"We're denying people vaccines," Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy told Kennedy.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. faced a grilling before the Senate Finance Committee on Thursday from both Republican and Democratic lawmakers.
Over nearly three hours of questioning, he defended his controversial views on vaccines and the ouster of Susan Monarez as director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Kennedy said that he received latest numbers from the CDC that 76.4% of Americans now have a chronic disease.
"This is stunning … This is a national security issue," he said. "When my uncle was president, we spent zero on chronic disease. We [have now] spent $1.3 trillion."
Kennedy claimed this is why peopled needed to be fired at the CDC, saying they "didn't do their job" to keep Americans healthy.
Before facing questions from lawmakers, Kennedy took a moment in his opening statement to address recent turmoil at the CDC.
"These changes were absolutely necessary adjustments to restore the agency to its role as the world's gold standard public health agency with the central mission of protecting Americans from infectious disease," Kennedy said.
He said the agency needed "new blood" and criticized its response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Many public health experts argue that politics and social resistance hampered the CDC's efforts to quell the pandemic and save lives.
Last week, Susan Monarez was ousted from her role as CDC director over her resistance to changes on COVID vaccine policy. Four top CDC officials then resigned in protest.
Kennedy's opening statement was momentarily interrupted by a protester.
“You’re killing millions of people!” the person said before being removed.
Kennedy began his opening statement by offering condolences to DeKalb County police officer David Rose, who died when a gunman opened fire on the CDC campus on Aug. 8.
"Officer Rose was a veteran. He was a husband and the father of two children, officers Rose's widow, whom I visited, is expecting their third child," Kennedy said. "I'd like Officer Rose's family to know that he remains in our prayers and that he will continue to be in our thoughts."
Kennedy said HHS was moving from a "sick care system" to a true "health care system" by looking at the root causes of chronic disease.
He also said the agency was taking on issues including food dyes, electronic cigarettes and drug prices.
As Kennedy continued his statement, he was heckled by protesters accusing him of "killing" people.
