Senator Kim

I guess I wanted to just dive into this because, you know, with the Commission Corps, it's saying as a Commission Corps officer of the U.S.

Public Health Services, keeping professional licensure and certification up to date is mandatory.

So I guess I just wanted to get a sense of how you're squaring this here.

It says keeping a professional licensure and certification up to date is mandatory.

Is yours up to date?

So if you were to expand that, would you say that, like, with the others in the Commissioned Corps, do you think we should remove the mandatory licensure for them to be able to participate in the Corps?

Well, it's relevant insofar as I'm just trying to think through if you're in this job, you know, how are you going to be proceeding, you know, and what kind of advice you're going to be able to give to the American people and the credibility that they will have in understanding what your advice is.

Also, in terms of, you know, if you are a leader of the commission corps, I'm trying to get a sense, are you going to deprioritize having an active license in the same way that

You know, you believe that you can do the job of a surgeon general without having an active license.

Do you believe that that is the case for others in the commission corps, that they can do their job without having an active license?

I don't discount your accomplishments and your education, but what I'm trying to get a sense of here is your ability to be able to engage with our current medical professionals

The signal that is being sent is one that I think we have to look at.

And with that, I'll yield back.