[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 29 (Wednesday, February 12, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Page S875]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                                Economy

  Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, I just heard the minority leader, the 
senior Senator from New York, Senator Schumer, on this floor talking 
about today's Consumer Price Index data. Stunningly, he points to 
President Trump as the reason for it.
  Let me just correct the record. The price data that Senator Schumer 
is complaining about is from the final days of the Joe Biden 
administration. Those are the numbers that are out today from the final 
days of the Biden administration.
  Certainly everyone in Wyoming and everyone in your home State of 
Oklahoma knows that under the Biden administration, the Democrats, 
prices of goods and groceries, gasoline--the things that we need in our 
everyday life--prices rose more than 20 percent under Joe Biden.
  High prices are Joe Biden's parting gift and his lasting legacy. They 
are the party of open borders and high prices. That is why they lost 
the election.
  So here we have the Senate minority leader--now in the minority. He 
used to be in the majority. The reason he is in the minority is because 
of the high prices brought on the people of this country as a result of 
that administration. The numbers out today are reflective of the final 
days of that administration.
  Painfully high prices--they came from Democrats' reckless 
overspending. And their policies--we are from energy States--were anti-
American-energy policies. Those are the things that Senate Democrats 
voted for repeatedly and stood behind and supported.
  Republicans are focused on making life more affordable for families 
all across this country, hard-working families. We have a plan to 
unleash American energy, and that way, we can keep lowering prices for 
American families.
  I can just never forget when Joe Biden said he wanted to prioritize 
climate over energy that was available, affordable, and reliable. It 
was a disaster for the country and resulted in the defeat of the 
Democrats.


                  Nomination of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.

  Today, Mr. President, I come to the floor also to talk about 
confirmation votes. The Senate will soon vote on the confirmation of 
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., to be the Secretary of the Department of Health 
and Human Services.
  America needs to be healthy. I am a doctor. I have worked with 
patients for over 20 years, was a surgeon in Wyoming. The problem is, 
our Nation faces a chronic disease epidemic--chronic disease, including 
diabetes, cancer, obesity, heart disease, and high blood pressure. 
Chronic diseases are so widespread that managing them accounts for 
almost 90 percent of the Federal healthcare spending in this country. 
We spend a lot of our gross national product on healthcare.
  Nearly three in five American adults and one in four American 
children are impacted by this. Our healthcare system tries to address 
the problem. Yet, by incentivizing procedures over prevention and 
paying for that, well, it often fails to address what we need to do 
effectively as well as economically. As a result, Americans are 
actually becoming less healthy.
  We need to put America on the path to good health. President Trump 
has selected Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., to do just that, to make America 
healthy again. Mr. Kennedy will bring a fresh set of ideas and eyes to 
important debates surrounding our Nation's public health. He is going 
to be a voice for the vast number of Americans who were failed by the 
previous administration. The previous administration silenced reasoned 
debate.
  I believe Mr. Kennedy is going to deliver accountability and 
transparency. For Americans, that means more choices and better 
information. It means healthy foods and healthy competition for 
patients. It means lower costs and higher quality. It means increased 
access to care. Access is so critical in my home State of Wyoming, with 
so many rural and frontier communities, people going long distances for 
healthcare. It also means honest, unbiased, and trustworthy scientific 
research that is both innovative as well as accountable to the American 
people. People want the truth. They want to know what the facts are. 
They want to make decisions for themselves.
  This is Mr. Kennedy's bold vision to revitalize America's bill of 
health. He is very clear about his mission, has been throughout. The 
mission, as he told the Finance Committee, is ``to end the chronic 
disease epidemic and make America healthy again.''
  Apparently, that is not enough for the Senate Democrats. Senator 
Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada was actually dismissive of him at the 
Senate Finance Committee. I heard her say to Mr. Kennedy:

       So that's the only reason why you're are at HHS? To address 
     this one issue.

  This one issue--chronic disease epidemic that is plaguing our 
Nation--is the key issue to our healthcare. Respectfully, addressing 
chronic disease is what we ought to be talking about for healthcare for 
the people of our country.
  Mr. Kennedy had to testify and did testify before two separate Senate 
committees as part of his confirmation. Most people being confirmed 
come to the Senate and only testify at one committee. He responded to 
rigorous questions from both Republicans and Democrats, and he answered 
those questions with candor and with clarity.
  He told the Senate HELP Committee that his leadership approach was 
collaborative. He pledged to ``empower the scientists to do their 
jobs,'' not to impose, as he said, ``preordained opinions on anybody at 
HHS.''
  He was also clear that he supports vaccines. He told the Finance 
Committee:

       I support the measles vaccine. I support the polio vaccine. 
     I will do nothing as HHS Secretary that makes it difficult or 
     discourages people from taking . . . those vaccines.

  The Senate has every reason to take him at his word.
  Mr. Kennedy is a bold choice. He is pro-health, pro-vaccine, and pro-
transparency. He is the right choice to make America healthy again. I 
look forward to voting to confirm him.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Virginia.
  Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that I be 
permitted to speak for 6 minutes, followed by Senator Wyden for 5 
minutes, Senator Crapo for 5 minutes, and Senator Schumer for 2 
minutes, prior to the scheduled vote.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.