00:00Thank you, Brother Chair. Secretary Kennedy, you're here today to defend the President's budget request.
00:05In September, you said that the CDC, quote, will again become the world authority on infectious disease policy.
00:15Do you still stand by that statement, yes or no?
00:18We already are.
00:20Secretary Kennedy, do you know what rabies is?
00:24Rabies?
00:25Yeah, do you know what it is?
00:26Okay, so rabies, people contract rabies, as we know, through bites from infected animals like skunks, foxes, like raccoons.
00:40Yeah.
00:41And it can devastate a family.
00:43When a pet is infected, it is very serious.
00:48It's 100% fatal in humans.
00:52Yes.
00:53If left untreated, and generally, it's a horrific experience.
00:58Staff at the CDC rabies division in Atlanta, Georgia, have historically been able to field emergency calls 24-7 from
01:08providers about complex rabies cases, using CDC expertise to determine appropriate care.
01:17Secretary Kennedy, Secretary Kennedy, since you and President Trump took office, do you know how many people are left to
01:23staff this 24-7 line?
01:28I do not know, Senator.
01:30Okay.
01:31So the answer is one.
01:33So I want you to know that there's one person left to staff a 24-7 line to respond to
01:45rabies, a disease which left untreated.
01:48You know how many rabies cases there are every year in the United States?
01:52So I'm asking the question.
01:53The CDC's infectious disease work has been so decimated under your leadership that there's only one person left to staff
02:01to line and respond to families about this very deadly and terrifying infectious disease.
02:06Let me ask about another disease.
02:09Secretary Kennedy, do you know what prion diseases are?
02:12Yes, I do.
02:13Okay, thanks.
02:14And when you think of prion diseases, one of them would be mad cow disease.
02:19Mad cow disease.
02:21So diseases like mad cow disease can be transmitted from animal meat to humans, and it can cause a rapid
02:30onset of dementia, challenges with walking, personality changes, and severe insomnia.
02:40It's also 100% fatal, and there is no cure, with people's brain tissue essentially turning into a sponge before
02:50death.
02:50Do you know which office at CDC monitors prion disease?
02:57So it'sâ
02:59I do not know, sir.
03:00It's the prion and public health office.
03:03Do you know what population is most at risk of contracting the disease?
03:10I would say it's people who eat meat from CAFOs.
03:15So hunters, hunters, prion and public health office is critical in a state like Georgia.
03:22In Georgia, we have a lot of hunters.
03:25There are more than 600,000 hunters in my state, but your budget proposes to eliminate this office.
03:32Respectfully, you seem distracted, Brother Secretary.
03:38Why does your budget propose to eliminate the CDC office that focuses on monitoring this deadly infectious disease that's especially
03:49a risk to rural communities?
03:50Why are you proposing to eliminate the office?
03:52You know, there's a lot of cuts at the agency that nobody wants.
03:57We have a $39 trillion debt.
04:00We've been asked to cut across the agency 12 percent.
04:04I assure you that the 600,000 hunters in Georgia would want this office.
04:09They would want the protection.
04:11I assure you that families that are dealing with rabies or the prospects of that would want to know that
04:18somebody's going to answer the phone when they call.
04:20You've come to Congress and justified destroying the CDC by saying you want to just restore the CDC's mission to
04:31focusing on infectious diseases.
04:33Yet you're also gutting the very offices that keep American families safe from disturbing and deadly infectious diseases.
04:43Senator, there's one to three rabies cases a year in the United States.
04:51I think one person manning that office full-time probably can handle that traffic.
04:57In terms of prion disease, it's very, very rare.
05:00I beg to differ.
05:01Here is the issue, and we see this across the board with CDC.
05:06The incredible folks at the CDC in Atlanta, Georgia, they protect us every day from the threats that we don't
05:17see.
05:18And they don't get much credit for it because of the stuff that does not happen.
05:23And it's okay for the general public not to wake up thinking about that.
05:27But we expect you to keep Americans alive.
05:32And the cutting that we're seeing, these draconian cuts, for an agency that you said you wanted to restore to
05:39be the leader in infectious disease, yet you're cutting the coverage of infectious disease.
05:44Personally, sir, even as you seem distracted while I talk to you about deadly diseases, I think you're dangerous to
05:50the American public.
05:52And you ought to be fired.
05:54And if you're not fired, you ought to have the decency to resign.
05:57You're way above, way in over your head.
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