We know the kind of damage that will be done and the lives that will be lost if Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is put in charge of our health care system because we've seen it in action. Kennedy has a well-documented history of opposing life-saving vaccines, and he has pledged to stop funding research for treatments and cures for deadly diseases.

The Senate committees on health and finance will probe Robert F. Kennedy Jr. next week in his bid to be the next secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.

Members of two Senate committees will have a lot of ground to cover at Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s confirmation hearing to be Health and Human Services secretary (which has been scheduled for Jan. 29 ). They should devote most of their time probing how his long history of anti-vaccine advocacy will impact infectious disease control.