The Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Committee held an executive session to advance the nominations of Jayanta Bhattacharya
to be Director of the National Institutes of Health, and Marty Makary to be Food and Drug Administration.
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to be Director of the National Institutes of Health, and Marty Makary to be Food and Drug Administration.
Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:
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NewsTranscript
00:00As I start, I'll say to my fellow Republicans, we're one vote short, so when we do vote,
00:04I ask everyone on my side to stay until Senator Murkowski's here, because we all need to be here
00:11when we finish voting. Their side is free to leave at any time they wish, including before the vote.
00:20We're at a critical moment in public health. While the COVID-19 pandemic has ended,
00:24the loss of trust in public health and science agencies remains,
00:27and this comes as the nation faces serious health threats like a measles outbreak,
00:32which has already claimed at least one life, maybe two, and hospitalized many more.
00:38One life of a child from a vaccine-preventable disease. So the American people's trust in public
00:44health institutions must be restored. To start, we need public health leaders committed to
00:52transparency and finding unbiased solutions to Americans' most challenging health problems.
00:59Dr. Bhattacharya and Dr. McCary have demonstrated that they are ready to take on this responsibility.
01:07If confirmed as director of the NIH, Dr. Bhattacharya committed to promoting free and
01:13open debate at the agency, allowing all viewpoints to find the best outcome for Americans' health.
01:18He also discussed modernizing NIH, empowering scientists to find the next
01:23life-saving medical breakthrough. Moving on to the Food and Drug Administration.
01:27If confirmed as FDA commissioner, Dr. McCary committed to promoting medical innovation
01:31while upholding FDA's gold standard of review, so Americans can benefit from the latest
01:38life-saving medicines and devices. He emphasized the need to address obesity and chronic disease
01:44in collaboration with other administration officials. Dr. Bhattacharya and Dr. McCary
01:49have the experience and the vision to achieve President Trump's objective of making America
01:54healthy again. I support their nominations, urge my colleagues to do the same. With that,
01:59I recognize Senator Sanders for his opening statement. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Today,
02:03we are voting on the nominations for director of the NIH, Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, and the commissioner
02:08of the FDA, Dr. Monty McCary. I will be voting against both of these nominations.
02:15The NIH, with a budget of $48 billion, is the largest funder of medical research in the world.
02:22This research has led to new treatments and prescription drugs that have significantly
02:27improved the lives of Americans and people throughout the world. Every American should
02:32be proud of those achievements. But these treatments don't do any good if people cannot
02:39afford them. And the truth is that is exactly what is happening in our country today.
02:46It is beyond comprehension that we continue to pay, in some cases, 10 times more for the same
02:52exact drugs of people in Canada or other countries around the world. People go to the doctor, they
02:58get a prescription, they can't afford it. That's absurd. Not only has the federal government not
03:03effectively regulated the price of prescription drugs, although we have made progress under the
03:08Biden administration in terms of negotiating prescription drug prices with Medicare,
03:15the taxpayers of this country over the years have provided hundreds of billions of dollars
03:21in research and development into new prescription drugs that have provided enormous benefits.
03:28Unfortunately, despite all of the money that we have spent on the development of prescription
03:34drugs, drug companies take the money, they say thank you very much, and they go out and they
03:39charge the American people sky-high prices. In 2023, this committee released a report
03:45that found that the average price of new treatments that NIH scientists helped invent over the past
03:5220 years is $111,000. $111,000 per treatment. In virtually all cases, American taxpayers
04:01are paying far more than people in other countries for the exact same medicine.
04:05In my view, we need an NIH director who is prepared to take on the greed of the pharmaceutical
04:10industry and use every tool at his or her disposal to substantially lower the outrageous prices
04:16of prescription drugs. Unfortunately, I do not believe that President Trump's nominee to lead
04:21NIH is that person, not just the NIH. The FDA was established by Congress to regulate prescription
04:28drugs and the food that we eat, among many other things. According to the FDA's website,
04:33its mission is to make medical products more effective, safer, and more affordable.
04:38More affordable. Again, all of the great breakthroughs don't mean anything unless
04:44people can't afford them, and today in America, tens of millions of people cannot afford those
04:49treatments. For that reason, Mr. Chairman, I will also oppose the FDA nominee.
05:02Senator Hawley, was this the nomination you wish to speak on? We are waiting for Senator Mikulski.
05:09We have a two-minute statement from Senator Hawley, and so we'll do that,
05:18assuming that no one else has a statement. We'll begin the vote.
05:22Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. I was alarmed yesterday to learn that Dr. McCary
05:31had selected to be the chief counsel of the FDA. This is for Bhuddacharya. No,
05:35I'm sorry. I want to talk about Dr. McCary. Okay. Well, go ahead and do it if you don't mind.
05:41Yeah, I'm happy to. I was alarmed to see yesterday the news reports that Dr. McCary had
05:47decided to elevate to the chief counsel of the FDA a lawyer from the Biden administration,
05:53who has, I'm sure it would warm my colleagues' hearts on the other side of the aisle to know,
05:57repeatedly argued in favor of the Biden administration's rules on the chemical
06:02abortion drug, methoprestone, in case after case after case. This, frankly, flew in the face of
06:10what Dr. McCary told me in terms of his unbiased view on this. He said he would carry out a close
06:15review of that drug, as is required by law, by the way, and what he also testified to this
06:19committee. I subsequently learned that this same attorney, whom he had chosen to be the head of,
06:24again, the FDA's chief counsel, had also repeatedly argued for President Biden's
06:29vaccine mandates and had argued that there was no imposition on religious liberty in the vaccine
06:34mandates, that there should be no exceptions, argued in favor of the government shutdowns,
06:40argued in favor of firing federal officials who refuse the vaccine mandate, even on religious
06:46liberty grounds. I was stunned to hear about this, and frankly, Mr. Chairman, I was very,
06:50very alarmed, and it called into question, to me, Dr. McCary's judgment. Now, I'm pleased to see
06:55that as of this morning, he has withdrawn his support from this individual. She has resigned
07:00as chief counsel at the FDA. He has reconsidered that judgment,
07:04and that gives me some confidence. On that basis, I will vote yes.
07:10Seeing that a quorum is present, I move to favorably report Dr. Bhattacharya's nomination.
07:15The clerk will call the roll, and I shall be voting yes.
07:19Senator Paul. Senator Collins.
07:25Senator Mullin.
07:29Senator Marshall.
07:32Senator Scott.
07:34Senator Hawley.
07:36Senator Tuberville.
07:38Senator Banks.
07:41Senator Husted.
07:44Senator Moody.
07:46Senator Sanders.
07:50Senator Murray.
07:52Senator Baldwin.
07:54Senator Murphy.
07:58Senator Kaine.
08:00Senator Hassan.
08:03Senator Hickenlooper.
08:06Senator Markey.
08:08Senator Kim.
08:11Senator Blunt-Rochester.
08:14Senator Alsobrooks.
08:18Senator Murkowski.
08:24Senator Murkowski.
08:37Senator Cassidy is an aye. We'll hold this vote open, and we'll go to the next vote, okay?
08:59My colleagues are okay with that, okay?
09:03Um, next we'll go to, I move, I will now move to favorably report Dr. Martin McCary's nomination.
09:11The clerk will call the roll. I shall vote yes.
09:14Senator Paul.
09:16Senator Collins.
09:18Senator Mullin.
09:20Senator Marshall.
09:22Senator Scott.
09:25Senator Hawley.
09:27Senator Tuberville.
09:29Senator Banks.
09:31Senator Husted.
09:33Senator Moody.
09:35Senator Sanders.
09:38Senator Murray.
09:40Senator Baldwin.
09:42Senator Murphy.
09:45Senator Kaine.
09:47Senator Hassan.
09:51Senator Hickenlooper.
09:54Senator Markey.
09:57Senator Kim.
10:00Senator Blunt-Rochester.
10:02Senator Alsobrooks.
10:06Chairman Cassidy.
10:23I have 13 ayes, 9 nays.
10:32You have to hold it open.
10:34Do, for this one too?
10:35Oh, never mind, I'll hold it open.
10:38Thank you, colleague.
10:39You need some advice from councilors.
10:41Believe me, I'm...
11:02Okay.
11:26Senator Murkowski for the vote on Batistara.
11:33I have 12 ayes, 11 nays.
11:36The ayes have it.
11:37The nomination is agreed to and will be favorably reported to the senate.
11:40Now, please, Dr. McKerry.
11:42Senator Murkowski.
11:45I have 14 ayes, 9 nays.
11:48The ayes have it.
11:49The nomination is agreed to and will be favorably reported to the senate.
11:52The help committee stands adjourned.