At a Senate Finance Committee hearing this week, Iowa’s Senior U.S. Senator, Chuck Grassley, a Republican from Butler County, questioned Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy about his department’s role in agriculture, stressing that farming regulations should remain with the Department of Agriculture and the Environmental Protection Agency, not HHS, in response to concerns from Iowa family farmers.
“Back in January during your confirmation hearing, you told me that you agreed to leave farming regulations to the Department of Agriculture and EPA. Do you think that any comments you have made since your confirmation on topics dealing with agriculture are consistent with what you said in January…”
Kennedy told Grassley that HHS is working closely with USDA and farm groups to ensure new initiatives are aligned with farmers’ needs and support sustainable agriculture practices.
On another topic, Grassley also pressed for price transparency in prescription drug ads, highlighting a bipartisan bill he co-sponsors with Senator Dick Durbin, a Democrat from Illinois.
“Senator Durbin and I have a bipartisan bill that requires price disclosures on TV ads. Price transparency is important in drug advertisement. Can you help Senator Durbin and I on our bill, so we can ensure you have legal authority to require price disclosure?”
Kennedy said his agency is actively working on improving transparency and agreed to provide Grassley with details offline.
Grassley also recently welcomed news that Hulu and YouTubeTV will now carry the C-SPAN networks, saying it’s important for Americans to have live access to Congress’s work on multiple platforms.
View the complete release on these topics from Senator Grassley’s office; including video of the full text of his comments below:
Grassley Questions HHS Secretary Kennedy: https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/remarks/grassley-questions-hhs-secretary-kennedy-on-agriculture-regulation-support-for-rural-hospitals-and-needed-transparency-in-prescription-drug-tv-ads
Grassley Welcomes C-SPAN Deal with Streaming Platforms: https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/remarks/grassley-welcomes-c-span-deal-with-streaming-platforms-giving-americans-front-row-seat-to-democracy
