[Pages S385-S386]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                          Cabinet Nominations

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, on a totally unrelated subject, this week 
two Senate committees will hold confirmation hearings for Robert 
Kennedy, Jr., President Trump's nominee to be Secretary for Health and 
Human Services.
  Every day, HHS, this major government Agency, makes life-and-death 
decisions. That Agency oversees the Food and Drug Administration to 
make sure that what we eat is safe, to make sure the drugs that are 
sold to us are effective and safe as well.
  The National Institutes of Health is in this Agency. It is the 
premiere medical research agency in the world--in the world. Some $40 
billion spent each year to find cures, to find new drugs, to move us 
toward a better America.
  And the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention, their job is not 
as flashy as some, but it is so important. What they do is to make sure 
whatever is going around, as they say, doesn't hit our families. We 
count on them every single day.
  It is a big job that requires responsible leadership and honesty 
overseeing an Agency that has these critical Agencies of government.
  Now there may be some certain areas where we agree, such as curbing 
drug ads or improving the quality of the food supply. And I know Robert 
Kennedy, Jr., and I have worked with him in the past. I can work with 
him on those issues.
  But on the fundamentals, the basic question of his leadership is 
troublesome. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., is dangerously--dangerously--
unqualified and entirely irresponsible in his judgment. He embraces 
quack science and cherry-picks information to fulfill his numerous 
conspiracy theories. His decades-long crusade to spread lies about 
vaccines is just one example. Let me show you a chart that is pretty 
explicit, pretty short.
  Robert Kennedy, Jr.:

       There's no vaccine that is safe and effective.

  This man who wants to head the Agency which develops vaccines and 
monitors their use said there is not a single vaccine that is safe and 
effective. He has stated that as recently as July of 2023.
  Contrary to scientific fact, he has also said that:

       I do believe that autism does come from vaccines.

  I have heard this theory, and I think about it so many times when I 
think of my friends and families who are raising children with autism. 
What a responsibility. What an effort they have to put into it to give 
these young children a chance. And to have this quack theory out there 
that this has something--their child's condition have something to do 
with vaccines is cruel.
  And an outlandish conspiracy manifesto which he has helped to publish 
and wrote the forward for entitled ``Cause Unknown''--here is the 
book--attempted to link COVID-19 vaccination with deaths in young kids.
  Let me put this up here. It is a picture of the cover of this book. 
``Forward written by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.,'' who is up for approval 
as part of the Trump Cabinet, head of HHS.
  The book's cover has a picture of a young man whose name is Braden 
Fahey. The only problem this book, which is called ``Cause Unknown: The 
Epidemic of Sudden Deaths'' and talks about COVID vaccine--Braden never 
received a COVID vaccine. This poor little boy died at football 
practice due to a malformed blood vessel on his brain, and the book 
included his photo without the knowledge or consent of his parents. The 
height of irresponsibility.
  Mr. Kennedy pushes facts aside when he wants to tell us about his 
agenda. The Hippocratic Oath for doctors states: ``First, do no harm.'' 
But I am fearful, if we put Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., in charge of our 
Nation's health, innocent children will die.
  It is no secret what he would do. Mr. Kennedy himself petitioned the 
FDA to rescind authorization of all COVID vaccines in 2021, and a key 
associate of his has petitioned to remove the polio vaccine.
  I look over here to the pages we have in the Senate. I think of my 
own experience, when I was 4 or 5 years younger than them. It was in 
the 1950s. We knew polio because we saw kids in our classrooms who were 
here today and in the hospital tomorrow. They contracted polio. It 
could be deadly. It could be crippling. It could affect you for the 
rest of your life.
  We knew this thing called an iron lung that looked like a big vat--a 
big white vat--and the head sticking out of the end of it was this 
young person who contracted polio. This iron lung was helping these 
young kids to breathe and stay alive.
  We lived in dread of the possibility of coming down with polio. I 
remember talking about it when I was a little kid. How do you get 
polio? Nobody knew.
  Then the day came when Jonas Salk--Dr. Jonas Salk--developed a 
vaccine that was going to protect us from coming down with polio. Later 
on, Dr. Sabin developed an oral version of the vaccine, which we kids 
liked a lot more. But the bottom line was, in my lifetime, in my 
childhood, we stopped polio in the United States. It was a vaccine that 
worked, over and over and over again--a million times over again. It 
worked.

[[Page S386]]

  In 1952, polio paralyzed more than 21,000 Americans and killed more 
than 3,000. But thanks to researcher Jonas Salk, the vaccine was 
discovered and studied among 1.3 million children. They did testing of 
thousands of kids across the United States before they injected all of 
us. It was proven safe. The last case of wild polio found in the United 
States was 1979. That is over 40 years ago.
  Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., has spread conspiracy theories to discourage 
uptake of the measles vaccine, for example, including traveling to 
Samoa to spread lies about its safety, fueling an outbreak that took 80 
lives--80 lives in Samoa.
  Before the measles vaccine, 48,000 people were hospitalized each year 
in the United States, with thousands experiencing life-threatening 
brain swelling. By 2000, measles was officially declared eliminated 
because of vaccines.
  Mr. Kennedy's dangerous anti-science views don't stop with these 
obvious vaccines that have helped America. He also targeted the 
fluoride in drinking water. We have been adding tiny bits of fluoride 
in our drinking water for over 70 years in the United States. We have 
tested every way you can imagine--as we should--to make sure that it is 
safe for all of us to drink. And the tests come back suggesting it has 
always proven its safety.
  Why do we do it? It reduces cavities in teeth dramatically. A little 
bit of fluoride can go a long way in that regard. It has changed 
dentistry since I was a kid. Going to the dentist used to be a not very 
welcome adventure, and kids went regularly with cavities galore. I was 
one of them. But the fluoride in water changed things for my own 
children and grandchildren. It is safe, and it helps.
  But Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., doesn't accept that. He wants to contest 
fluoride in drinking water. This man is not a scientist; he is a 
political figure. I have known him for many years. He has no special 
knowledge or authority when it comes to these issues and, sadly, buys 
into a myriad of conspiracy theories.
  Let's be clear. There is no evidence that current recommended levels 
of fluoride cause any harm. On the flip side, it has been established, 
as I said, for over seven decades, that it helps prevent cavities and 
dental surgeries in children.
  God forbid we ever encounter another pandemic or infectious disease 
threat. Do you really want this vaccine denier, Robert Kennedy, Jr., at 
the helm?
  I issue a challenge to my 99 Senate colleagues. Go ask your local 
children's hospital if they think this nominee, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., 
would help or harm the way they work to treat our children. I know what 
the answer is going to be.
  The U.S. Senate is better than this. I urge my colleagues to think 
twice before voting for this irresponsible nominee. The impact on the 
public health of America could be devastating, and we have to accept 
the responsibility that this is the wrong nominee for this critical 
Agency.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mrs. Britt). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.