00:01Thank you. Senator Lujan.
00:04Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I have a question for each of the panelists. Thank y'all for being here.
00:08Do you commit to follow the law? Mr. Switzer?
00:12Yes, I do. Mr. Sciarrallo? I commit to following the law, yes. Mr. Stewart? Yes, sir. Mr. Tire? Yes, I'll follow the law.
00:20Appreciate that. Mr. Sciarrallo, Mr. Stewart, measles was declared eliminated in the United States back in 2000
00:27thanks to the vaccine. But today, the United States' measles cases have hit their highest level
00:33in more than three decades, 30 years. I ask both of you, yes or no, do you believe the measles vaccine
00:38is safe and effective? Mr. Sciarrallo? I support what Secretary Kennedy has said, that the best way
00:44to prevent measles is through the measles vaccine. Is that a yes? As I said, I'm not a vaccinologist,
00:52and so I support what the science says. So you're not willing to say yes or no, but you're willing
00:58to say that you agree with the Secretary, even though you say you're not an expert in this space?
01:01Well, I'll tell you how I approach vaccines as a parent. No, sir, that's not my question. My
01:04question is just a very simple one. If it's not yes or no, that's your answer. Respect that,
01:08Mr. Stewart. Just repeat your question because... Yes, sir. Yes or no. Do you believe the measles
01:17vaccine is safe and effective? The best way to protect yourself from measles in America today
01:23is by getting a vaccine. Secretary Kennedy has said that. That's what I believe. I'm not a medical
01:28expert, but I believe the best way to protect yourself from measles in America today is by
01:33getting a vaccine. My follow-up, sir, is that a yes or a no? Well, okay, it's not either. I respect
01:38your answer. Thank you very much. Do you believe a yes or no? I'll try one more time. One more yes or
01:44no question. Mr. Sciarello, yes or no? Is the vaccine the best way to prevent measles? I think
01:49I heard it in your first answer, but it's just a simple yes or no. I understand that I'm not a
01:56vaccinologist. I'm not qualified to say what is the best way to prevent. That's just not my
02:00background or training, but I understand that science is saying that the best way to protect
02:07yourself against measles is through the vaccine. I'll accept that. That's a good answer. I appreciate
02:11that. Mr. Stewart? So I agree with his answer on this. Very good. We're in agreement there. Thank
02:16you, Gemma. I appreciate that. Mr. Sciarello, Mr. Stewart, in New Mexico, there are currently 207
02:21Head Start centers in operation serving 7,342 children. Mr. Stewart, do you know what Head Start
02:28is? I do. Mr. Sciarello? I apologize. I didn't understand. Do you know what Head Start is? Oh,
02:33Head Start, yes. Appreciate that. These centers are crucial in serving rural communities. President
02:38Trump has undermined the stability of the Head Start program by withholding nearly $1 billion
02:42in federal funding that Congress has already appropriated, including funding specific to
02:46New Mexico. Now, I've heard directly from Head Start Child and Family Services in Lee County
02:51in New Mexico about the period of uncertainty they experienced earlier this year due to the
02:56federal hold on Head Start funding, leaving them unable to draw down funds for payroll. This
03:01placed a severe strain on staff members, some whom expressed they would leave for more stable
03:06employment as they could not afford to risk a missed paycheck. While Lee County was fortunate
03:11to have reserves, further delays in funding could have devastated impacts on their operations
03:15in the future of early childhood education. So, just last week, as you may be aware, GAO found
03:21that the administration violated the law by withholding Head Start funds. My question, again,
03:26is a yes or no. Do you believe it's against the law to delay or withhold Head Start funding
03:31that Congress has already appropriated? Mr. Chiarella?
03:33Again, as I've testified already, that my lodestar as an attorney is I follow the law. And by looking
03:41at the law, you look at the statute with appropriations in this case, what the facts are, and if there
03:46are any other case holdings on there. And so, my approach here to answer questions like that
03:52will be to follow the law. You're asking questions, A, that I believe are in dispute through litigation,
03:58so I think that those questions are unanswered as to what the law is.
04:02Appreciate it. Mr. Stewart, you have an incredible background in legal responsibilities. You're charged
04:08with being the Chief Legal Counsel for Health and Human Services. You're the expert. You know the law
04:13better than most. Yes or no? Well, if confirmed, and I appreciate this question. So, I'm a lawyer who
04:20likes to have all the facts and all the information before me in terms of these matters. In every instance,
04:26and I have a long career on this, is I will always recommend that we follow the law and that we do
04:31things correctly. But I'm not at HHS right now. I don't know the facts and circumstances behind
04:37any of these decisions that were made. Are you familiar with the laws that govern health and
04:42human services? Reasonably so, yes. So, are you the best person for this job?
04:48I am the best person for this job. So, you're the expert. So, I bring a wide variety of background
04:53to this. So, you're the expert. You are the expert then. You are the best person for this
04:56job. I'm going to have a great team with me. But you're not familiar with all the laws that
05:00govern HHS, you just said. It's an incredibly wide breadth of capability within the Department
05:08of Health and Human Services. And so, am I an expert at every single subject? No. But I bring a wide
05:15swath of experience. And I'm going to have a great team around me so that we can make sure on every
05:21subject we bring capable expertise to be able to provide the recommendations that are needed by
05:28Secretary Kennedy and the administration to make the right decision. I appreciate that, Mr. Chairman.
05:32I have other questions. I'll submit them into the record. But once you're confirmed, because I know
05:37how to count basic arithmetic matters around this place, I'll follow up in writing in your official
05:42capacities and re-ask the questions. They're going to be simple yes or no. It's going to take you more
05:47than a few minutes to work with whoever's on your team that are the experts just to simply respond
05:52yes or no. I hope that we can get those in a timely fashion. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I yield back.
05:55Thank you, Senator Lujan.
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