This story initially appeared on vigilantfox.com and was republished with permission.
Sen. John Kennedy simply obliterated the Democrats’ narrative on HHS price range cuts with nothing however just a few easy questions.
RFK Jr. was beneath heavy fireplace.
Then Sen. Kennedy stepped in—and hit a grand slam.
This change flipped the entire listening to on its head. It’s a must to see it.
HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. went head-to-head with Senate Democrats immediately over main proposed price range cuts, together with $18 billion slashed from the NIH and $3.6 billion from the CDC.
However for a lot of Democrats, you’d suppose it was the top of the world.
Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) led the cost, slamming Kennedy for a $3 billion drop in federally funded biomedical analysis in comparison with final 12 months.
Kennedy stood his floor.
“We’re chopping waste, we’re chopping duplicative packages,” he mentioned.
Nonetheless, Baldwin wouldn’t let up. She framed the lack of “3,200 fewer grants” as an assault on “life-saving packages.”
Kennedy hit again with a devastating stat.
“We spend 70% of the world’s biomedical analysis out of NIH. 70%. And we’re the sickest nation on the planet,” he mentioned.
“We’ve had a 38% enhance in our company development over the previous 4 years,” he added. “That cash has not been nicely spent.”
The change summed up a broader dynamic: Democrats making an attempt to color RFK Jr. as a villain, slashing life-saving science, whereas Kennedy identified that America’s well being is declining as a result of of how this cash is being spent, not regardless of it.
Then got here Senator John Kennedy, and he dismantled the whole narrative with just a few easy questions.
Earlier than I break it down, you must actually watch the total change for your self. It’s nothing in need of wonderful.
The primary line of questioning identified that HHS employees went from 82,000 to 62,000, the identical stage it was at earlier than COVID in 2019.
Sen. Kennedy sarcastically requested, “Is that this the primary time that an establishment in America has ever downsized?”
“I don’t suppose so,” RFK Jr. replied.
Sen. Kennedy stored ramming this level dwelling.
“Microsoft simply introduced that they have been going to scale back their workforce by 6,000 folks. You suppose that’ll be the top of Microsoft?”
“I don’t suppose so,” RFK Jr. answered.
Sen. Kennedy stored going.
“Meta—I nonetheless name them Fb—simply introduced they’re going to scale back their workforce by 3,000 folks. You suppose that’ll be the top of Meta?”
“I think about it is not going to,” RFK Jr. mentioned.
“Yeah. Suppose possibly the folks at Meta know what they’re doing?” Sen. Kennedy requested.
“I feel that they do,” RFK Jr. responded. “They make some huge cash.”
“Do you hate NIH?” Senator Kennedy requested.
“I like NIH,” RFK Jr. mentioned earnestly. “I grew up with NIH. I visited once I was a boy. I beloved science, and people have been my favourite afternoons visiting the labs.”
Then, the gloves got here off.
Senator Kennedy argued one of the simplest ways to extend medical analysis funding was to “cease the stealing.” He defined how universities misuse taxpayer {dollars}:
“Let’s suppose NIH provides a college $100 million for medical analysis. That college takes $30 million of it, doesn’t spend it on the analysis, and makes use of it to subsidize the remainder of their college. Does that present a dedication to medical analysis?” he requested facetiously.
Kennedy pointed to a real-life case, citing Stanford for instance.
He mentioned they have been taking 78% in oblique prices, and nobody actually knew the place the cash was going. “That’s theft, isn’t it?” he requested, including, “In Louisiana… we name that stealing.”
Sen. Kennedy requested RFK Jr. point-blank:
“Is there any doubt in your thoughts that loads of universities are taking this NIH cash, which is meant to be spent on medical analysis, and utilizing it to fund different components of their college? Is there any doubt in your thoughts, Bobby?”
RFK Jr. defined that whereas personal grantmakers just like the Gates Basis or Rockefeller Basis pay simply 10%–15% in oblique prices (overhead bills that universities cost on high of analysis grants), the NIH has been paying 50%, 60%, even 70%.
This implies taxpayer-funded grant cash meant for medical analysis is being misused and spent way more loosely than it could be beneath personal grantmakers.
Along with his final query, Sen. Kennedy requested RFK Jr., “ Why can we permit extremely processed meals in America?”
“That’s a sophisticated query,” RFK Jr. replied, “nevertheless it’s pushed by earnings to a meals business that’s getting cash by poisoning American youngsters.”
He added, “And so they don’t do it overseas. They make the identical merchandise for Canada and for Europe that don’t include a lot of these chemical substances.”
Earlier than wrapping up, Senator Kennedy took one final shot on the partisan drama:
“You perceive, Mr. Secretary, there’s nothing you are able to do that’s going to make a lot of my Democratic colleagues joyful. You get that, don’t you?”
“I do perceive,” RFK Jr. replied. “I’m coming to grasp that, Senator. Sure.”
And similar to that, Sen John Kennedy not solely put a smile on Kennedy’s face, but additionally torched the “price range cuts kill folks” narrative and uncovered how bloated spending has failed the very folks it’s meant to assist.
From that second on, the Democratic outrage fell aside. The narrative had already been flipped, and everybody within the room knew it.
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