House Energy and Trade’s Health heard hearing from House stopped on Tuesday when the Republican chairman asked the Minister of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy -Jr. to withdraw his allegations that the position of the democratic member.
Kennedy appeared in front of the subcommittee to defend the request of the Trump administration budget, which includes steep cuts of the Ministry of Health and Human Services (HHS).
Rep. Frank Palone (DN.J.), a member of the Energy and Trade Committee ranking, uses his time to blow up the dismissal in HHS and the apparent lack of transparency at Kennedy’s term so far. He and other Democrats said many of their letters to HHS were left unanswered, with Palon counting 10 of their letters that did not receive an answer.
Balo said this lack of transparency extends to changes of Kennedy in the federal vaccine approval process.
“You have made a number of major decisions on vaccines. And … there is no public process of commentary or public accountability on this. What are you afraid of?” he asked Kennedy.
“I want to say that in terms of vaccines, are you just afraid of not getting public comments on suggestions where you just think these are the views of fringes that contradict the views of most scientists?”
“The bottom line is here, we have no transparency. We have no answer. You do not feel responsibility for the congress and you are just continuing this ideology, which is an anti -learning science, an anti -vaccine. That’s all I see. I see nothing else,” Palala added.
The interrogation then went to Rep. Neil Dun (R-Fla.), Vice-Chairman of the Health Committee, who asked Kennedy how he plans to restore public confidence in health institutions. Only with a brief answer to Dunn’s question, Kennedy quickly returned his focus to Palpo’s criticism.
“Congressman Balo, 15 years ago, you and I met. At that time you were a champion of people who suffered vaccine injuries. You were very adamant about it. You were a leading member of the congress on the subject,” Kennedy said.
“Since then, you have accepted $ 2 million from pharmaceutical companies in contributions more than any other member of this committee,” he continued. “And your enthusiasm to support the old [Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices]Who was fully bound and comprehensively with pharmaceutical conflicts seems to be the result of these contributions. “
Reporter Diana DeGet (D-Colo.), A member of the health undercommate ranking, immediately raised a point order, saying that Kennedy “challenged Mr. Pallo”.
The chair of the subcommittee Buddy Carter (R-GA.) Asked the clock to be stopped. After a short and forth with the members of the committee and the employees, he admitted that this was a valid order order and asked Kennedy to withdraw his remarks for Pallo.
Kennedy withdrew his words.
According to Openscrets, Pallone has received approximately $ 2.2 million from the pharmaceutical/healthcare industry since 1988, when he first joined Congress.
Kennedy was probably about Palone, having previously sparked concerns in the 90s about the presence of mercury in the products approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
In 1997, Pallo added amendment to the bill to resolve the FDA at a time, which directed the agency to compile a list of food and medicines containing “deliberately introduced mercury compounds”. The exposition and poisoning of mercury have long been a problem for the Palone area.
Kennedy and other vaccine skeptics have long pointed to Thimerosal, a preservative containing mercury in vaccines as a potential cause of harm. Although studies supported the safety of vaccines containing thimerosal, preservative was removed from almost all children’s vaccines a few decades ago as a precaution due to public uncertainty.
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