Hearings to examine the nomination of David Weldon, of Florida, to be Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Department of Health and Human Services.

Committee on Education

2025-03-13

Source: Congress.gov

Summary

The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee convened to vote on the nominations of Dr. Jay Bhattacharya as Director of the NIH and Dr. Monty McCary as Commissioner of the FDA, following discussions from several senators regarding their qualifications and policy stances.[ 00:26:30 ]

Nominations for NIH Director and FDA Commissioner

Senator Rand Paul expressed support for both nominees, highlighting Dr. Bhattacharya's commitment to transparency, open debate, and modernizing the NIH to foster medical breakthroughs.[ 00:27:28-00:28:10 ] He also praised Dr. McCary's dedication to promoting medical innovation while maintaining FDA's gold standard of review and addressing critical health issues like obesity.[ 00:28:26-00:28:46 ] Conversely, Senator Bernie Sanders announced his opposition to both nominations, primarily citing concerns about the unaffordability of prescription drugs in the United States.[ 00:29:46 ] Senator Tommy Tuberville initially voiced alarm over Dr. McCary's judgment regarding a specific appointment for FDA chief counsel, but ultimately supported the nomination after the individual in question resigned.

Affordability of Prescription Drugs

A major point of contention raised by Senator Sanders was the prohibitive cost of prescription drugs, arguing that life-saving treatments developed with significant federal investment are inaccessible to many Americans due to their high prices. He criticized the pharmaceutical industry for charging excessive amounts, noting that U.S. taxpayers often pay more than individuals in other countries for the same medications. Sanders stressed that a key mission of both NIH and FDA should be to make medical products more affordable, believing neither nominee was adequately prepared to tackle this issue.

Controversy Regarding FDA Chief Counsel Appointment

Senator Tuberville expressed significant concern over Dr. McCary's selection of an FDA chief counsel who had publicly advocated for the Biden administration's stance on the abortion drug Mifeprestone and vaccine mandates, which Tuberville found to be biased.[ 00:31:43-00:31:59 ]

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 He felt this contradicted Dr. McCary's commitment to an unbiased review process.[ 00:31:49 ]

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 However, Tuberville's concerns were resolved when he learned the chosen individual had since resigned, leading him to support Dr. McCary's nomination.

Tone of the Meeting

The meeting maintained a formal and procedural tone, marked by clear ideological divisions on the nominations.[ 00:26:30 ] While Senator Paul and Tuberville ultimately supported the nominees, Senator Sanders expressed strong opposition, framing his concerns with passionate language about pharmaceutical greed and public health accessibility.[ 00:28:52 ] Senator Tuberville's initial "alarm" regarding an FDA appointment highlighted a moment of tension, which was later diffused by the appointee's resignation, allowing for a resolution of his concerns.[ 00:31:47 ]

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Participants

Transcript

On health education, labor, and pensions, will please come to order.  As I start, I'll say to my fellow Republicans, we're one vote short, so when we do vote, I ask everyone on my side to stay until Senator Murkowski's here, because we all need to be here when we finish voting.  Their side is free to leave at any time they wish, including before the vote.   We're at a critical moment in public health.  While the COVID-19 pandemic has ended, the loss of trust in public health and science agencies remains.   And this comes as the nation faces serious health threats like a measles outbreak, which has already claimed at least one life, maybe two, and hospitalized many more.  One life of a child from a vaccine-preventable disease.  So the American people's trust in public health institutions must be restored.  To start, we need public health leaders...   To start, we need public health leaders committed to transparency and finding unbiased solutions to Americans' most challenging health problems.   Bhattacharya and Dr. McCary have demonstrated that they are ready to take on this responsibility.  If confirmed as director of the NIH, Dr. Bhattacharya committed to promoting free and open debate at the agency, allowing all viewpoints to find the best outcome for Americans' health.  He also discussed modernizing NIH, empowering scientists to find the next life-saving medical breakthrough.   Moving on to the Food and Drug Administration.  They've confirmed as FDA Commissioner, Dr. McCary committed to promoting medical innovation while upholding FDA's gold standard of review so Americans can benefit from the latest lifesaving medicines and devices.  He emphasized the need to address obesity and chronic disease   in collaboration with other administration officials.  Dr. Bhattacharya and Dr. McCary have the experience and the vision to achieve President Trump's objective of making America healthy again.  I support their nominations, urge my colleagues to do the same.
With that, I recognize Senator Sanders for his opening statement.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.  Today, we are voting on the nominations for director of the NIH, Dr. Jay Bhattacharyya, and the commissioner of the FDA, Dr. Monty McCary.  I will be voting against both of these nominations.  The NIH, with a budget of $48 billion, is the largest funder of medical research in the world.  This research has led to new treatments and prescription drugs that have significantly improved the lives of Americans and people throughout the world.   Every American should be proud of those achievements.  But these treatments don't do any good if people cannot afford them.  And the truth is that is exactly what is happening in our country today.  It is beyond comprehension that we continue to pay, in some cases, 10 times more for the same exact drugs that people in Canada or other countries around the world.  People go to the doctor, they get a prescription, they can't afford it.  That's absurd.   Not only has the federal government not effectively regulated the price of prescription drugs, although we have made progress under the Biden administration in terms of negotiating prescription drug prices with Medicare, the taxpayers of this country over the years have provided hundreds of billions of dollars in research and development into new prescription drugs that have provided enormous benefits.   Unfortunately, despite all of the money that we have spent on the development of prescription drugs, drug companies take the money, they say, thank you very much, and they go out and they charge the American people sky-high prices.  In 2023, this committee released a report that found that the average price of new treatments that NIH scientists helped invent over the past 20 years is $111,000.  $111,000 per treatment.   In virtually all cases, American taxpayers are paying far more than people in other countries for the exact same medicine.
In my view, we need an NIH director who is prepared to take on the greed of the pharmaceutical industry and use every tool at his or her disposal to substantially lower the outrageous prices of prescription drugs.  Unfortunately, I do not believe that President Trump's nominee to lead the NIH is that person, not just the NIH.   The FDA was established by Congress to regulate prescription drugs and the food that we eat, among many other things.  According to the FDA's website, its mission is to make medical products more effective, safer, and more affordable.  More affordable.  Again, all of the great breakthroughs don't mean anything unless people can afford them.   And today in America, tens of millions of people cannot afford those treatments.  And for that reason, Mr. Chairman, I will also oppose the FDA nominee.
Senator Hawley, was this the nomination you wish to speak on?  We are waiting for Senator Murkowski.  We have a two-minute statement from Senator Hawley, and so we'll do that.  Assuming that no one else has a statement, we'll begin the vote.
Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.   alarmed yesterday to learn that Dr. McCary had selected to be the chief counsel of the... This is for Budachara, so... No, I'm sorry.

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