Ranking Member Cassidy Delivers Remarks During Hearing on Long COVID

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, delivered remarks during today’s hearing on long COVID.

Click here to watch the hearing live. 

Cassidy’s speech as prepared for delivery can be found below:

Thank you, Chair Sanders.

COVID-19 had a devastating impact on every community. It has killed over a million Americans, hospitalized more. While the vast majority who contract COVID make a full recovery, many Americans have reported experiencing symptoms and effects from the disease for periods far longer than the typical recovery time.

Known as “long COVID,” it can impact patients in varying ways and lengths of time. It is important this Committee and our medical community at large work to better understand what causes long COVID. Through that, we can find solutions. That is why we are here today.

Improving research into preventing long COVID and creating effective treatments will help improve the outcomes of patients. It can also help develop treatments for other illnesses and bring more attention to post-viral conditions, which have not previously received enough attention from federal research programs.

Congress provided significant funding for long COVID research. In 2020, Congress gave the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) over $1 billion to study long COVID. Last summer, the Committee included a policy that would provide further direction to HHS’ long COVID research as part of the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act (PAHPA) reauthorization.  Since then, the National Institutes of Health has faced criticism of the effectiveness of its long COVID research program, the Researching COVID to Enhance Recovery (RECOVER) Initiative. That is why it is crucial Congress reauthorizes PAHPA to address these issues in RECOVER and improve our nation’s long COVID research. 

Today, the Committee will hear directly from some of the nonfederal experts working on RECOVER and other HHS-funded projects to better understand what we’ve learned about long COVID thus far, next steps in research, and opportunities to improve upon current work being done.

We will also hear from patients who have suffered from long COVID and can offer insight into the personal impacts of this condition. I hope this hearing will help bring awareness to the realities of long COVID and help both patients and providers better recognize the symptoms.

I appreciate the Committee examining this issue and I look forward to hearing from our witnesses on how to better address long COVID.

Thank you.

For all news and updates from HELP Republicans, visit our website or Twitter at @GOPHELP.