‘Critical Functions Are Being Not Met’: Bill Cassidy Warns HHS Staffing Cuts Lead To Service Gaps

Forbes Breaking News

During Tuesday’s Senate Finance Committee hearing, Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) spoke about staffing cuts in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Transcript

00:00Thank you. Senator Cassidy. Thank you both. Thanks for your willingness to serve.

00:07Mr. O'Neill, there's been a lot of reorganization, but I'm told, and I only know what I'm told, not what I know,

00:19that there's been people whose positions they've been let go, but it's left a gap in the ability to provide service that is a gap.

00:33It wasn't like we had 100 people doing one job and we only needed two.

00:39It's like, no, we had five people doing a very important job.

00:43And it's been unclear to me who actually has the priority for this reorganization.

00:50So as we do reorganize, first, how do we replace those folks who, if it's true, first determine if it's true,

01:01and then if it is true, how do we replace those positions and how do we kind of avoid cutting the bone and marrow

01:10when we should be obviously focused on fat?

01:13Thank you. Thank you for the question, Senator.

01:16If I may, I really enjoyed our conversation a few weeks ago in your office.

01:20I really appreciate how you brought your experiences and learnings as a physician into your role as a senator.

01:27I really respect you for that.

01:30I'm also operating on limited information, obviously.

01:33But from what I can tell about the proposed reorganization of HHS,

01:37I think the secretary laid out some reasonable principles in his announcement speech.

01:44Namely, that the essential functions that HHS has, that the operating divisions have through statute,

01:51as well as custom, should be preserved.

01:53And that if there are two functions that make more sense to be conducted in the same agency or office,

02:00then that's a reasonable thing to aim towards.

02:05So combining relevant agencies, sorry, relevant functions into the same office makes logistical sense

02:15in terms of ensuring that a majority of all HHS resources are devoted to actually serving the functions

02:22that serve patients, beneficiaries, research entities, universities, grantees,

02:31and other entities that depend on HHS for inspections, regulations, funding, and like that.

02:36That's kind of a generic answer, and I don't mean to challenge, but you're so talented.

02:40It does seem as if we do have an issue of where, oh, we are, but I'm told.

02:47I don't know if it's true, and I'm trying to learn that.

02:50Critical functions are being not met.

02:56And you're on the outs, maybe you have a limited ability to do that,

03:00but I will say that if you are approved, that would be something that I think is important for our country to get right.

03:07We've discussed vaccinations, and you have mentioned your opposition to mandates.

03:12We've now, I think, had 19 kids die of flu.

03:16I saw a report yesterday when children typically have not died from flu.

03:20We've had two or three kids die in Louisiana of, I'm looking for the report right here,

03:28I think at Pertussis, which, like, kids haven't died from Pertussis forever.

03:33And then we know the kids dying of measles in West Texas.

03:41What can the department do to actually promote immunizations?

03:45We're having people die from vaccine-preventable diseases.

03:49And if you're opposed to, say, if you're going to go to school,

03:53then there would be a pre-matriculation requirement in order to enroll,

03:58then there has to be an alternative.

03:59There would have to be an aggressive promotion of immunizations.

04:02How would you approach that issue?

04:05Thank you for the question, Senator.

04:06As you know, I'm an advisor to a vaccine company.

04:09I'm very much in favor of vaccines.

04:11I think vaccines are one of the greatest public health interventions in human history.

04:16They've saved millions of lives.

04:18They will continue to save millions of lives.

04:20You mentioned Pertussis.

04:22I had the Pertussis vaccine, and later I contracted Pertussis.

04:25That doesn't mean that the vaccine is not a good thing to get.

04:28I think it is.

04:29And also probably your case was mitigated.

04:31People are confused to think that it's completely gone, but it can mitigate symptoms as well.

04:36But again, and I only have about 28 seconds.

04:38If you're against having a pre-matriculation requirement,

04:41what do we do to keep two more dead kids from happening in Texas?

04:45Or more kids from dying from flu or from Pertussis?

04:47Thank you, Senator.

04:49As I explained, if I were the principal of a school, I would require the CDC vaccinations.

04:56If I were the administrator of a hospital, I would require all workers to be fully vaccinated.

05:00There's a separate question of whether the federal government should be mandating these kind of...

05:04If the federal government puts out a recommendation that it should, those principals and those administrators are more likely to adopt?

05:12Agreed.

05:13And so would you agree or oppose such recommendations from the federal government?

05:18I support CDC's recommendations for vaccines.

05:22I think that's a central role that CDC has.

05:26It's mandated in law.

05:27It's also an important principle.

05:28They have a responsibility to recommend good, safe vaccines to everyone.

05:33Okay.

05:33I yield.

Category

Transcript

Recommended