WASHINGTON, D.C. (WVDN) – Today, U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (Labor-HHS), questioned U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. during a hearing to consider the president’s Fiscal Year 2026 budget request.
HIGHLIGHTS:
ON THE IMPORTANCE OF PATIENT ACCESS TO CLINICAL TRIALS:
SENATOR CAPITO: “Clinical trials are the forefront of research and innovation, and oftentimes represent that last hope of cancer patients and other patients addressing chronic disease when traditional treatments have been ineffective. These clinical trials often lead getting life-saving drugs to the market. Has HHS or any sub-agency assessed the impact of patient access to clinical trials during the reorganization?”
SECRETARY KENNEDY: “We are not cutting any clinical trials and we’re not cutting drug development. We’re cutting administrative costs.”
ON RURAL HEALTHCARE INITIATIVES:
SENATOR CAPITO: “There’s such significant healthcare challenges in rural America. A lot of it is around access. The rates of chronic conditions like diabetes and heart disease are among some of the highest in rural America. HRSA programs are critical to rural health initiatives. In your budget, you announced a cut to HRSA programs. I am concerned about that because of the access issue and because the inequities that I see…where people have easier access to health care than rural America. You’ve got transportation issues, you have connectivity issues, you have generational issues of passing down different diseases. How is rural America going to be better under your reorganization?”
