WASHINGTON – Today, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee voted to favorably report the nomination of Susan Monarez to be Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention by a vote of 12-11. The nomination will now move to the Senate floor for a final vote at a later date.
Click here to watch the full executive session.
Before the vote, U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, delivered remarks in support of the nomination. Cassidy’s speech as prepared for delivery can be found below:
The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions will please come to order.
I thank Dr. Monarez for coming before the Committee last month.
America needs a CDC Director who makes decisions rooted in science; a leader who will reform the agency and work to restore public trust in health institutions. With decades of proven experience as a public health official, Dr. Monarez is ready to take on this challenge.
She is committed to improving transparency at the CDC and properly communicating health guidance to the American people.
Dr. Monarez will work to modernize our data health systems to improve public health coordination and response while protecting Americans’ sensitive health information. This is especially crucial as the nation combats re-emerging public health threats like measles, which has taken 3 lives in the United States this year and hospitalized many more due to misinformation regarding the measles vaccine.
I support Dr. Monarez’s nomination and urge colleagues to do the same.
With that, I recognize Senator Sanders.
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