[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 206 (Monday, December 7, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Page S7229]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                              Nominations

  Madam President, now, on nominations--another matter. The incoming 
Biden administration continues to name candidates it will tap to lead 
Cabinet agencies and other key positions in the Federal Government.
  Today, President-Elect Biden introduced his healthcare team, 
including Dr. Fauci, who will stay on--thank God--as Chief Medical 
Adviser; Dr. Vivek Murthy to serve as Surgeon General; Dr. Rochelle 
Walensky to head the CDC; and Xavier Becerra, the attorney general of 
California, to be the next Secretary of Health and Human Services.
  Like most of President-Elect Biden's selections so far, Mr. Becerra's 
nomination is groundbreaking. He will be the first Latino to ever run 
the Department of Health and Human Services.
  Now, these nominees, once confirmed, will face a monumental task. 
President-Elect Biden will inherit a once-in-a-generation healthcare 
crisis--a crisis made worse by the Trump administration's lack of 
focus, competency, and consistency over the past year.
  By naming a deeply experienced and tested team of senior healthcare 
advisers, President-Elect Biden is getting ready to right the ship and 
execute a whole-of-government approach to crushing the virus and 
providing affordable healthcare to all Americans.
  As safe and effective vaccines become available over the next year, 
President-Elect Biden's team will also have to work with States and 
healthcare providers to get Americans vaccinated.
  To state the obvious, healthcare is going to be the No. 1 challenge 
when the new administration takes office. We are in the middle of a 
once-in-a-century public health crisis. Accordingly, President-Elect 
Biden's team should be confirmed swiftly to ensure that no time is lost 
in the fight against the pandemic.
  Regrettably, there is a split screen this week between the 
seriousness of the incoming Biden administration and the activities of 
the Republican majority here in the Senate.
  On Tuesday, the Republican chairman of the Homeland Security 
Committee has invited Dr. Jane Orient to give testimony at a hearing in 
his committee. Dr. Orient is a member of the Association of American 
Physicians and Surgeons--a benign-sounding name that obscures some 
dangerous policies.
  According to the New York Times, Dr. Orient's association ``opposes 
government involvement in medicine and views Federal vaccine mandates 
as a violation of human rights.''
  Dr. Orient herself has expressed skepticism about coronavirus 
vaccines and continues to hawk hydroxychloroquine as a COVID-19 
treatment, following the lead of President Trump, who boosted the drug 
despite scientific evidence that it is ineffective.
  So while President-Elect Biden is nominating experienced, committed 
public servants to lead the next administration's healthcare policy, 
the Republican majority is inviting prominent anti-vaxxers to Senate 
committee hearings--a study in contrasts, to say the least.
  After one of the most difficult years in recent memory, we finally 
have a light at the end of the tunnel in the discovery of several 
effective and safe vaccines. They are the best chance we have of ending 
the terrible scourge of this disease and getting our lives back to 
normal.
  And yet, the effectiveness of the vaccine only matters insofar as the 
number of Americans who are willing to take it. The more Senate 
Republicans dip their toes into the water of these anti-science, anti-
vax conspiracy theories, the more damage it does to our country. Public 
figures at all levels should be building up confidence in a vaccine, 
not giving a platform to those who would undermine it.
  The Senator from Wisconsin, the chairman of the Homeland Security 
Committee, should revoke his invitation to Dr. Orient.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Texas