[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 30 (Thursday, February 13, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Pages S959-S961]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                      Nomination of Brooke Rollins

  Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, anybody who knows me well knows that I say 
this a lot, and that is that agriculture is the lifeblood of South 
Dakota and the lifeblood of our country, and farmers and ranchers are 
hard at work every single day to feed America and the world. But what I 
hear lately from farmers and ranchers is not good.
  Agriculture producers across the country have faced strong headwinds 
in recent years--higher input costs, high interest rates, lower 
commodity prices--all leading to declining farm income year after year. 
Natural disasters have struck many of our farm regions, and the bird 
flu continues to ravage agriculture across the country.
  Of course, in the last few years, the Biden administration was hardly 
much help. It imposed burdensome regulations like WOTUS, or waters of 
the United States, that threatened to devastate the farm sector. The 
administration put expanding market access on the back burner while our 
agricultural trade deficit grew to record levels, and their profligate 
spending led to inflation that hit farmers and ranchers especially hard 
in the form of higher input costs.
  Meanwhile, Democrats here in Congress failed to prioritize a 
modernized farm bill to support agriculture through these challenges, 
and we are now more than a year past due for an updated farm bill. 
America's farmers and ranchers deserve better--much better.
  I expect things will be different under President Trump, and I know 
that farmers and ranchers will have a friend in Brooke Rollins, the 
President's choice for Secretary of Agriculture.
  Ms. Rollins grew up in the small, agricultural town of Glen Rose, TX. 
She spent summers working for her family on their farm in Minnesota, 
helping with their corn, potato, and soybean crops. She was a 4-H-er, 
an FFA State officer, and a barrel racer, and her four kids are keeping 
up her family's way of life by showing cattle in Texas.
  After studying agriculture development at Texas A&M, Ms. Rollins went 
to work for then-Governor Rick Perry, where she worked on agriculture 
policy. She then continued her ag work by building up a Texas think 
tank, empowering the voices of farmers, ranchers, and rural 
communities. Then she served in President Trump's first 
administration--first leading the Office of American Innovation and 
then on the Domestic Policy Council.
  Brooke Rollins is a policy wonk with a farmer's heart. She 
understands the needs of agriculture producers, and she knows how to 
deliver results. She promises to get right to work after she is 
confirmed on four key priorities: first, getting disaster and economic 
aid out the door and into the hands of farmers; second, getting the 
bird flu and other animal disease outbreaks under control; third, 
getting the farm bill done; and finally, revitalizing the U.S. 
Department of Agriculture to focus on its core mission and put America 
and American agriculture first. I am looking forward to working with 
Ms. Rollins on these key priorities.
  Under this Republican majority, delivering a modernized farm bill is 
a priority, and I am glad that Ms. Rollins has pledged to work with 
Congress on one of the top farm bill needs, which is strengthening the 
farm safety net--essential to keeping existing operations going--and 
encouraging the next generation of producers to get started.
  I was also pleased to hear Ms. Rollins acknowledge the need to 
improve the management of national forests. The Black Hills National 
Forest, among others across the country, has seen its timber industry 
decimated by bad management policies. So I look forward to working with 
the USDA, under Secretary Rollins, to provide relief from the dire 
situation in western South Dakota.
  I am encouraged as well that she will prioritize getting disaster and 
economic assistance out the door. Last year, many parts of the country 
suffered from natural disasters, including South Dakota. As I said, 
farmers and ranchers have suffered lower commodity prices and declining 
incomes. In December, Congress passed $31 billion in agricultural 
disaster and economic assistance, and we need to get that money into 
the hands of farmers and ranchers working to rebuild.
  Brooke Rollins understands the mission of the USDA. She understands 
the day-to-day needs of America's farmers, and she has the expertise to 
deliver results. I trust that she will put America's farmers and 
ranchers first as Secretary of Agriculture, and I look forward to 
working with her in this role.
  (The remarks of Mr. THUNE pertaining to the introduction of S. 587 
are printed in today's Record under ``Statements on Introduced Bills 
and Joint Resolutions.'')
  Mr. THUNE. I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that I be permitted 
to speak for up to 15 minutes, Senator Crapo for up to 5 minutes, and 
Senator Schumer for 2 minutes prior to the scheduled votes.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.


                  Nomination of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.

  Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, late into the night, Senators spoke on the 
Senate floor about why Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., is the least qualified 
nominee to ever be tapped as America's chief health officer.
  On issue after issue, Mr. Kennedy has demonstrated a profound lack of 
knowledge, at best, and deeply dangerous views, at worst.
  Mr. Kennedy has refused to tell Americans how we would manage 
healthcare issues that they are deeply worried about: vaccine safety, 
women's reproductive health, drug pricing, and affordable healthcare, 
to name a few. This leaves millions of Americans alarmed about the 
future of health and science in America.
  Last week, two Oregon medical students approached me to talk about 
Mr. Kennedy's nomination. These medical students told me they were less 
concerned about the damage Mr. Kennedy would do as HHS Secretary in the 
weeks and months to come. These medical students are not only worried

[[Page S960]]

about the prospect of losing cures, treatments, and medical 
breakthroughs if Mr. Kennedy is confirmed. These medical students from 
Oregon told me that his unwillingness to take science and medical data 
seriously is going to harm science for decades to come.
  So I ask my colleagues to think about those medical students' words. 
Is that a legacy you want to leave behind as a result of supporting Mr. 
Kennedy?
  Senate Democrats have been making this exact case. In his hearing 
before the Finance Committee, I asked Mr. Kennedy to square his anti-
vaccine views with more recent statements designed to appease a number 
of our Senators who are quite nervous about his nomination.
  In his testimony, he used the fact that his own children were 
vaccinated to prove he was not anti-vaccine. But the record shows that 
just a few years ago, he said he would ``do anything'' and ``pay 
anything'' to go back in time in order to prevent them from getting 
those vaccines.
  Elsewhere in his testimony, Mr. Kennedy stated he was not anti-
vaccine but, rather, ``pro-safety.'' But about 18 months ago, he said 
on a podcast:

       No vaccine is safe and effective.

  In other words, in the Senate Finance Committee, we brought the 
evidence; we brought the receipts, and Mr. Kennedy said nothing to 
actually disavow his prior statements. He stuck by the timeworn tactics 
of a conspiracy theorist: Always ask for more evidence, and never 
accept the evidence that is placed in front of you.
  Even some of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle are now 
deeply disturbed by Mr. Kennedy's refusal to entertain evidence that 
would require him to change his mind on vaccine safety. Nevertheless, 
it sure looks like my Republican colleagues have bowed to pressure from 
Donald Trump and are poised to hand Mr. Kennedy the platform he has 
been seeking for two decades to push fringe views.
  Before the Senate votes, I would like to take a moment to talk a 
little bit about the fights ahead on healthcare.
  Republicans in the House are already pressing ahead this morning with 
their plan to kick millions of Americans off of their health insurance 
in order to fund more tax cuts for those who are very wealthy. And as 
HHS Secretary, Mr. Kennedy is going to be a key player in this effort.
  While Senators were on the floor speaking yesterday, the Senate 
Budget Committee debated a budget resolution that unlocks the 
legislative tools Republicans need to make good on their go-it-alone 
plan. At the same time, the House Budget Committee released its own 
budget resolution that will be debated today.
  What is clear in both of these blueprints, in their game plan, is 
that Medicaid cuts are at the top of the list.
  Eighty-one million Americans rely on healthcare coverage under 
Medicaid and the CHIP program for kids. Those people are folks with 
disabilities, low-income families, seniors, and, of course, children.
  The damage and destruction to American families if Republicans go 
through with their plans to gut Medicaid cannot be overstated.
  Take nursing homes, for example. Two out of three nursing home 
residents are currently being covered for their healthcare by Medicaid.
  Imagine you visit your mom in her nursing home in the months after 
the Republican bill makes steep cuts to Medicaid. Your mom complains 
there are fewer and fewer staff. She had to wait more than an hour 
after calling for help to use the bathroom on several occasions.
  The next time you visit, she tells you some of the new staff don't 
have time for her. You learn that the facility no longer has the 
resources to conduct background checks and that they are desperate for 
workers.
  A few weeks later, the facility manager pulls you aside to deliver 
some bad news. Her nursing home can no longer accept patients with 
Medicaid after steep Federal cuts to the program. Unless you can find 
another facility that accepts Medicaid, you have got to pay the high 
monthly costs out of your own pocket.
  Suddenly, and with no warning, you have got impossible options. 
Either you scramble to find the money to cover a new facility that 
costs thousands of dollars a month, or you bring your mom home with 
you.
  So between holding down a full-time job and raising young kids, 
suddenly, you have to deal with making sure your mom gets full-time 
care, and that requires nursing assistance around the clock.
  Unfortunately, this case I described is something you see in every 
nook and cranny of America. I know that from my days as codirector of 
the Gray Panthers. And I know that many of your friends and neighbors 
with aging parents and grandparents in nursing homes are facing the 
catastrophe that I have just described.
  Now, Republicans are going to do somersaults to disguise their cuts 
to Medicaid, and they are going to describe it in healthcare lingo that 
they think plays well with people.
  For Republicans, every single child, senior, or family struggling to 
pay the bills that gets denied coverage is a win. That brings us to Mr. 
Kennedy.
  During his confirmation hearing on everything from abortion to 
vaccines to Medicare and Medicaid, Mr. Kennedy was given ample 
opportunity to go on the record about how he would improve these 
programs, bring down costs, save taxpayers money, and improve care. 
Instead, he showed a complete lack of understanding of the basics of 
Medicaid and how it functions.
  I personally believe it shouldn't be too much to ask for the future 
CEO of Medicaid to understand how important it is to provide affordable 
coverage for millions of families.
  Republicans, with Donald Trump at the helm, are steering our country 
toward a healthcare cliff. Their ultimate objective is to take away 
Medicaid from as many people as they can.
  Colleagues, so much for making America healthy again.
  What the American people need is a leader who will be the voice of 
reason in the room as Trump and his assistants in Congress start 
slicing and cutting.
  Our country needs a leader at Health and Human Services who is 
actually going to work to improve care and lower costs, defend the 
reproductive freedom of families, and listen, in particular, to facts 
and science.
  The American people have no reason to believe, based on the record, 
the evidence that the Senate Finance Committee has accumulated--to 
believe that Mr. Kennedy will be that leader.
  There is no question the healthcare system in America needs reforms. 
It has fallen short, and Democrats want to work in a bipartisan way on 
those issues.
  We are disillusioned by a system that puts profits over patients in 
too many circumstances. Nobody on this side of the aisle is arguing for 
the status quo.
  But the solution, colleagues--and I am closing with this--does not 
lie in Donald Trump's ``concept of a plan'' to make our country less 
healthy, less safe, and less successful.
  When kids are kicked off their Medicaid coverage and forced to go 
without basic medical care and grow up with chronic illnesses that 
leave them in a lifetime of pain and suffering, Republicans are going 
to regret any vote they give to Robert Kennedy.
  When seniors are told they have to vacate their nursing homes because 
it no longer accepts Medicaid, Republicans again will regret a vote for 
Robert Kennedy.
  When families are struggling to pay the bills and they are landed 
with a mountain of medical debt because their kid got sick and they 
were kicked off their insurance, finally, Republicans will regret any 
vote they give to Robert Kennedy.
  Mr. Kennedy will, no doubt, be right alongside Republicans, a willing 
participant in this future for healthcare that I have described today 
that is really stepping back from progress that has been made.
  I urge a ``no'' vote.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Idaho.
  Mr. CRAPO. Mr. President, I rise today in support of Robert F. 
Kennedy, Jr.'s nomination to be Secretary of the U.S. Department of 
Health and Human Services and to urge my colleagues to vote in favor of 
his confirmation.
  Contrary to the attacks that have constantly been made on him, he has 
made it very clear that he will support safe vaccinations and just 
wants to see

[[Page S961]]

that the research on them is done and done well.
  When his nomination for the role of Secretary at HHS was announced, 
Mr. Kennedy stated:

       We have a generational opportunity to bring together the 
     greatest minds in science, medicine, industry, and government 
     to put an end to the chronic disease epidemic facing 
     Americans.

  I agree with him. We have got to get into the business of making 
America healthy again.
  Mr. Kennedy's dedication to this commitment has been apparent 
throughout the nomination process. He will bring a fresh perspective to 
healthcare, prioritizing consumer choice, information transparency, and 
early interventions to strengthen the well-being of all Americans.
  He has been responsive to a wide variety of questions from Members on 
both sides of the aisle, appearing before two committees and answering 
hundreds of questions for the record, not to mention going through the 
extensive vetting process of the Finance Committee, which I chair, 
which is the most extensive vetting process that any candidate for a 
position in this administration goes through in the Senate.
  While some of my colleagues continue to question his financial 
agreements, Mr. Kennedy met and then exceeded the requirements set 
forth by the Office of Government Ethics. Mr. Kennedy has participated 
in one of the most extensive processes, as I have said, that our Senate 
puts a nominee through and has succeeded in meeting those standards, 
and I encourage my colleagues to support his nomination.