‘You Do Not Have The Authority’: Rosa DeLauro Confronts Sec. RFK Jr. On ‘Illegally’ Impounding NIH Funds

Forbes Breaking News

During Wednesday’s Appropriations Committee hearing, Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) confronted HHS Sec. RFK Jr. on National Institutes of Health funding.

Transcript

00:00Thank you very much.

00:01Sorry, Ms. Letlow left, but I think it's important to note

00:05that in the 2026 budget under CDC,

00:11the breast and cervical cancer program has been eliminated.

00:15I think that's important to understand for women's health.

00:20Secretary Kennedy, you committed to following the law

00:23and awarding congressionally appropriated funds in 2025.

00:27And please understand that we are in 2025

00:30and we are under the continuing resolution,

00:34which is the 2024 budget.

00:36So quite frankly, it should be an easy transfer to 2024 to 2025.

00:42But that is what is operative.

00:44That is the law of the land, not a suggestion, not a directive,

00:47a law of the land.

00:49But the evidence suggests that you are cutting billions of dollars

00:53in funding right now.

00:56The evidence shows that you are withholding at least $2.7 billion

01:00in life-saving NIH research.

01:03And that is only midway through 2025.

01:07And based on the evidence, I believe,

01:10and the OMB director has indicated,

01:14that you are going to illegally impound billions of dollars

01:18of congressionally appropriated funding for NIH research in 2025.

01:24To make matters worse, you are proposing to cut NIH funding

01:30by $20 billion in 2026.

01:33You do not have the authority to do what you are doing.

01:40Congressman Hoyer pointed out that very clearly and explicitly.

01:45You don't have the authority.

01:47This administration does not have this authority.

01:49You're reorganizing of the NIH.

01:51NIH, you don't have the authority.

01:55That is in the jurisdiction of the United States Congress.

01:59You want to eliminate five agencies.

02:02You want to create a new agency once again.

02:05I don't mean to be repetitive, but I do mean to be repetitive.

02:08You do not have the authority to do any of that.

02:13Let me, a couple of other areas I think are important.

02:16HHS makes medical decisions every day.

02:19You're making medical decisions every day.

02:21You're the secretary of HHS.

02:23You have tremendous power over health policy.

02:26Really horrified that you will not encourage families

02:29to vaccinate their children, measles, chickenpox, polio.

02:33Vaccines are one of the foundations of public health.

02:35Vaccines, yes, save lives.

02:38And the fact that the secretary of health and human services

02:41refuses to encourage children to be vaccinated

02:44is a tragedy.

02:46And we have already had two children in the United States

02:49who have died needlessly from measles.

02:53Let me also move forward.

02:56You talked about the NIH and the science of the NIH.

03:00And just very, very quickly,

03:02high-profile successes from NIH research,

03:05human genome project, immunotherapy,

03:07CRISPR gene editing, sickle cell cure,

03:09vaccines for HPV, hepatitis, MRA and vaccines,

03:12including the life-saving COVID vaccines,

03:15artificial heart valves, GLP-1 medications

03:18for diabetes and weight management.

03:20It is a one can look at and see what works or doesn't work.

03:24But you can't sit here and tell us that NIH has been a failure

03:28and that the science and the people who have worked at the NIH

03:31have not made unbelievable, unbelievable discoveries to cure.

03:36I have a question which had to do with NIOSH.

03:38And you're not going to have to answer this question,

03:41but I don't understand why Republicans get to call you

03:44to spare offices like NIOSH.

03:46Who do Democrats have to call?

03:48Is there a special phone number if I want to save?

03:51Tobacco prevention, lead poisoning,

03:53nine million children were lead poisoned in Flint, Michigan.

03:58Nine million kids, okay?

04:00So tobacco prevention, lead poisoning, oral health.

04:04Who do we have to call to be able to get those things reinstated?

04:08And finally, let me just say this to you,

04:10because there's been a discussion here.

04:12Well, on nutrition, I would just say to you that,

04:15look, I'm very, very big on nutrition, food safety.

04:19I've spent, you know, the last 20 or 25 years

04:21dealing with this issue.

04:23So I'm supportive of some of the areas

04:25that you have talked about.

04:27But, and by the way, the Office of Research at the NIH,

04:32they can only spend $1 million on research.

04:35This committee can provide them

04:36with a hell of a lot more money

04:38if we want them to do more on research.

04:43But a side issue on Medicaid with regard to young children,

04:48it is children, disabled, low-wage workers,

04:53and seniors who are the beneficiaries of Medicaid.

04:55And that would appear to be really on the chopping block.

05:00Mr. Chairman, I have just one more comment to make to you.

05:04The testimony with regard to unaccompanied children.

05:10I spent a lot of time on that issue.

05:13A lot of time.

05:15Because by law, as you know,

05:17we have to accept unaccompanied kids.

05:19That's HHS responsibility.

05:21You're right, there is an enforcement.

05:22But we have that responsibility to keep them safe,

05:26put them in the best set of circumstances.

05:29I was chair of this committee

05:31during the first Trump administration.

05:37Still outraged.

05:39I was horrified at the time to learn

05:41that Stephen Miller was directing border agents

05:45to separate children from their parents

05:49as a deterrent,

05:51as a deterrent to coming to the United States.

05:54Some of these children

05:55were taken away from their parents.

05:58They were less than five years old.

06:01Now, there was about 4,600 kids

06:04separated from their families.

06:07Today, that was in 2017, 2018,

06:10I had a conversation with Secretary Azar at the time.

06:14It was in my home, in my office,

06:16with my grandson on my lap.

06:19And I said to him,

06:20do you have a list of the families

06:24and a list of the children

06:26so that they can be reinstated?

06:28He assured me that they did.

06:30Mr. Secretary, it's 2025.

06:331,300 of those children are unaccounted for.

06:37Do we want to look for missing kids?

06:40To get them to their parents?

06:42Let's start there.

06:43That was a tragedy of great proportions

06:46inflicted by the United States of America.

06:49You have an unbelievable job.

06:51You have...

06:52When we talk about HHS,

06:55it really is a cornerstone

06:57of what this country is all about

06:59and what we can do.

07:01We don't deal here with airplanes,

07:04with roads or bridges or helicopters.

07:07That's not what we do.

07:08But our job and your job

07:10is to save lives.

07:13And I would hope

07:13that you would take another look

07:15at what is being proposed.

07:17And I would say,

07:18fight back,

07:19as I would ask my colleagues

07:20to fight back

07:22and say,

07:23we can't do this.

07:24We can't eliminate

07:25some of these programs.

07:26The havoc that we are going to cause

07:28in dealing with research

07:30and cutting back on research

07:32is going to put lives at risk.

07:33You have an incredibly important job.

07:36Thank you, Ms. Farrell.

07:37I think you can make the difference.

07:38Please do.

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