A U.S. Senate committee on Oct. 25 voted to advance the nomination of Dr. Monica Bertagnolli to head the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Fifteen senators, including members of both parties, voted in favor of sending President Joe Biden’s nominee to the full Senate for a final vote.
“The NIH is desperate for leadership. Dr. Bertagnolli is qualified,” Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), the ranking member of the Senate Health Committee, said before voting in favor of advancing the nomination.
Dr. Bertagnolli told members during her recent confirmation hearing that she would provide answers to Congress when asked and follow the law.
“If confirmed, we shall hold Bertagnolli to her word that she will respect the oversight authority of Congress and not bow to political pressure from progressives,” said Dr. Cassidy, who’s also a physician. “This administration has developed a pattern of circumventing congressional authority and then stonewalling oversight to avoid accountability. This is unacceptable and needs to end.”
Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) said the doctor’s record and accomplishments “leave no doubt she’s an excellent choice to lead the NIH [at] this critical moment.”
Dr. Bertagnolli is a cancer researcher who became head of the National Cancer Institute, part of the NIH, in 2022.
Dr. Francis Collins stepped down as head of the NIH in late 2021. The agency hasn’t had a permanent director since then.
President Biden picked Dr. Bertagnolli in May, but Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), chairman of the Senate Health Committee, declined for months to hold a hearing on the nomination as he urged the Biden administration to lower the costs of drugs.
After the Biden administration announced a new deal with Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. on new COVID-19 treatments, Mr. Sanders said a hearing would be held. It was held on Oct. 18.
Dr. Cassidy said that he expects Dr. Bertagnolli to listen to experts at NIH, who’ve determined that the agency shouldn’t weigh in on drug pricing.
Mr. Sanders was among the six members who voted against advancing the nomination.
Dr. Bertagnolli “is an intelligent and caring person, but has not convinced me that she is prepared to take on the greed and power of the drug companies and health care industry,” Mr. Sanders said in a statement.
Dr. Bertagnolli received $247 million in research funding from Pfizer from 2016 to 2021, according to disclosures filed with national disclosure program Open Payments.
“I completely agree with the need to have one goal, one constituency that I am serving, and that is the health of the American people,” Dr. Bertagnolli told senators earlier this month.
She also promised not to join a major pharmaceutical firm for four years after leaving the government.
Sens. Mike Braun (R-Ind.), Ted Budd (R-N.C.), Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) Rand Paul (R-Ky.), and Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) also voted no.
Along with Dr. Cassidy and Ms. Murray, Sens. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Bob Casey (D-Pa.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Ben Ray Lujan (D-N.M.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Mitt Romney (R-Utah), and Tina Smith (D-Minn.) voted yes.
“I have been impressed with Dr. Bertagnolli’s thoughtful approach to addressing the range of public health challenges facing our country,” Ms. Hassan said in a statement. “I look forward to her leadership of NIH.”
Comments During Hearing
Dr. Bertagnolli, during the confirmation hearing, also defended using fetal tissue for research and giving minors cross-sex hormones.Dr. Bertagnolli said that tissue was crucial for research.
“We’re trying to cure major diseases,” she said. “That’s our highest goal, but we need to do it with respect.”
When Dr. Cassidy noted that research has found that unborn children feel pain during abortions as early as 12 weeks into pregnancy and asked whether the NIH would require researchers to inform mothers of the research, Dr. Bertagnolli said that under current policies, “that interaction is not allowed to take place.”
“Any research that we do, senator, with regard to human subjects has to be done in a way that does no harm and produces the maximum benefit to the people that are participating in the research—and that will be the principle with which I approach any research, especially for this vulnerable population,” Dr. Bertagnolli said.
In her opening statement, Dr. Bertagnolli said that if confirmed, she would work “every day to enhance health, lengthen life, and reduce illness for all Americans.” She also said she would work to “restore faith and trust in our nation’s top scientists.”
