Sen. Tim Scott questions HHS Secretary Kennedy about PREDICT Act
WASHINGTON — Today, U.S. Senator Tim Scott (R-SC), member of the Senate Finance Committee, questioned the Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The hearing focused on health care priorities and accomplishments.
Sen. Scott highlighted the efforts of the PREDICT Act, legislation designed to expand wastewater surveillance to detect outbreaks earlier and keep communities safe.
Click here or on the thumbnail above to watch Sen. Scott’s full remarks.
On the PREDICT Act…
“…That is why last month I along with several of my Senate colleagues introduced the PREDICT Act to strengthen and expand wastewater surveillance. When someone is infected with a virus like measles or the flu, they shed viral material, often before they even are aware that they are sick. CDC helped work through the sequencing of positive wastewater samples from 20 wastewater sites testing for measles in South Carolina. This critical work highlights the best kind of government, one that works in the background on prevention and saving lives using smart science. It is an idea that should reach every single community across the country, not just a handful of communities who have the resources to deploy. By utilizing these tools and monitoring the spread of disease early, public health officials can see an outbreak coming days or weeks before hospital admissions begin to rise and take steps to intervene in moments when time is truly of the essence. Americans deserve a public health system that sees threats coming before they become emergencies and the PREDICT Act brings us one step closer to that reality.”
Background:
- In the 119th Congress, key health care victories led by Sen. Scott include his Sickle Cell Disease Treatment Demonstration Program and Pregnant and Postpartum Women Treatment Reauthorization Act.
- In May 2025, Sen. Scott questioned Secretary Kennedy at a HELP Committee Hearing on a range of topics including minority health, sickle cell anemia, and food dyes.
- In April 2025, Sen. Scott and Secretary Kennedy led a health care roundtable in Charleston, S.C. centered on addressing critical challenges facing the American health care system, most notably sickle cell gene therapies in Medicaid.
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