Statement of CSPI President Dr. Peter G. Lurie

The narrow, party-line vote in the Senate Finance Committee assures that the nomination of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., to lead the Department of Health and Human Services will advance to the Senate floor.

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., has a demonstrated talent for getting people to believe things that are not true. 

He questions whether germs cause infectious disease

He believes we should pause infectious disease research and drug development research for ‘about eight years.’ 

He believes unpasteurized milk is safe to drink. 

He has consistently spread misinformation about vaccines for years, including the debunked claim that they cause autism, that there is no safe or effective vaccine, that the polio vaccine killed more people than it saved, and that COVID-19 vaccine authorization should have been revoked in the middle of the pandemic

Kennedy is without doubt the most inappropriate choice to lead Health and Human Services in the history of the agency. That someone with such unscientific beliefs will hold sway over the Department’s vital sub-agencies, like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration, and the National Institutes of Health, is deeply troubling. And avoidable still. 

The time to stop the vaccine-preventable outbreaks of 2026 and 2027 and beyond is now, by voting to deny Senate consent to this epically dangerous nomination. 

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