February 12,2025

Crapo Urges Senate Colleagues to Support RFK Jr. to be HHS Secretary

Washington, D.C.--U.S. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) delivered remarks on the Senate Floor urging his Senate colleagues to support Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to serve as Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

Watch Chairman Crapo's remarks here.

As delivered:

“Thank you, Mr. President.

“In a moment, the Senate will proceed to a cloture vote on the nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to be Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).  I rise to encourage my colleagues to support this motion.

“As Secretary of HHS, Mr. Kennedy would oversee our nation’s expansive health care system, from sources of coverage to advancement of public health. 

“Mr. Kennedy’s decades of experience and deep drive to advocate on behalf of consumers will set a patient-centered tone at the Department.

“As he has demonstrated in both public and private settings, Mr. Kennedy is committed to reorienting our approach to health care and restoring faith in our institutions.

“His passion for addressing America’s chronic disease epidemic will save lives, reduce costs and establish a foundation for a healthier, stronger country. 

“His dedication to transparency will empower patients to make more informed decisions about their health care and form a responsive rapport with Congress.  As Mr. Kennedy stated during his hearing, ‘…if Congress asked me for information, you will get it immediately.’

“Over the course of his vetting process, Mr. Kennedy met with dozens of Members on both sides of the aisle, spoke with bipartisan Senate Finance Committee staff, appeared before two committee hearings and answered over nine hundred questions for the record.  Not to mention, presenting thousands of pages of documents.

“Mr. Kennedy has gone through the same Office of Government Ethics process as all nominees who come before the Finance Committee. 

“Similar to all other nominees, we have a letter from director of the Office of Government Ethics stating: ‘Based thereon, we believe that this nominee is compliance with applicable laws and regulations governing conflicts of interest.’ 

“He even amended his ethics agreement, going beyond what is required by the Office of Government Ethics, in response to a request from Finance Committee Members.

“I urge my colleagues to join me in advancing his nomination so we can begin to make our country healthier.”