Former FDA Commissioner Fires Back At Marjorie Taylor Greene For Her Claims About Vaccines

3 days ago

At a House Oversight Committee hearing on Wednesday, former FDA Commissioner Dr. David Kessler fired back at Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) over her claims about vaccines.

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00:00Madam Chair, may I please respond?

00:02No, this is my time, Dr. Kessler, and my time has expired.

00:06So I now recognize the ranking mem-

00:10Oh, Mr. Min has made it.

00:12I now recognize Mr. Min from California for five minutes.

00:15I'd like to hear Dr. Kessler's response to that last question.

00:18Thank you so much, Congressman.

00:21I am a pediatrician here,

00:24and it just is very important to state

00:29there is no scientific link between vaccines and autism.

00:35Respectfully, on the issue on VAERS,

00:40VAERS is an open reporting system,

00:44and you have to look and ask the question.

00:48You have to apply scientific principles-

00:50Selection bias, things like that.

00:52Bradford Hill, you're there, Congressman.

00:55Facts are facts, data is data,

00:57and a random website is not necessarily the best way to get any kind of real data.

01:02And we all understand, Dr. Kessler, the importance of peer review, don't we?

01:06Exactly.

01:07We have to-

01:09The issue, just because you see a reaction in a database,

01:12you have to ask whether there's causation.

01:15There are certain Bradford Hill principles that have to be applied,

01:18and they were not being applied.

01:19And it's unfortunate right now that science is being rejected by people going on Google,

01:24going on websites of dubious origin to try to find their own information.

01:28We should all be concerned about that.

01:30So I want to address-

01:31First, I want to thank the Chair and the Ranking Member for holding this hearing on the FDA.

01:35It is, as we know, the gold standard in the world for drug and medical product regulation.

01:40Its critical work has included the regulation and approval of a wide range of products,

01:45ranging from the drugs we consume to the formulas that we feed our children,

01:49and, of course, plays a crucial role in cracking down on counterfeit medical products and drugs.

01:54That is why I believe the FDA should be fully funded and independent.

01:59It is absolutely essential, particularly today, to ensure a safe supply chain

02:03and that our products that we consume for our health have been properly reviewed for market.

02:08Now, under the leadership, quote-unquote, of current HHS Secretary Kennedy and Donald Trump,

02:15the great public health apparatus is in the process of firing thousands of workers at HHS, NIH, and the FDA.

02:23FDA has seen proposals to slash 20 percent of its workforce,

02:29including 170 of those from the Office of Inspections and Investigations.

02:33And I just want to note that when we talk about efficiency, that's a word that gets thrown around a lot.

02:37We have to actually talk about what we mean when we talk about efficiency.

02:41What is the time frame we're looking at?

02:42What are the goals and parameters we want?

02:44If I want to lose weight, the fastest way to do that is maybe just cut off my leg.

02:49That is not an efficient way, if you're thinking beyond the immediate term,

02:52and one can argue that the cuts to FDA are having a similar effect.

02:56In particular, I want to talk about the effects on the drug approval pipeline.

03:03And so my understanding, Dr. Kessel, I think you're in a position to answer this,

03:06that I've been told by a lot of the life sciences companies that I represent in Orange County, California,

03:12that many of those drug approval people are actually paid for by user fees.

03:16Is that your understanding?

03:19Cedar has resources that are paid for by user fees,

03:24but that does not guarantee that the application will be approved.

03:28Of course. No, and that's not the point.

03:29Just make sure that there are people there who can review them.

03:32And so I think the point I would like to make here is that by cutting these people,

03:37by terminating staff, you are creating potentially a much longer pipeline for drug approval, product approval.

03:44That is something that a lot of the companies I represent, including companies like Edwards Life Sciences and Massimo,

03:50some of the pharmaceutical companies I represent are very concerned that they're going to see much longer approval processes.

03:56And again, these are positions that are paid for out of the user fees.

03:59They actually don't cost the taxpayer anything.

04:01And so when we look at efficiency beyond the anything but the immediate term,

04:05these cuts look very counterproductive.

04:07They look like they're going to have massive negative economic impacts on our communities, on the drug pipeline.

04:13And so I guess for you, Dr. Kessler, I just want to go back to you.

04:16How do you think drug approval times may be affected by cutting a blanket cut of 20 percent of the workforce?

04:21I think that drug approval times will increase, but most importantly,

04:26important medicines that we will depend on for our families.

04:30Those, that's what I care about.

04:33That's right.

04:33Life-saving medications are not going to get approved now.

04:36Or will take longer to approve.

04:37I hope not.

04:39There are still dedicated people, but I fear that those delays are going to happen.

04:44And when we talk about efficiency, I just want to note another thing that's happening right now.

04:48The attacks on immigrants, particularly in higher education,

04:52the cuts to NIH are having massive impacts on universities around the country,

04:56including UC Irvine, which I represent.

04:58They're very worried.

04:59I know that many of the immigrants that are researching are potentially groundbreaking efforts

05:05in new life sciences products and drugs that they, many of them are going back to their countries of origin.

05:12They're going to other countries and other top research institutions.

05:15I just want to ask them, it's my last question, Dr. Kessler,

05:18if you can speak about the administration's immigration actions

05:20and how you anticipate they might affect our life sciences industry here in the United States.

05:24Our competitiveness was enhanced by those people coming to universities in your district.

05:30They made America great.

05:31Exactly.

05:32And now we are driving around.

05:33The gentleman's time is inspired.

05:35Thank you. I get back.

Former FDA Commissioner Fires Back At Marjorie Taylor Greene For Her Claims About Vaccines

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