Welcome to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce

WASHINGTON, D.C.  – Congressman Brett Guthrie (KY-02), Chairman of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, delivered the following opening statement at today’s full committee markup. Chairman Guthrie's opening statement as prepared for delivery: “Good afternoon everybody, and welcome to today’s markup, which is a rare opportunity to address issues spanning the full jurisdiction of this Committee, from unleashing American energy to ending costly EV mandates, advancing American innovation to truly strengthening the Medicaid program for the most vulnerable Americans, and improving Americans’ access to quality health care.  “The House Budget Committee has tasked us with identifying $880 billion in savings and new revenue.  “We’ve worked diligently to meet that target by ending wasteful Green New Deal-style spending, supporting the rapid innovation of American industry and federal agencies, and eliminating the waste, fraud, and abuse in Medicaid that jeopardizes care for millions of women, children, people with disabilities, and elderly Americans.  “To ensure American energy dominance, we will secure our energy infrastructure by taking steps to refill our Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which strengthens our energy security and supports our national security. In order to support the abundant energy production that will be necessary to secure our grid, and in order to increase revenue, we will expand the use of user fees to help streamline the siting and permitting of new oil, natural gas, carbon dioxide, and hydrogen pipelines. “We can save $172 billion over the next 10 years by repealing burdensome Biden-Harris Administration regulations, and over $100 billion by eliminating EV mandates imposed by the vehicle emission and CAFE standards that have failed to serve American taxpayers. “And through investments to modernize the Department of Commerce, we can integrate AI systems to make the Department more secure and effective. To protect the integrity of this project, we are implementing guardrails that protect against state level AI laws that could jeopardize our technological leadership. “Our legislation will raise $88 billion of new revenue through a historic agreement reauthorizing the FCC’s spectrum auction authority, while protecting U.S. national security.  “Biden-era inflation has left Americans struggling to access affordable health care. “The issue has been exacerbated by the decisions of left-leaning state governments to spend taxpayer dollars on illegal immigrants. We make no apologies for prioritizing Americans in need over illegal immigrants and those who are capable but choose not to work. “Our priority remains the same: strengthen and sustain Medicaid for those whom the program was intended to serve: expectant mothers, children, people with disabilities, and the elderly. “We are prepared to stop the billions of dollars of waste, fraud, and abuse in the Medicaid program by beginning to rein in loopholes, ensuring states have the flexibility to remove ineligible recipients from their rolls, and removing beneficiaries who are enrolled in multiple states. These are all commonsense policies that will return taxpayer dollars to middle-class families. “Medicaid was created to protect health care for Americans who otherwise could not support themselves, but Democrats expanded the program far beyond this core mission. That’s why we are establishing common sense work requirements for capable, but not working adults in the expansion population. Let me be clear – these work requirements would only apply to able-bodied adults without dependents who don’t have a disqualifying condition, encouraging them to re-enter the workforce and regain their independence. “All of this is part of our effort to strengthen Medicaid for the people that need it most.  “When President Trump delivered his second inaugural address, he promised “a revolution of common sense” that would launch a generation of growth, prosperity, and health.  “This reconciliation bill is critical to that promise the President and Congressional Republicans made to the American people. “Today, we bring before the committee a package that unleashes American energy dominance, advances innovation, and protects access to care for our most vulnerable.  “Each of these is a core part of our effort to re-spark the American Dream and ensure our country will always be the land of opportunity. “I have no doubt that we will have some robust discussions today about these proposals. These discussions are important, and I look forward to using this time to address the issues that matter most to the American families we serve. So, I thank you all for your hard work as we continue our work to serve the American people.” ###

WASHINGTON, D.C.  – The following op-ed by Congressman Brett Guthrie (KY-02), Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, appeared in the  Wall Street Journal . In Case You Missed it: "When President Trump took the podium for his Second Inaugural Address, he promised a 'revolution of common sense' that would launch a generation of growth, health and prosperity. Today, our country faces numerous threats to that goal. Medicaid waste and abuse threatens the well-being of America’s most vulnerable as the looming expiration of important 2017 tax reforms throws a shadow over U.S. industry.  "Republicans’ best chance to secure the president’s inaugural promise is this year’s reconciliation bill. On Sunday night the House Energy and Commerce Committee will release a bill that supports the rapid innovation of American industry, strengthens Medicaid, and ends spending on Green New Deal-style waste. "This reconciliation legislation will help raise federal revenue and limit government spending to what actually helps Americans. We will raise $88 billion by reauthorizing the Federal Communications Commission’s spectrum auction authority and provide resources to modernize federal information-technology systems. Both are crucial for maintaining and expanding U.S. technological leadership. "Savings like these allow us to use this bill to renew the Trump tax cuts and keep Republicans’ promise to hardworking middle-class families. The 2017 cuts gave Americans earning under $100,000 an average tax cut of 16%, while increasing the share of the tax burden carried by the top 1% of earners. Without this legislation, middle-class Americans will see that windfall reversed at the end of 2025. "In addition to raising new revenue, the bill will slash waste, particularly handouts to Democrats’ climate activist cronies. The 2024 election sent a clear signal that Americans are tired of an extreme left-wing agenda that favors wokeness over sensible policy and spurs price increases. Mr. Trump has already reversed President Biden and Democrats’ electric-vehicle mandates and natural-gas export ban; now it’s Congress’s turn.  "This bill would claw back money headed for green boondoggles through 'environmental and climate justice block grants' and other spending mechanisms through the Environmental Protection Agency and Energy Department. The legislation would reverse the most reckless parts of the engorged climate spending in the misnamed Inflation Reduction Act, returning $6.5 billion in unspent funds. The bill would also begin refilling the dangerously low Strategic Petroleum Reserve.  "Democratic extremism is threatening Americans’ access to affordable healthcare. States are struggling to manage rising Medicaid costs, which ballooned under Mr. Biden. This is particularly true in Democrat-run states such as California that use federal Medicaid funding to subsidize health insurance for illegal aliens through state insurance programs. This policy puts undue budgetary pressure on Medicaid, thereby endangering the healthcare access of the vulnerable Americans the program was designed to help. Just as Mr. Trump is working to end sanctuary cities, congressional Republicans will reduce federal aid to states that give welfare to illegal immigrants. "The Biden administration is responsible for this problem, too, having imposed burdensome regulations on Medicaid that jeopardize the program’s long-term health. The last president stripped away guardrails against fraud by making it more difficult for states to remove ineligible people from Medicaid enrollment and expanded coverage such that capable but unemployed adults could take resources meant for people in need. In total, these Biden rules will cost $172 billion over the next 10 years if they aren’t reversed—as our bill would do. Republicans will also reverse other nonsensical government rules that undermine access to care, such as the one-size-fits-all Nursing Home Minimum Staffing Rule that threatens to close thousands of nursing home facilities.  "Undoubtedly, Democrats will use this as an opportunity to engage in fear-mongering and misrepresent our bill as an attack on Medicaid. In reality, it preserves and strengthens Medicaid for children, mothers, people with disabilities and the elderly—for whom the program was designed.  "When so many Americans who are truly in need rely on Medicaid for life-saving services, Washington can’t afford to undermine the program further by subsidizing capable adults who choose not to work. That’s why our bill would implement sensible work requirements. Every other capable adult works to afford healthcare. Half of all Americans get insurance through work, seniors on Medicare get coverage because they paid into the trust fund, and veterans earned their care through their service to our country.  "The Republican bill also prohibits Medicaid from funding 'gender reassignment' surgery for children, instead recommitting the program to essential care for our most vulnerable Americans. The federal government shouldn’t be subsidizing these procedures in any form, and I am proud that we will be protecting all our children from the lasting, harmful effects of these procedures. "Without Republican solutions, Washington risks a complete collapse of Medicaid. Even with these simple steps to eliminate waste and abuse, Medicaid spending will continue to rise every year for the foreseeable future. All who worked on this bill—from my congressional colleagues to the White House—designed it to renew the American dream for families across the country. What could be more common sense than that?” ###

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congressman Brett Guthrie (KY-02), Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, issued the following statement in response to Democrats’ false claims regarding Committee’s reconciliation text. “From the moment a budget reconciliation bill was on the table, Democrats began their fear campaign to scare Americans without any of the details. Now, Democrats are pedaling incorrect reports that include policies that aren’t even in the bill. This bill refocuses Medicaid on mothers, children, people with disabilities, and the elderly—not illegal immigrants and capable adults who choose not to work. It is reckless that my colleagues on the other side of the aisle claimed an artificially high number in alleged coverage loss just so they can fear monger and score political points,” said Chairman Guthrie. “This reconciliation is a win for Americans in every part of the country, and it’s a shame Democrats are intentionally reflexively opposing commonsense policies to strengthen the program.”   Read the story here . Read the bill text and section by section here . Read the Op-Ed here . ###

WASHINGTON, D.C.  – Today, Congressman Brett Guthrie (KY-02), Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, Congressman Gus Bilirakis (FL-12), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade, and Congressman Gary Palmer (AL-06), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, sent a letter to 23andMe regarding the handling of Americans' sensitive data following the company's decision to file for bankruptcy. KEY EXCERPT: “According to 23andMe’s privacy statement, in a bankruptcy, customers’ ‘Personal Information may be accessed, sold or transferred as part of that transaction and this Privacy Statement will apply to [customer] Personal Information as transferred to the new entity.’ Additionally, a judge recently ruled 23andMe has the right to sell the sensitive medical and genetic information of its 15 million customers, which is considered to be the company’s most valuable asset. With the lack of a federal comprehensive data privacy and security law, we write to express our great concern about the safety of Americans’ most sensitive personal information.” Background: On March 23, 2025, 23andMe initiated Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings, which could have ramifications for the highly sensitive information of millions of Americans. While Americans’ personal health information is protected under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), these protections only apply if the information is collected by a HIPAA covered entity. Generally, direct-to-consumer companies, like 23andMe, are not covered by HIPAA. Customers have reported issues accessing and deleting their data from their 23andMe accounts. The Chairmen have requested answers to the following questions: If 23andMe were to sell the personal information of its customers either as a standalone asset or as part of a broader sale of the company, what post-sale data privacy and security protections would be in place for its customers’ personal information? Please describe how the representations made in 23andMe’s privacy statement will continue to apply—and be enforced—if the personal information of 23andMe’s customers is sold to a third party. Please include in this response information about what, if anything, would hold a third-party buyer to 23andMe’s privacy statement or prevent it from subsequently using, transferring, or otherwise selling, such information in the future. Does 23andMe plan to change its privacy statement at any time prior to selling any customers’ personal information? If so, please explain the change 23andMe plans to implement and when those changes will go into effect. Does 23andMe intend to vet prospective buyers to which it may sell its customers’ personal information? If so, please detail the vetting process and whether it will include the prospective buyer’s history of implementing data security protections and compliance with sectoral, state, or any other data privacy and security laws. If not, please explain why. Please detail the categories of customer information 23andMe has, and of that what 23andMe is considering selling. Has 23andMe notified its customers of the company’s bankruptcy announcement? If so, please attach the customer notification. If not, please explain why. Has 23andMe provided its customers with a guide for how to delete, or request to delete any information currently in 23andMe’s possession? If so, please provide a copy of that guide and specify when it was provided to customers. If not, please explain why, and explain whether 23andMe will contact each of its customers and provide an opportunity to delete their personal information prior to a potential sale of the company or personal information maintained by the company. Please detail the number of requests 23andMe received from its customers to delete their personal information between when 23andMe filed for bankruptcy and the date of the response to this letter. Of those requests, please provide a breakdown of how many requests were made by customers through their 23andMe online accounts and how many were made via customer service calls because customers were unable to successfully delete their information through their online accounts. Of those requests, please detail the number of fulfilled requests. Will 23andMe offer for sale any information in which a customer has requested the deletion of such information? If so, does 23andMe’s privacy policy consider selling information a legitimate purpose for retaining information past a customer's request to delete their information? Will 23andMe deidentify its customers’ personal information prior to selling it or the company? If so, please detail which information will be deidentified. If not, please explain why the company is electing not to deidentify information. CLICK HERE to read the full letter. CLICK HERE to read the story from CNBC. ###

WASHINGTON, D.C. – This week, Congressman Brett Guthrie (KY-02), Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, Congressman Gary Palmer (AL-06), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, and Congressman Morgan Griffith (VA-09), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Environment, wrote letters to eight Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) grant recipients. “The Committee has had concerns about the GGRF program—including the program’s unusual structure and a potential lack of due diligence in selecting award recipients. A recent Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee hearing examined these issues and the speed with which money was pushed out the door by the Biden Administration’s EPA, which raised additional questions about certain GGRF recipients.” said Chairmen Guthrie, Palmer, and Griffith. “ This investigation is key to evaluating whether these funds were awarded fairly and impartially to qualified applicants and determining how the federal funds are being used.” Background:  The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) authorized the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to create and implement a $27 billion GGRF program. Of this appropriation, $20 billion was awarded to just eight grant recipients; with $14 billion awarded to three grant recipients under the National Clean Investment Fund (NCIF) program and $6 billion awarded to five grant recipients under the Clean Communities Investment Accelerator (CCIA) program.    Letters: National Clean Investment Fund Program Recipients Coalition for Green Capital Climate United Fund Power Forward Communities   Clean Communities Investment Accelerator Program Recipients Justice Climate Fund Opportunity Finance Network Inclusiv Native CDFI Network Appalachian Community Capital Read the story here . ###

WASHINGTON, D.C.  – Yesterday, Congressman Brett Guthrie (KY-02), Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, along with Congressman Bob Latta (OH-05), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Energy, penned a letter to Secretary Jennifer Granholm questioning the Department of Energy’s involvement in the Biden-Harris Administration’s decision to prevent new offshore oil and gas production, leading to higher prices for consumers and harming U.S. energy security. KEY LETTER EXCERPT: “Closing off swaths of U.S. offshore areas to energy production, as the Biden-Harris Administration reportedly intends to do, will lead to higher energy prices for American families, the loss of American jobs, and greatly diminish our country’s energy security. As the Secretary of Energy, you have an obligation to weigh in on this matter and insist on a full review of the energy security and economic impacts before any decisions are finalized. “The United States stands at an energy crossroads, facing mounting global security threats and soaring demand for power. Instead of leading the world in energy production, we’ve allowed misguided “green” policies to hamstring our potential. It’s time to unleash American energy dominance again—the federal government must become an ally, not an obstacle, to our nation’s energy security. We look forward to your prompt response to this request, no later than January 10, 2025.” Read the story  here . BACKGROUND: This morning, the Biden Administration announced that more than 625 million square miles of coastline would be off-limits for energy production. Republican Members of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce have continuously called on the Biden-Harris Administration to end its attack on American energy production before leaving office on January 20th. The letter requests an explanation of the DOE’s involvement in the decision and whether the White House or the Department of Interior consulted with the DOE about the plans to close off access to offshore resources. Any decision to shut down access to significant American energy resources impacts U.S. energy policy and should be reviewed by the DOE. The Biden Administration’s energy policies have continued to create major harm to America’s energy production and workforce. A unilateral ban on energy production in large swaths of the U.S. coastline will have lasting impacts on American energy production and security.