Maggie Hassan: “I rise today to join my colleagues, to join the many Granite Staters who have written my office and expressed their…”

“I rise today to join my colleagues, to join the many Granite Staters who have written my office and expressed their grave alarm in opposing the nomination of Mr. Kennedy as the next Secretary of Health and Human Services. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., is without experience or qualification for this post. He is uninformed and apparently uninterested in the most basic elements of healthcare policy. He entertains and spreads conspiracy theories that virtually everyone in this body knows to be dishonest and dangerous. In a different time, in a different political moment, with a different President, Members of this Chamber would have joined together to resoundingly reject Mr. Kennedy's nomination. In fact, in a different time, where qualifications and character mattered, Mr. Kennedy's nomination would never have made it to the floor. But here we are. Today, it appears that Mr. Kennedy will be confirmed and that Members of the U.S. Senate--the so-called world's greatest deliberative body-- will sacrifice the health of our fellow Americans by failing to stand up for science and for the truth. For even the most skilled and experienced person, running the Department of Health and Human Services is a really daunting task.…”