Neal Opening Statement at Full Committee Hearing with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

We share heritage as sons of the Commonwealth. I go way back with your family. I supported your father for President and was a delegate for your uncle when he ran, working closely together during his many years in the Senate. It’s no accident that Massachusetts became the Mecca for health and sciences. That was a strategic choice that we all worked together to build the gold standard. Ask anyone, we’re the address. From health research and science to pioneering vaccines, treatments, and cures that made our hospitals the destination for patients around the world. Our success has been beyond our wildest hopes. That reputation continues to drive and maintain innovation. Just yesterday, Spain announced they’d invest $200 million to opening a trade office in Boston to support Spanish entrepreneurs and scientists in bringing their research to the community. 

No son of Massachusetts should be going after Dunkin’ coffee with more vigor than he’s shown for the worst measles outbreak in decades. 

Speaking of measles, we are both of an age where we can remember life before the eradication of some of these heart-wrenching diseases. I remember my mom telling me to stay out of the fresh water in her effort to keep me safe from polio.

Let me be clear: nothing has changed in the science behind vaccines. Rather, it’s people like you who have preyed on people’s greatest fears and politicized the issue. There is nothing, NOTHING, in your quackery that’s worse than losing a child. 

Now, let’s zoom out to your record over the last year. There’s great irony in a “Make America Healthy Again” agenda that fuels public health crises at every turn. $1 trillion cut from the health care system, putting 440 hospitals at risk. Driving premiums up by more than double and forcing millions to drop coverage or pay more for worse care. Pushing reckless, baseless claims about Tylenol and autism. The damage is catastrophic. 

The Trump agenda remains the biggest obstacle to a healthier life. Costs are sky high, thanks to the President’s tariffs and war in Iran. How can the Administration on one hand push healthy eating while the other is soaring the cost of vegetables by 48%? Who can afford that? 

By looking to slash HHS by 12.5%, the Administration is making matters worse. $5 billion cut from NIH will delay new vaccines and cures from coming to market. Eradicating the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program will make it harder for families to heat and cool their homes, including more than 159,000 families in Massachusetts who relied on it last year. Attacking child care providers and delaying their payments means even more parents will choose between their child and a paycheck. 

Families see right through the PR campaigns and podcasts. 60% of Americans remain greatly worried about affording health care. Less than half of them trust the public health information coming out of the Administration, and rightly so. 

The Administration’s practice of deflecting blame and lobbing empty attacks at this dais won’t cut it here. As the President sells his office to big pharma by pardoning fraudsters and offering sweetheart deals saturated with carveouts, the people know it was Democrats who really stood up for families. We delivered historic relief with Medicare negotiation, capped out of pocket costs, and lowered premiums.

The President has admitted Republicans don’t have time for families. They’re only interested another round of billionaire breaks and money for war. Under Republican governance, Americans aren’t getting a fair shake. All they are asking for is a chance to live a healthier life that they can afford. That’s what we are fighting for here today. 

With that, I yield back. 

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