Roy Blunt

This has been a challenging year for all Americans, but especially those who work in public health.

I hope you'll help us look at that again and find an increase.

I look forward to your leadership and the things that we can do together.

Let's talk about the guidance that came out last week on masks for people who have been fully vaccinated.

This is your first hearing as the Labor/HHS Chair and I look forward to working with you in this role.

How many people do we believe don't have insurance now?

We also really need to have a clear strategy to provide vaccines to developing nations.

The ambitious speed and goals that pushed private companies to research, develop, and manufacture a COVID-19 vaccine, along with what we did in testing, really created the kind of breakthroughs we needed.

It's really important to get this done, and I hope we meet that goal. I'd be pleased if we exceeded it.

I think we can help fill gaps here that otherwise would not be filled and look forward to that discussion.

Well, let us know what we need to be thinking about as we think about the rest of this bill on that topic.

Don't make it needlessly difficult by continuing to change the guidelines that you've giving hospitals on how they can spend the money.

I believe we can work toward consensus with the Department's budget, but frankly, as I have said at our other budget hearings this year, I think this can only be achieved by more parity between the defense and nondefense funding.

This is an important opportunity for us to hear about the CDC's budget proposal.

I know those programs continue to be programs that we can do more with and, can look for reforms in.

I am concerned we won't reach the 3.5 percent pre-pandemic number due to, frankly, some misguided Federal policies.

Future generations can't afford this budget.

The fight against COVID-19 isn't over yet, and certainly, I agree with that.

Vaccines are a necessary, an absolutely necessary part of us creating an environment where this virus can't continue to replicate itself and change in new ways, and the variants are going to be the future enemy.

I am glad to hear that.

I want to recognize the tireless efforts of the CDC staff, working across the country during the pandemic.

The fight against COVID-19 is not yet over.

Well, thank you, Chair Murray. This is your first hearing as the Labor, Health and Human Services chair.

The past 18 months have been challenging for our nation. The COVID-19 pandemic put unprecedented strain on our economy and its workforce.

ARPA-H should not do what the other institutes do, but it should do what the other institutes cannot do in a crosscutting way that goes throughout the institutes.