'Too Many Families Are Waiting For A Cure': Shelley Moore Capito Urges RFK Jr. To Fund Biomedical Research

Forbes Breaking News

At a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing prior to the Congressional recess, Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) addressed HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Transcript

00:00And I know Senator Murray will be here shortly.

00:02As the chair and vice chair of the Appropriations Committee, they are committed to regular order

00:07and maintaining our track record of writing and passing bipartisan appropriations bills

00:13in a timely manner.

00:15Today's budget hearing is a first step in that process.

00:17Secretary Kennedy, thank you so much for being with us today.

00:21I know that we all share the goal of improving the health of Americans.

00:24This hearing is an important opportunity for the subcommittee to hear from you on the HHS's budget proposal

00:30and better understand your priorities for fiscal year 2026.

00:35You've taken the helm of a large agency with thousands of dedicated career staffers

00:39whose work each day makes Americans healthier and safer

00:42and ensures our global leadership in science and biomedical research.

00:47In your first few months as secretary, you've made many changes in the department

00:50that will lead, I believe, to a healthier America.

00:53This committee looks forward to hearing more from you on the details of your proposed reorganization

00:58for HHS and working together to make America healthy again.

01:03HHS has always worked with Congress when considering and designing reorganizations,

01:07and I encourage you and your staff to work closely with us as you move forward.

01:12Your fiscal year 2026 budget proposes a reduction in funding for HHS of 26 percent.

01:18I would say, ask you to take a careful look at each and every program at the department,

01:24and I look forward to reviewing your full budget request hopefully very soon.

01:28This committee wants to work with you on improving HHS so that the agency can move more efficiently

01:33and fund the basic science.

01:36I'm concerned that our country is falling behind in biomedical research,

01:41and this should be a concern for those, all of us, who want to make investments in biomedical research.

01:48Investing in that has proven to save lives while exponentially strengthening our economy.

01:54NIH-funded basic research is also behind many of the 600-plus new cancer treatments

01:59that FDA has approved over the last 20 years.

02:02NIH-funded research led to the development of buprenorphine, a medication for opioid addiction.

02:07NIH-funded research led to the development of the first overdose naloxone nasal spray, Narcan.

02:14For almost a decade, this committee has increased funding towards the goal of finding treatments

02:19and a cure for Alzheimer's disease.

02:22This goal is very personal to me since both of my parents lived with

02:25and eventually succumbed to this horrible disease.

02:29These investments have allowed NIH to fund research into a wide variety of potential causes of the disease

02:34and build evidence for prevention based on a healthy lifestyle.

02:39NIH-funded research of the amyloid protein led to the development of the FDA-approved Alzheimer's drugs

02:44in 23 and 24 to slow progression of the disease.

02:48All this research is extremely important, and I look forward to working with you to continue

02:52to look at diversified Alzheimer's research.

02:57Wasteful spending of taxpayers' dollars must end, and I applaud you for taking a hard look

03:01at what federal research dollars are funding, and I encourage you to ensure

03:06that the fiscal year 2025 funding that Congress has already appropriated

03:11is spent in a timely manner, in particular for the vital biomedical research

03:16which could lead to lifesaving breakthroughs in science.

03:19Too many families are waiting for a cure, as you know.

03:21We have a responsibility to make sure their taxpayers' dollars fund that research.

03:26You and I have talked several times, and I appreciate it so much, about the importance

03:31of the NIOSH coal programs in West Virginia and how the work conducted by NIOSH in Morgantown

03:36is unique across the federal government.

03:38I'm pleased that you brought some of these specialized NIOSH employees back to work earlier this month

03:44and then just last week reversed their rifts so that their return to the office will not be temporary.

03:50Your decision to return NIOSH staff to the office meant that the firefighter fatality investigation

03:55and prevention program could issue the final report on the December 27, 2020 fire that killed a 30-year-old firefighter

04:05and injured three others in West Virginia.

04:08Senior Airman Logan Young was one of many who responded to the Kearneysville fire.

04:12I'm glad NIOSH was able to finish their investigation and issue recommendations in final report.

04:17While your action last week was a good step, there are still other divisions within NIOSH

04:21with specialized staff who conduct essential, unique work.

04:25I support the President's vision to right-size our government, but as you and I have discussed,

04:30I don't think eliminating NIOSH programs will accomplish that goal.

04:34I encourage you to look at this closely.

04:36West Virginia, my home state, continues to rank above the national average in both new cancer diagnoses and death.

04:42We are thankful for the work performed by the CDC National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion,

04:49and I look forward to learning more about how this important work will be continued on the administration of a healthy America.

04:57Substance abuse challenges also continue to be a real problem facing West Virginia and the nation.

05:03SAMHSA funding has played an important role in West Virginia,

05:07and I want to understand how the budget proposal would impact my state.

05:10I look forward to learning more about that from you today.

05:12I will say there was a bit of good news, I believe, last week when the national statistics of overdose deaths did go down.

05:20Rural health care is a top priority for this body.

05:22CDC data shows that rural Americans are more likely to suffer from higher rates of diabetes

05:27and are more likely to die from cancer, heart disease, and stroke than urban Americans.

05:32This is unfortunately true in my state, which also leads the nation in diabetes and heart disease.

05:38Improving rural health outcomes goes hand-in-hand with investing in the health care workforce

05:43to meet the physical and mental health challenges in America.

05:47HRSA has been a trusted federal partner on rural health issues for decades.

05:51HRSA has funded critical rural health capacity building and other initiatives across the country

05:56and administers the health care workforce programs that help bring medical providers into local communities.

06:03You have proposed moving HRSA into the new AHA, and I would, is that how I say it, AHA, AHA?

06:10I would like to learn more about how your budget proposal would invest in rural America.

06:14We have a difficult task ahead of us, but it's my hope we can and will come together,

06:18just as we have done in prior fiscal years, to use our limited resources in the most efficient and effective way.

06:23So, Secretary Kennedy, I look forward to your testimony, and I now will yield to my,

06:29or not yield, but turn the microphone over to Senator Baldwin.

06:33Thank you, Chair Capito, and I too look forward to your testimony.

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