Jim O’Neill Indicates He Will Not Protect the American People
WASHINGTON, D.C. — In his confirmation hearings before the Senate Finance Committee and Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, HHS Deputy Secretary nominee Jim O’Neill failed to repudiate his previous dangerous statements on de-regulation and extreme ideas, like allowing people to sell their organs.
Public Citizen Health Care Advocate Eagan Kemp issued the following statement:
“In today’s hearing, O’Neill proved himself to be just another lackey who will rubber stamp the worst instincts of Trump’s rogues’ gallery of unqualified health care nominees. As second in command at HHS, O’Neill will be charged with implementing many of the dangerous and potentially unlawful edicts of RFK Jr. and President Trump.
“In the hearings, O’Neill showed no awareness of the danger posed by many of the actions already taken by RFK Jr. and even said he is doing a great job, despite the fact that RFK Jr. has already mislead the public about the safety of COVID-19 vaccines for children, massively fumbled a spreading measles outbreak and threatened to set up a national autism database, against the will of patients and advocates.
“His personal background and career, as well as his extremist remarks and proposals to deregulate healthcare agencies, should have disqualified him from becoming Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services. If implemented, O’Neill’s ideas could have dangerous or even deadly consequences. For example, O’Neill previously suggested that the Food and Drug Administration should grant marketing approval to pharmaceuticals based solely on safety and without regard to whether they actually work. Such views reflect a profound misunderstanding of the interconnection between safety and efficacy.
“In order to protect the American people from another dangerous sycophant, the Senate must reject Jim O’Neill for Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services.”