SPEAKER_00 0:15

All right, we are here at the Congressional. You're no, you're fine.

SPEAKER_01 0:20

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 0:21

Um, and we're here with Representative Conway. How are you today? I'm great.

SPEAKER_01 0:27

How are you?

SPEAKER_00 0:28

I'm wonderful. Thank you so much for taking a moment to talk with the National Minority Quality Forum and with Score Your Health Needs. Tell us a little bit about why you're here and why it's important for more of us to be paying attention to health care.

SPEAKER_01 0:48

Well, first of all, we know in the United States there is a disparity in access for health care and healthcare outcomes as uh relates to African Americans in the United States. I'm a member of the Black Caucus, I'm a practicing physician. I've been involved in healthcare policy now for 25, uh over 25 years. And it's important that the uh CBC highlight uh health uh issues here at this conference that draw people from all over the country and indeed from overseas uh to very important discussions about uh the needs of African Americans in the United States. And certainly one of the great needs that we all share is the need to have good health care that allows people to live as healthily and as long as they can. Everybody wants that. And that's what we're working on here in this conference.

SPEAKER_00 1:39

That's okay. Now, let's talk about child care um and child let um child health care. Now, are there specific issues that are relevant for children?

SPEAKER_01 1:50

Well, the vaccination program as an example. We know that the president uh and his uh officer administration are hostile uh to vaccinations. Vaccines and their development over decades uh have reduced childhood death, uh, they've reduced the deaths of other people who are not uh children, specifically uh parents and uh pregnant women and older people. Uh and so uh the vaccine policies that we have established over decades that have been well researched um have saved lives. We have an administration now who doesn't believe in that science-based decision making around vaccines and a lot of other things, but in the vaccine context, uh they are trying to raise a concern about the science that uh allowed these very important vaccination schedules to be implemented that has saved countless lives here in our country and around the world. The research done here shows that vaccines are safe and they're effective. And what is the administration doing? They're putting in charge of an important department, the health, the human services administration, a person who is a vaccine skeptic and who's frequently told lies about vaccines and their effectiveness. So, whatever they're trying to do right now, they're trying to reduce the number of vaccinations uh that the children should get. Uh, we have for now decades working to eliminate hepatitis B, and that starts with vaccination uh in infancy, so that that child will never suffer a liver-related disease related to that uh ubiquitous uh virus that affects the liver. Uh, and they're trying to withdraw from that. COVID is a serious condition that's taken the lives of children and non-children. Uh, they're trying to say that you shouldn't have the COVID vaccine. Uh rotavirus, an important respiratory infection that impacts children in particular. Um, they're saying you shouldn't get that. Uh, and so, but all of these things, again, are based on speculation, junk science, and their non-evidence-based skepticism around the effectiveness of vaccines. And so they are hurting the American people. One of the even more dangerous things that they are doing is saying that the vaccines, uh the MMR vaccine in particular, a vaccine that has been studied over and over again, uh, is not safe. And in order to make it safer, in their view, instead of getting a combination uh protection against three deadly viruses, uh they want to break those viruses up. And now, what this will mean, if you have a job where it's difficult for you to take off from work, you have uh transportation issues getting into the doctor's office. Uh now, instead of getting your child taken care of on one visit, uh so that you only lose a part of one day of work, uh, and now you have you can avoid the cost of transportation to the office, you now instead of getting those shots uh in a combination, uh you now have to split those shots up and have three different office visits, which are going to be more impactful on persons of color and other people that have issues with transportation or access uh to health care. It is a dangerous policy uh that will cost lives. Now, the good news is that these vaccines um don't exist in single dose forms. They're a combination, the only thing you can get in the United States that's been approved is the combination vaccine. So it will take a while for uh that policy to take hold. And before that, help will be on the way. Uh, by the way, this is tied up in courts. The courts have said the changes that RFK Jr. has made, and I've called uh for his resignation um repeatedly because of his uh skepticism and his and the misinformation that he puts into the marketplace all the time about vaccines and other important healthcare policies, that he is not fit uh to be uh leading uh the Department of Health and Human Services. He needs to go. But now it's tied up in court, and hopefully uh the judicial process will protect children because uh RK Jr. is not protecting our children. In fact, he's putting in uh policies that will hurt our children. I'm against that. I believe the majority of American people are against that. Overwhelming majorities understand that vaccines are effective and safe. Uh, and it will be very important uh for, and you're gonna ask me about well, what should we do here in the Congress? Well, those uh who have authority and can speak on this need to speak out and inform the people they serve about what the administration is doing, and that they would be advised to listen to their physicians who are gonna offer suggestions and recommendations that are based on evidence and the facts. Well-researched, well-researched evidence that will allow you to make an informed decision about the about what you should do for your child. And most people, when they hear what the evidence is, will follow the recommendations that will protect their children and others. So uh what that's very important. Now, people ask, what are we going to do here in the Congress? Now, we've got a Republican Party uh that is so enthralled by this president that they basically have uh have abrogated their responsibility to hold this president accountable for the many crimes that the president has committed. Never mind uh the miscarriages of good sense and policy that they're committing in a lot of landscapes, but particularly in the healthcare space. Um we need to win this election, uh, get in control of the Congress and begin to hold the administration accountable and prevent them uh from enacting policies that are dangerous to the American people.

SPEAKER_00 7:37

Now, this is so key. And I know a lot of people, when they think about politics, they think voting. One of the things that people can do right now before the ballot, in between the ballot, lifting up what policies are key that people should be paying attention to.

SPEAKER_01 7:56

People need to understand uh that this administration wants to prevent you, whether you're a woman, whether you're a person of color, uh, whether you're a Democrat, uh, they want to prevent you from voting. The president has been after this for months and months and months, held up legislation so he can enact uh policies that will make it difficult for people to register to vote, or will make it difficult for people to vote even if they're registered. Uh, and we uh first of all need to let the public know about that so we can take action to uh prevent those things from happening. We have been winning cases in court. Uh the president tried to uh end the mail in ballot process, the process he himself uses, but he knows that a lot of people who have uh who work hard, who are going uh to work, might have long commutes, uh prefer to vote by mail. And particularly African-Americans like to vote by mail. And so uh he knows that by interfering with that process, um, and it'll be targeted, by the way. A lot of Republican red states use the vote by mail process. Rural states, they actually pioneered voting by mail because they have long distances to travel to uh the uh voting uh booth. And so these Republican states are the ones that uh that pioneered vote by mail. And indeed, uh there is at least some help in the Republican Senate to prevent some of these things because they believe his causes on vote by mail will actually hurt Republicans just as much as it hurts Democrats. This election is undoubtedly the most important election of our lifetime. I've been in I've run 14, 15 times for office, and this often comes up. But we've never had an administration that is actively trying to bring authoritarian rule in our country, just as he's supporting our authoritarians in Hungary and other places around the world. He's supporting a Hitlerite fascist party in Germany. He's doing the same thing in South America, interfering in elections to bring in these conservative right-wing uh governments uh that want to not rule uh according to the will of the people they serve, but according to their own will and the will of their elites. We can't have this in the United States, but that's what the administration is bringing. And so what we must uh instill in the public are a few things. One, if you're gonna want to make a plan to vote, uh you likely know somebody who might not be thinking about voting. Your responsibility as a citizen is to let them know how important it is for them to vote, and to advise them that the president is gonna take every action he can to interfere with in this election, to say that these elections might be illegitimate, so that he can somehow prevent a new Congress from coming into power. A vote that's made early can't be taken away. A vote that's mailed in is more difficult to take away. If you wait till election day, the president may very well deploy uh federal agents to try to interfere and intimidate people from exercising their right to vote. That's what the plan is for this administration. So if you can vote early, vote early. If you can vote by mail, vote by mail. If you know people who are not interested in voting right now for whatever reason, you go to convince them to vote and get in the polls. Many things in our country have been decided by just one vote. A woman's right to suffrage was decided by one vote. The Reconstruction ended on the account of losing a vote by one vote. And then federal troops left the South, lynchings, uh, black elected officials were in office, were removed from office, communities were destroyed because of one vote. One vote saved us from not having an army prepared in World War II. One vote saved Obamacare from destruction by the Republican Party. Your vote counts, it matters. It is the one right upon which every other right we have depends. And so please, whatever you do, you can't sit this one out. Grab everybody who don't get them in the polls. Again, vote early if you can, vote by nail if you can, make a plan and whatever you do, get yourself to the polls and drag whoever else you know who might be a little lazy about voting to get into that voting vote this year. Our very country depends on it. In the nature of our small liberal democracy, where you have freedom to speak, where you can have the benefit of equal justice under the law, the right to due process, uh, even the right to life depends on making sure we have a democracy that's there for us after the records that this administration has caused uh leaves the scene uh once and for all.

SPEAKER_00 12:40

Thank you so much for that. One last question. Um so the National Minority Quality Forum just recently launched a campaign on um on the issue around childhood vaccines and also around cancer treatment. And what should Congress do to stop CMS from adopting a policy that could limit access to new cancer treatment?

SPEAKER_01 13:01

Well, in the first case, um uh Congress needs to support those who are going to bring the lawsuits to stop the administration from what they're doing. It is the courts, while they have we haven't won all the battles, we have won most of the battles when the administration does things that are in contravention of the law. Unfortunately, we cannot uh rely on our Republican partners, or colleagues, I should say, partners, but our Republican colleagues to help us hold the administration accountable for the things that they are doing. And so we were dependent on the courts by bringing lawsuits to cause the administration to comply with the laws that are on the books now. And if there is an if we need to shore them up while we're waiting for the court to act, we have to get stays in place. Uh, and then uh I think the courts can read the law and say what you're trying to do is illegal and you can't do it, uh, you and therefore you're enjoined from doing that. And if there's any gap in any particular um area that might be exploited, when when uh the Congress changes hands, as I expect it will come January 3rd, 2027, uh, we'll be able to um ensure uh that these kinds of actions uh can't take place by strengthening the laws that we already have based on consultation with experts now and and bringing in the public, of course, who have agency in this area and want to make sure that their health is protected. We'll be able to do the right thing on vaccines, we'll be able to do the right things on cancer research. By the way, this administration has cut things like research and childhood cancer. They are moving away from an evidence-based uh policy making process. When Democrats take control of the House, we're going to make sure that uh evidence uh and good policymaking based on evidence is front and center for the protection of the American people and for the protection of our democracy.

SPEAKER_00 14:47

Thank you so much for everything. Do you have any other words, guidance that you want to offer for the viewers and readers of For Your Health News?

SPEAKER_01 14:58

Well, I would just say that the Black Caucus in this area has been working uh over its uh over the lifetime of this great organization to address the issues that that uh impact African Americans in this country and working to make sure that the policies, that the outcomes in our healthcare system apply equally for us. And what as we move toward equality, it not only helps us, it helps everybody else as well. So this conference and the and the expertise that comes here to provide information to the public are critical. They need to go back home and spread the news. And by the way, on one, let me just put one pitch in for public health. You know, part of what makes a good health care system and good health care outcomes is making sure that people have the information that they need to be able to advance their own health needs. And and we in order to do that, one of the important partners in that effort is to make sure we have a well-funded public health system. So what they where what do they do? They're at the community level, working with the neighborhoods, working with experts locally, and bringing information about what should you do about uh vaccines? Uh, how do you do what should you do about uh cancer prevention and making sure you get to the doctor for screening tests? Uh, what partners can we bring in your neighborhood, whether it's a barbershop, whether it is a community health care center, or whether it's a child care center, the the public health department is often there doing screenings to make sure our kids aren't impacted by lead. So we need to make sure that that infrastructure, that expertise is supported as it should be, that they're funded as it should be, they'll do a good job of bringing uh the information that the public needs, and we'll all be better off for that because an informed person about their health will be a person that's much more likely to make sure their health is uh the health goals that they have are achieved.

SPEAKER_00 16:49

Thank you so much. And the state of New Jersey is so much better because of you. So I appreciate you.

SPEAKER_01 16:55

I know.