Sen. Bernie Sanders on Thursday praised Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s message on food issues and said whether he would oppose President-elect Donald Trump’s nomination of Kennedy to lead the nation’s top health official. He said he hasn’t decided yet.
In an interview with CBS News correspondent Natalie Brand, the Vermont independent senator said he had some concerns. Kennedy’s view He criticized President Kennedy’s calls on health issues as “extremely dangerous.” subtract fluoride America’s water system deficiencies and his ‘very wrong’ view of them vaccine.
But the Vermont independent also said he might be able to find common ground by working with Kennedy, echoing his criticism of the food industry’s influence in Washington.
“I think what he says about the food industry is absolutely right. I think the food industry is concerned about its own profits and not so much about the health of the American people. I think we need to address them,” Sanders told Brand. .
Sanders, who currently chairs the Senate Health Committee, said he last spoke to Kennedy several years ago. He said he looked forward to sitting down and talking with Mr. Trump’s picks to head other health agencies that would report directly to Mr. Kennedy.
“President Trump and President Kennedy themselves have talked for years about the fact that we pay by far the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs as a health issue. And if I’m not mistaken, , President Kennedy has talked about the need for medical drugs, and I think it’s very true that Americans don’t pay more than people in other countries,” he said.
Speaking with Brand after the hearing, Sanders criticized Biden administration Food and Drug Administration officials for not doing enough to address the “terrible epidemic” of obesity and diabetes in the United States.
“Do you think the FDA has created the urgency necessary to address this crisis? No, it hasn’t. That’s the point I tried to make today,” Sanders said.
Sanders’ position on Kennedy is in sharp contrast to fellow committee member Sen. Ed Markey.
“Some may say what he says about diet and the importance of healthy foods is reasonable, but one rational opinion is not enough to run the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services,” the Massachusetts Democratic Party said at the hearing. I don’t have the right to do that.”
Sanders declined to respond to questions about Markey’s comments.
“We are decades behind.”
At the hearing, FDA officials defended the agency’s work on food issues, echoing lawmakers’ many criticisms of the agency for falling short of the Biden administration’s budget request on issues such as safety reviews of chemicals added to food. towards.
“We are decades behind our European and Canadian counterparts because European countries have a legal obligation to re-evaluate chemicals that have been approved at some point in the past. We haven’t done that, but we’re going to take it on. But we definitely intend to do that, and we’re struggling with the resources we need to do that,” said Jim Jones, FDA’s deputy commissioner for human foods. Ta.
FDA Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf also warned that the agency faces an increasingly tough battle to advance new rules, as well as efforts that have stalled for years. move forward New ‘health’ standards and nutrition labels to appear on front of food packages, as well as crackdowns About tobacco.
“Given the current judicial climate, First Amendment rights, and the fact that corporations have the same rights as individuals, every little thing we do, unless specifically directed by Congress, should be subject to a court of law. You won’t just lose, you’ll lose for years,” Khalif said.
One long-awaited change that could see action in the near future is a ban on food coloring, Red No. 3, for which advocacy groups have filed a petition. California moved last year to become the first state to ban food dyes on its own, citing health concerns.
“We look forward to acting on that petition and making a decision in the coming weeks,” Jones said.
Mr Sanders clashed with Mr Khalifa, urging him to blame the “food and beverage industry whose greed is destroying the health of millions of people” for its role in slowing progress on the agency’s food policy. asked Mr. Caliph.
Khalif told the committee that the agency faces “direct opposition from powerful forces in the industry” on issues such as food chemical safety, but that “the He also refused to criticize.
“If we try to change our industry overnight, there are farmers across the country who won’t be able to grow the crops they currently grow. So we need to have a plan and execute on it.” Mature Thinking We want to spread it across the country in a deep way,” Khalif said.
