranging from youth mental health to vaccinations to contraception are disappearing from federal websites.
In McCarthy fashion, he is developing target lists of workers to fire and banned words lists—on supposedly controversial research topics like “women,” while apparently it is fine to continue research on “men.” I would appreciate an explanation for the behavior of the unelected man who is illegally infiltrating and dismantling our government. It turns out Trump had more than a ‘concept of a plan’ for health care. He is swiftly executing a widescale siege.
I have heard from hundreds of concerned citizens who have been affected by Trump’s assault on health care and Musk’s violation of Americans’ data privacy. Cancer patients fighting for their lives, who are terrified that clinical trials will be paused, and soon-to-be approved treatments will be halted. Researchers developing those treatments with grant applications indefinitely on hold, labs on the brink of closing, and looming layoffs. Overburdened VA clinics unable to hire more surgeons, cardiologists, psychiatrists, and other health professionals to care for our veterans.
As Trump, Musk, and his Musketeers continue to ignore the Constitution and our laws, I would hope that my Republican colleagues would offer some check to restore the balance of power. Instead, they are enabling his agenda as they remain silent, confirm his nominees, and ready a bill that would throw nursing home residents out onto the streets, deny vulnerable children inhalers and Epi-Pens, and leave pregnant women without any coverage to assure the safe and healthy delivery of their children. All of this to further enrich Elon Musk, fossil fuel executives polluting our planet and our health, and the Trump family.
This hearing is well-intentioned. There are personal choices we can all make to improve our health. My daughter, Dr. Lisa Doggett, a family physician and lifestyle medicine expert, continues to offer me guidance. But these choices cannot stop every dreaded diagnosis or accident. What will guarantee the worst health outcome is a lack of comprehensive, affordable coverage and inaccessible physicians and nurses. I am eager to see progress on today’s topic and so many others, but first, we must stop the severe harm being done by Trump and Musk.
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