By LINDA BOYLE
Last week, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was grilled for two days by the Senate Finance Committee and the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pension Committee. The hearings held as part of his confirmation process for secretary of Health and Human Services were contentious at best.
I listened to much of the Finance committee’s interrogation. Sadly, little was asked about RFK Jr.’s desires to Make America Healthy Again. They focused more on vaccines, abortion, and his association with the Children’s Health Defense organization—viewed as anti-vax.
One of my favorite moments was when Senator Bernie Sanders held up a picture of a baby onesie that had printed on it ‘Unvaxxed, Unafraid.’” Sanders pushed RFK Jr. repeatedly and asking him if his “organization” would stop selling them. RFK Jr. told Sanders he had “no power over that organization” as he was no longer in charge of it.
The debate got even better. RFK Jr. asked Sanders how much money he had received from pharmaceutical companies. “Almost all the members of this panel, including yourself, are accepting millions of dollars from the pharmaceutical industry and protecting their interests,” Kennedy said.
Sanders immediately pushed back, “I ran for president like you. I got millions and millions of contributions. They did not come from the executives, not one nickel of PAC [political action committee] money from the pharmaceutical [companies]. They came from workers.”
Sen. Sanders is technically correct and even better at parsing. In the 2019-20 Congressional funding cycle, Sanders received more money from people employed in the field classified as “pharmaceuticals/health products” ($1.4 million) than any other member of Congress, according to Open Secrets. He also received roughly $400,000 from people employed in “pharmaceutical manufacturing.”
Sen. Elizabeth Warren also went on a rampage about vaccines. She asked RFK JR. to “commit” to not suing Big Pharma if he were confirmed. He responded, “You’re asking me to not sue drug companies, and I’m not gonna agree to that subject,” At that point, Sen. Warren continued harping, saying if confirmed, RFK Jr. could ‘bankrupt’ vaccine manufacturers.”
Just today, the committee Democrats are demanding more details on RFK Jr.’s involvement with vaccine lawsuits. They believe Kennedy should promise to recuse himself from any vaccine-related court decisions if confirmed as Health & Human Services Secretary.
It makes me wonder about some serious conflicts of interest. Just how much do our congressional members get from pharmaceutical companies?
Where is the truth?
Open Secrets, a nonpartisan nonprofit, and STAT, a media company started by Boston Globe Media, are two organizations that track and publish some of the most reliable numbers on this matter.
These two organizations identified that a majority of senators and representatives get campaign funding from pharmaceutical companies.
A 2020 STAT analysis showed more than two-thirds of Congress received a check from these companies that year. More recent data from Open Secrets confirmed a large number of leaders in the U.S. Congress obtain significant contributions from either Big Pharma or health product companies, “ averaging $45,000 and $47,000 for Republicans and Democrats in the House of Representatives, respectively — and $50,000 and $69,000 for Republicans and Democrats in the Senate.”
In 2023-24, Democrats received about $26.4 million and Republicans received nearly $16.1 million from Big Pharma. Even more significant is that of the top 20 Republicans and top 20 Democrats who get the highest contributions, 39 belonged to committees with jurisdiction over health-related legislative matters.
Twenty-four of them were in senior positions, according to Olivier J. Wouters, assistant professor of health policy at the London School of Economics and Political Science.
During his confirmation hearing, Kennedy said he hopes to end the “chronic disease epidemic,” which is the crux of his Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement.
He has also sharply criticized the malignant influence of healthcare companies, which he believes has made America sicker.
“President Trump has asked me to end the chronic disease epidemic and Make America Healthy Again,” he said. “We have the highest chronic disease burden of any country in the world. This is an existential threat economically to our military, to our health, to our sense of well-being, and it is a priority for President Trump.”
Somehow all this has boiled down to a food fight. Little is being said about the huge need to reform our healthcare system and seriously look at why we are one of the sickest countries in the world.
Could it be we give more immunizations?
Could it be we have more harmful additives in our foods than any other western country?
Could it be all the processed foods that have led to an obesity crisis in our children and general population?
Could it be we have somehow decided not to talk honestly about our fellow countrymen (and women) who are making bad health choices?
Do we need to shine the light on America’s health crisis and give people the truth so they can make better decisions?
If RFK Jr. is not confirmed, we can go on fooling ourselves as to how great we are.
The time is now. Votes are being held in the committees starting Feb. 4. Let Sen. Lisa Murkowski know you are one of her constituents and let her know what you think.
Here are Senator Murkowski’s contacts:
510 L Street
Suite 600
Anchorage, AK 99501
Phone: (907) 271-3735
Fax: (877) 857-0322
522 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Phone: (202)-224-6665
Fax: (202)-224-5301
Call, write, email her so she knows what you think. We need RFK Jr. at the helm. We need to Make America Healthy Again.
Linda Boyle, RN, MSN, DM, was formerly the chief nurse for the 3rd Medical Group, JBER, and was the interim director of the Alaska VA. Most recently, she served as Director for Central Alabama VA Healthcare System. She is the director of the Alaska Covid Alliance/Alaskans 4 Personal Freedom.
