September 17, 2025
Click here to watch Senator Blunt Rochester’s full exchange with the witnesses.
Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.) today participated in a Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee hearing with Dr. Susan Monarez, the recently fired Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and Dr. Deb Houry, who recently resigned as the CDC’s Chief Medical Officer. The hearing focused on the ongoing chaos and confusion at the CDC, as well as HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.’s actions to undermine science and vaccine integrity.
Blunt Rochester has been an outspoken critic of Secretary Kennedy. Last week, she hosted a spotlight forum specifically on how Kennedy’s efforts to erode longstanding guidance on vaccines are impacting American children and families.
In June 2025, at Dr. Monarez’s confirmation hearing for her role as CDC Director, Blunt Rochester pushed for answers on vaccine affordability. In a HELP Committee hearing in May, Blunt Rochester questioned Kennedy on his sweeping changes at the CDC and slammed his abrupt firing of qualified experts on the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP)’s member panel. In an effort to reverse this baseless decision, Senator Blunt Rochester introduced the VACCINE Act to protect members of the committee in the future.
To watch Blunt Rochester’s full exchange with Drs. Monarez and Houry, click here. Key excerpts can be found below:
On Actions to Undermine ACIP
Senator Blunt Rochester: “Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you, Ranking Member, for reminding us of our oversight responsibilities. And I also want to thank the two witnesses for your strength, for your integrity, and for not staying silent. The fact that you were even finding out important information through Tweets – it’s not the way we operate, that’s not the way we keep our country safe and…our public healthy. I want to first thank you both. I know you both mentioned as scientists, doctors, and as parents, that is why you are here, that’s why you care. Last week I led an in-depth discussion with experts on how Secretary Kennedy’s vaccine policies are creating a lot of confusion in this country and harming families. I heard from a pediatrician, a parent, a school nurse, and two former ACIP members who were fired by Secretary Kennedy. I’m extremely concerned the Secretary has now stacked the committee with people committed to his agenda – as you said, the concern is, the focus shouldn’t be on ideology but on evidence, and on science. To put them there, Secretary Kennedy accused former members of being “plagued” with conflicts of interest and used that as a pretext. A question for both of you: did you ever observe anything that cast doubt out on the scientific abilities of those members?”
Dr. Houry: “I would actually just state and note Dr. Monarez and I had worked together when she was acting director, and we posted conflicts of interest for the past two decades of the ACIP members to really embrace what the president had said around radical transparency and to dispel the conflicts of interest. We have a rule, at ACIP – or we did, when I was there; I can’t speak to now. If you had any sort of bias, you recused yourself from that discussion and that vote. And if you had significant biases or conflicts of interest you weren’t included on ACIP.”
On the Promise of Vaccines
Senator Blunt Rochester: “And I want to go back to something – the Hepatitis B shot keeps coming up. I want to know, Dr. Monarez, is there anything that you want to clarify or say more about this? It is my understanding, that before 1991 when not all babies were vaccinated, about 20,000 babies were infected each year. And that, after the CDC’s recommendations in the 1990s, that dropped by 99 percent – this terribly contagious disease. The reason why we [vaccinate] everybody is because certain moms might not have been tested and don’t know that they have it. Is there anything else you want to add, because I know this has come up numerous times?”
Dr. Monarez: “I think those are consistent with the information I have associated with Hepatitis B and the promise of the vaccine. I do want to touch on one thing that was brought up in the context of that discussion: that CDC forces people to get vaccinated. CDC doesn’t force anyone to get vaccinated. CDC provides recommendations supported by evidence to allow parents and physicians and others to make a choice, a decision in the best interest of themselves and the health of their families.”
On Involving Trusted Experts in Vaccine Recommendations
Senator Blunt Rochester: “And one last thing I want to clarify as well: we talk a lot about ACIP members. But behind the scenes were these working groups, the American Medical Association, The American College of Physicians, the American Geriatric Society, the American Osteopathic Association, the National Medical Association, the National Foundation of Infectious Diseases. It goes on. These were the groups behind the scenes making these recommendations. And they were, to your testimony, Dr. Houry, they were pulled back and said, “no thank you, we don’t need your help.” Is that correct, is that accurate?”
Dr. Houry: “Yes, they were pulled off the work groups and I do think when we have experts whether it is from societies or just with specific expertise, it’s very much needed. And these organizations help with implementation. And, we say talk to your doctor, so we need those doctor organizations participating.”
Senator Blunt Rochester: “As a grandmother and mom, I just want to say thank you for the work that you do and have done. These are unsung heroes. People behind the scenes. Just like those thousands of CDC employees – those who were fired and those who remain and still need our support.”
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Senator Lisa Blunt Rochester represents Delaware in the United States Senate where she serves on the Committees on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs; Commerce, Science, and Transportation; Environment and Public Works; and Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.