Kim Schrier Calls Out Russell Fry For ‘Lecturing A Pediatrician About Caring For Children’

3/28/2025

During Wednesday’s House Energy Committee hearing, Rep. Kim Schrier (D-WA) discussed children's online safety and the rhetoric from her GOP colleagues.

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Transcript

00:00The gentleman yields back. Ms. Schreier, Dr. Schreier, you're recognized for five minutes of questioning.

00:09Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you to all the witnesses for being here today.

00:15Thank you for the parents for being here today, and a special thank you

00:19to Commissioners Bedoya and Slaughter for being here today. Also, thanks, Mr. Frye,

00:25for lecturing a pediatrician about caring for children, but not for your leadership in blocking

00:31our bill that protects children. Amen. Ms. Morrell, I have a 16-year-old, and he is forbidden from

00:38downloading any social media on his phone. So we are here today to talk about online safety

00:44for children. It's an issue I care deeply about that I've been working on for years,

00:49and as a pediatrician, I have seen the negative effects that unfettered screen time and social

00:55media has had on children. In fact, I witnessed in my own practice the steep rise in depression

01:01and anxiety and eating disorders that absolutely paralleled the rise in social media use by kids.

01:08I even had a patient who had to change school districts twice because of online bullying,

01:13and it followed her. So this is one reason I've been such a champion for cracking down

01:19on the way social media companies abuse children, like privacy violations, algorithms that keep

01:24them addicted, and a lack of protection from abuse by others. And it's the reason that I'm

01:30particularly frustrated that Republican leadership blocked the Kids Online Safety Act from even coming

01:36to the floor for a bipartisan vote. But there's an elephant in the room. As we've heard today,

01:42President Trump has fired the only two Democratic commissioners at the FTC. These firings upend

01:48nearly a century of precedent through this illegal attempt to fire them. Commissioners Slaughter

01:55and Bedoya have championed and enforced the protection of children on social media platforms,

02:01and this is the commission that holds big tech accountable. It's also the commission

02:06that protected consumers last year by preventing the merger between Kroger and Albertsons,

02:11which would have jacked up prices in the grocery stores even more. So the FTC is one of the most

02:16important independent agencies in our government, and an agency that was commissioned by Congress

02:22to be independent, bipartisan, and with terms spanning administrations. But I fear that without

02:31two Democratic commissioners, a partisan FTC might withdraw from its mission in this political

02:38environment with an emboldened executive branch that has been quite successful in bending Republicans

02:45to his will. This administration has clearly aligned itself with big tech front row seats

02:52at the inauguration, but rather than with the American consumer. So Commissioner Slaughter, I am

02:58nearly last to speak today, and I just want to give you, first of all, thanks for enforcing our laws.

03:08But second, I'd like to just give you a platform for the next two minutes to talk about anything

03:14you would like that you either want to reiterate or have not had time to address today.

03:20Thank you. I feel like I've had a lot of opportunity to share my perspective, but I think the most

03:26important thing that I haven't had a chance to say is it really is not about me or about

03:33Commissioner Bedoya. We love our agency, we love our jobs, we want to do it, but I could be very happy

03:41spending time with my four kids and trying to police their social media use unsuccessfully

03:46more. But what I care about and what Commissioner Bedoya cares about is the integrity of the work

03:53of the agency precisely because of the people who are sitting in this room today. I feel he feels

04:01very, very driven to make sure that government and the institutions that Congress has designed

04:08are working for parents like those behind us and for every other parent so they don't have to be

04:14in that position going forward. It is so important. It's not about being a Democrat, it's not about

04:19being in the minority. It would be true throughout the Commission's history. I think it's important

04:25to have a variety of voices and a variety of perspectives as Congress designed precisely

04:32because these issues that the FTC is tasked with handling are so important to the American people

04:39and I care incredibly deeply about them and I want that work to continue. I've heard so much

04:44common ground with my fellow witnesses today and so much shared concern that I have with them about

04:52the way technology today is operating outside the bounds of what the law is and also what the law

04:59should be and we want to make sure that the focus of the agency is on protecting those kids and

05:07protecting those families. Thank you, Commissioner. Thank you to our witnesses, to the parents here

05:12today and that is the whole point to offer our condolences and make sure this does not happen

05:18to any other child or parent. I yield back.

Kim Schrier Calls Out Russell Fry For ‘Lecturing A Pediatrician About Caring For Children’

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