Why it matters:

The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee held a nominations hearing on Sept. 16 amid warnings about measles, mental illness and substance-use disorder.

The big picture:

The hearing, titled “Hearings To Examine Certain Pending Nominations,” featured Gerard Klomp for deputy secretary of Health and Human Services, Nicole Saphier for surgeon general and Timothy Westlake to lead the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

Donald J.

The hearing came as the record described high rates of mental-health conditions, substance-use disorder and chronic disease. It also described a measles outbreak that committee chair Sen. Bill Cassidy called the worst in the United States in more than 35 years, with county coroners confirming measles in three Pennsylvania deaths and another death under evaluation.

What they’re saying:

Cassidy framed the nominations around public-health pressures, including drug overdoses and suicide. He said fentanyl and other synthetic opioids largely drive overdoses, which he identified as the leading cause of death among adults ages 18 to 45.

  • Cassidy also said one in five adults reportedly experiences some form of mental illness.
  • He said more than half of adults experiencing mental illness do not receive treatment
  • He said claims that vaccines cause autism have been repeatedly and thoroughly debunked.

Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) said the United States had nearly 3,300 measles cases across 47 jurisdictions, including about 160 in Wisconsin.

Baldwin also said a summer foodborne-illness outbreak sickened more than 12,000 people. She said 150 Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality research projects were abruptly cut off, including projects on children’s health, and that delays in National Institutes of Health grants were disrupting biomedical research.

Political stakes:

The hearing put three Trump administration nominees before a Senate committee: Klomp for HHS deputy secretary, Saphier for surgeon general and Westlake for assistant secretary for mental health and substance use.

Klomp currently serves as chief counselor at HHS. The hearing record says he previously served as director of the Center for Medicare and deputy administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

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