'So Which Is It?': Jack Reed Presses RFK Jr. For Answers On Childhood Lead Program

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At today's Senate Appropriations Committee hearing, Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI) questioned HHS Sec. Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Transcript

00:01Senator Reid.

00:06Mr. Secretary, I want to ask you about the CDC's childhood-led program,

00:11because we've heard a lot of conflicting messages about it.

00:14The childhood?

00:15Yes, the childhood-led poisoning prevention program.

00:19But we've heard a lot of conflicting messages.

00:21First, the program was eliminated as part of your restructuring of HHS,

00:25and all the program staff was fired.

00:28You suggested that that was a mistake

00:30and that the program would be brought back online.

00:33Last week, you told Senator Baldwin

00:35that lead poisoning among children was a very significant issue,

00:39and if Congress appropriated the money, the program would continue.

00:44Well, Congress has appropriated the funding,

00:46and as far as we can tell, staff has not yet been hired,

00:50and I see no statements reversing your decision to eliminate the program.

00:54So which is it?

00:56Do we have a program?

00:57We are continuing to fund the program,

00:59and in Milwaukee, we have a team in Milwaukee,

01:03and we're giving laboratory support to the analytics in Milwaukee,

01:10and we're working with the health department in Milwaukee.

01:13Well, that's Milwaukee.

01:14What about the rest of the country?

01:16Well, I don't, as I said, I have a TRO now, you know,

01:24a federal TRO that does not allow me to talk about the reorg.

01:28What I can tell you is that if you appropriate the money,

01:32that we are going to spend it.

01:33We have appropriated the money, Mr. Secretary.

01:36You indicated that you have a program in Milwaukee.

01:39What about the rest of the United States?

01:41This is not a problem, exclusively in Milwaukee.

01:45My understanding is that that program is continuing.

01:48I'm hoping to, I'm very, very happy to talk to you, Senator,

01:53after this and find out exactly what the details are.

01:56Well, it should be a very simple answer.

02:01The program is back up and running.

02:03We've hired the staff, which I don't think you have,

02:06and that doesn't indicate that you're serious about getting the program running again.

02:11I just want to put a word in to a second, Senator Collins' support of the LIHEAP.

02:16It's a program that is incredibly important to people all across the country.

02:22Cold winters toward summers in the South, people need it.

02:28And I support her comments very much.

02:31Now, let me turn to an issue.

02:36Medicaid.

02:39The nonpartisan Correctional Budget Office estimates that more than 10 million people

02:43will lose access to Medicaid because of the bill under consideration right now in the House.

02:48In fact, CBO didn't even get to score all the Medicaid provisions, so it could be higher.

02:56But the consequence of that is millions of people losing Medicare will mean that many more people

03:01will go to the emergency rooms because they don't have a doctor.

03:05Many community health centers will close because that's the margin that keeps them open.

03:10Nursing homes will likely close.

03:12In fact, frankly, it will probably undermine significantly the health care systems in every state in the Union.

03:20So why are you making these cuts?

03:23First of all, we haven't made cuts.

03:25Only in Washington would those be called cuts.

03:29The reductions that are proposed are reductions in the rate of growth over the next five years.

03:37And those reductions are to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse.

03:44And I'll explain to you, there's a million people now on Medicaid who are accepting Medicaid,

03:50collecting from Medicaid in two states.

03:53That's illegal.

03:54They're stealing from the Medicaid program.

03:57We've now been able to identify them, which no other administration was able to do.

04:01There are two million people who are collecting both Obamacare, or one million people who are collecting Obamacare and Medicaid.

04:10That's illegal.

04:11It is also a theft.

04:13There are a million illegal aliens in the states that have allowed that, like California.

04:18And as soon as we made the announcement that we are not going to allow that funding anymore,

04:26Gavin Newsom followed by making his announcement that he's not going to fund it anymore.

04:30So his compassion ended where he had to start paying for it.

04:34The remaining, and there's only eight and a half million people affected by this,

04:38the remaining people who are affected are able-bodied male workers, males,

04:44who refuse to get a job, who refuse to even meet the minimal thresholds that President Trump has demanded,

04:51that they be looking for a job, that they be an education.

04:54Excuse me, Mr. Secretary.

04:55That's rhetoric, not reality.

04:57You're going to have 10 million people without health care.

05:01They're going to the emergency rooms.

05:02It is going to undermine the health care system in every state of this country.

05:06And you'll be responsible along with the president.

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