- Robert F. Kennedy Jr. began his welcoming remarks by discussing America's chronic disease crisis, noting that 60% of adults have at least one chronic disease and health care costs exceed $4 trillion.
- Kennedy said transparency will be key to restoring public trust in health care institutions and promised to remove conflicts of interest and make data accessible.
- He said he would investigate what he described as "insufficiently scrutinized" health factors. Kennedy has pledged to maintain access to vaccines.
After being confirmed and sworn in, Health and Human Services Secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. gave welcoming remarks to his staff Tuesday, discussing what his priorities will be as leader of the sprawling U.S. public health agencies.
Kennedy describes the American chronic disease epidemic
Per Kennedy, currently in the U.S., 6 in 10 adults have at least one chronic disease and 4 in 10 have at least two or more, he said.
Among American children and teens, 1 in 36 have autism, 18% suffer from fatty liver disease, and more than 40% are overweight or obese.
Kennedy blamed the rise on the “growing issue” of overmedication, and said he believes this multigenerational deterioration of health has been accompanied by a growing distrust in the public health sector.
Why American health care is so much more expensive than everywhere else
The debate between Republicans and Democrats in Washington, Kennedy believes, is rooted in the wrong issues. Congressmen argue over who will pay for health care, but for Kennedy, “this is like moving deck chairs around on the Titanic.”
“Our health care is getting worse and worse, and when the total costs are over $4 trillion as they are now, there is no good solution, only less bad ones. We need to start asking a very different question. Regardless of who pays, why are we paying so much?” he asked.
Kennedy believes American health care is so expensive because Americans are so sick. “We are, in fact, the sickest nation on Earth with the highest chronic disease burden in the world or in the history of the world,” he said.
‘The path to trust is always through transparency’
“Transparency is the foundation of science, and it is the foundation of democracy,” Kennedy said.
Addressing the assembled staff, Kennedy recalled visiting HHS with his uncle, President John F. Kennedy when he was a boy and being impressed with the scientists for being motivated by high ideals. “I believe that most of you here are not here for the money,” he said. However, he added, “I also understand the corrosive power of money as it infiltrates and captures institutions like ours.”
Kennedy also denounced the politicization of the health department, saying, “Our health should not be a political issue.”
“The science gets politicized when power and profit are involved, and power and profit are blind to compassion,” he said.
Kennedy speaks on the polarization of his confirmation process
Kennedy’s confirmation vote fell almost entirely along party lines, with all Democratic senators voting nay and all but one Republican senators voting yea. Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who had polio as a child, opposed his confirmation.
Kennedy asked his staff to let go of any preconceptions they may have made about him and work toward restoring the health of Americans. In return, Kennedy promised to hold his “preconceived answers lightly.”
“I promise to be willing to be wrong,” he said, adding, “The health of our people is a lot more important than being right or being vindicated. We can start right now.”
Kennedy said he wants to increase research in areas he thinks of as “insufficiently scrutinized,” including childhood vaccine schedules, electromagnetic radiation, glyphosate, pesticides, ultraprocessed foods, artificial food additives, SSRIs, psychiatric drugs and microplastics.