National Institutes of Health Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya attempted to reassure members of Congress on both sides of the aisle on Tuesday that his biomedical research agency is on the right track.

Bhattacharya, who is also the acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, testified for more than two hours during a hearing with the House Appropriations Committee on Tuesday, where Republicans and Democrats pressed him on the agency’s research priorities.