Health and Human Service Secret Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is scheduled to testify today in both the House and Senate to discuss the White House budget proposal.
It will be the first time he has testified before a congressional committee since his confirmation hearing for his Cabinet post.
When he speaks before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, it will be the first time in two decades that an HHS secret has testified about the president’s budget, according to the panel.
The hearing is likely to shed light on the status of Kennedy’s relationship with committee chair Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., who had expressed concerns about Kennedy’s nomination over his attitude toward vaccines.
During the confirmation process, Kennedy had agreed to appear before the committee on a quarterly basis, if requested, to secure Cassidy’s support.
Asked whether Kennedy had kept his commitment to not spread misinformation or sow distrust in vaccines, Cassidy recently said: “All I’ll say about the commitments is that so far, he’s lived up them.” Cassidy also said he had a “good working relationship” with Kennedy.
Other Senate Republicans who were on the fence about supporting Kennedy have had positive things to say about him keeping them in the loop.
Sen. Susan Collins of Maine said she often texts the secret, but still plans to press him on cuts to the National Institutes of Health.
Democrats are also likely to focus on the NIH cutbacks, as well as the measles outbreak, cuts to medical research, prescription drug costs and his vaccines policy, according to multiple senators.
Sen. Andy Kim, D-N.J., told NBC News that Kennedy should be prepared to answer questions about “some of the alarming statements that he’s made over his tenure as secret.”
Sen. John Hickenlooper, D-Colo., said that he might take a more generalized approach “and just ask him, does he think America is investing enough money in science?”
Yesterday, Sen. Angela Alsobrooks, D-Md., who sits on the committee, filed a resolution of disapproval against Kennedy and called on him to resign, citing concerns about cuts to cancer research, the National Firefighter Cancer Registry and IVF. Alsobrooks is expected try to pass the resolution on the Senate floor this week via unanimous consent, but a Senate Republican will most likely block that effort.
