{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.bennet.senate.gov/2026/09/24/icymi-on-senate-floor-bennet-calls-on-trump-to-rescind-unscientific-vaccine-order-and-fire-hhs-secretary-kennedy/", "ICYMI: On Senate Floor, Bennet Calls on Trump to Rescind Unscientific Vaccine Order and Fire HHS Secretary Kennedy", "2026-09-24", "2026", "2026-09", "Democrat", "Senate", "CO", "Michael F. Bennet", "B001267", "www.bennet.senate.gov", "bennet", "https://www.bennet.senate.gov/news/page/", "scraper", "Video of Bennet\u2019s Full Remarks Available HERE\n\nWashington, D.C. \u2014 Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet reiterated his call for President Donald Trump to rescind the unscientific childhood vaccine executive order and fire the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. last night on the Senate floor.\n\nBennet\u2019s speech comes when measles cases are at 30-year highs across the country and Colorado is seeing the sixth-lowest measles vaccination rate in the nation for kindergarteners. President Trump and Secretary Kennedy are amplifying anti-vaccine rhetoric instead of making communities safer. Immunization rates are dropping, schools are vulnerable, and Colorado\u2019s children are paying the price.\n\n\u201cRight now our nation is living through the most severe measles outbreak in over 35 years. Measles is not a mild childhood inconvenience; it is one of the most contagious viruses on earth, capable of causing high fevers, brain swelling, long-term disability, and death. In Colorado, we have already confirmed 25 cases this year, including seven hospitalizations,\u201d said Bennet on the Senate floor. \u201cOf these cases, 22 people were unvaccinated. Of the 25 that have measles in Colorado today, 22 were unvaccinated. That\u2019s the most we\u2019ve had in over 30 years. You have to go back to 1995 to find an outbreak in my state that\u2019s even close to what we\u2019re seeing today. We\u2019re going backwards when it comes to public health in the richest country in the world, and families in Colorado and all across this country are suffering the consequences.\u201d\n\nBennet emphasized that Colorado\u2019s measles cases are particularly disappointing given the state\u2019s history: it was a 1988 outbreak at Fort Lewis College in Durango that directly prompted the CDC to change its vaccine recommendation from one dose to two. This followed a rigorous investigation by CDC investigators. Bennet highlighted the sharp contrast of following the facts with the leadership of President Trump and Secretary Kennedy who are playing political games with people\u2019s health.\n\nHe concluded by saying, \u201cI think we should be having a debate in this country about the state of health care in the United States of America and about the ways in which we failed this generation and the next generation in providing a system that actually delivers better health care at a reasonable price and mental health care at a reasonable price, instead of plunging people into further misery or into bankruptcy. I wish we were having that debate on the Senate floor, but we can\u2019t begin to have that until the basic facts about science and medicine are taken seriously by this administration.\n\n\u201cThe president should start by rescinding his executive order today on childhood vaccines. He should fire Secretary Kennedy, as I have long called for. But until that happens \u2013 and I don\u2019t think it\u2019s going to happen in the foreseeable future \u2013 until that happens, we\u2019re going to be stuck fighting battles against a disease that we functionally eliminated 30 years ago. Kids and families in Colorado and all across this country deserve so much better than that.\u201d\n\nBennet has consistently fought against Trump and Kennedy\u2019s anti-science agenda. Last week, Bennet questioned HHS Deputy Secretary Nominee Chris Klomp during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Finance Committee about Trump and Kennedy\u2019s reckless vaccine efforts resulting in chaos and confusion for children and families. Last month, Bennet led 90 of his Congressional colleagues demanding Trump rescind his executive order that directs federal health agencies to overhaul longstanding childhood vaccine recommendations and encourages states to reconsider school immunization requirements. Bennet issued a statement immediately following the announcement of Trump\u2019s executive order directing federal health agencies to overhaul longstanding childhood vaccine recommendations and encouraging states to reconsider school immunization requirements.\n\nIn April 2026, Bennet questioned Kennedy during a Senate Finance Committee hearing on his skepticism of childhood vaccines amidst the largest measles outbreak in the U.S. in over thirty years. Additionally, in March 2025 and 2026, Bennet joined in sending a letter to Kennedy to demand the department reverse changes to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration websites that promote false and dangerous information about autism. In September 2025, he questioned Kennedy during a Senate Finance Committee hearing on his actions undermining vaccine safety and access for American families. Bennet also joined members of the Senate Finance Committee in issuing a statement calling on Kennedy to resign due to the danger he poses to America\u2019s health, his lies to Congress, and his spread of disinformation.\n\n###", 1, "2026-09-25T10:04:52Z", "2026-09-25T10:05:46Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.bennet.senate.gov/2026/09/24/icymi-on-senate-floor-bennet-calls-on-trump-to-rescind-unscientific-vaccine-order-and-fire-hhs-secretary-kennedy/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.4702528715133667, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}