Welcome to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce

WASHINGTON, D.C . – Congressman Morgan Griffith (VA-09), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Health, delivered the following opening statement at today’s legislative hearing on policies to enhance seniors’ access to breakthrough medical technologies. Subcommittee Chairman Griffith’s opening statement as prepared for delivery: “Today’s legislative hearing will focus on several bills aimed at enhancing seniors’ access to life-saving and life-sustaining breakthrough medical technologies.   “These policies are essential to reducing  regulatory barriers to help patients get timely access to care while also bringing more transparency into the coverage process at CMS. “I think we can all agree that federal agencies can be inefficient and very bureaucratic in instances. “It is our job as Congress to ensure that patients are able to access treatments, screenings, or devices in a timely manner, especially if there are no other alternatives on the market. “This hearing is the next step in the process. “One of the bills we are considering is H.R. 842, the Nancy Gardner Sewell Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection Screening Coverage Act, led by Representatives Arrington and Sewell, would establish a new coverage pathway at CMS for multi-cancer early detection screening test—so that once these tests are approved by FDA, Medicare beneficiaries can access these tests in a timely manner. “These multi-cancer screening tests allow for patients to take a blood test to screen for over 50 different types of cancers. “This allows us to do additional testing to narrow the results down to one potential cancer and yields a low false positive rate. “It is essential that Medicare beneficiaries can get screened for cancers early and get treated. This can save lives and reduce costs for patients and Federal taxpayers. “I am proud to be one of this bill’s 300 bipartisan cosponsors. “Another bill being considered today is the Ensuring Patient Access to Critical Breakthrough Products Act, which will ensure seniors have timely access to innovative medical technologies. “Many medical devices currently fall into what is known as the ‘valley of death.’ “This refers to the period between FDA approval of a device and when Medicare covers this technology. During the first Trump Administration, this led to CMS issuing a proposed rule in 2020 titled Medicare Coverage of Innovative Technology (or MCIT). “This pathway would have provided FDA-approved breakthrough medical devices four years of Medicare coverage while working on a longer term coverage determination. “The goal was to accelerate the benefits of these innovative technologies to benefit patients quicker. “This rule was repealed in 2021 by the Biden Administration and was replaced with the Transitional Coverage for Emerging Technologies (or TCET) pathway. “They cited the repeal was due to it having ‘unknown or unexpected risks’ for Medicare beneficiaries, which compared to MCIT, had many more regulatory hurdles and barriers for devices to come to market and is limited to only five new breakthrough technologies each year. “Getting this bill signed into law will bring us back closer to the original MCIT rule, spurring more innovation in the medical device and enhancing seniors timely access to medical innovations. “I personally am frustrated with CMS acting more as a scientific regulatory agency than an agency focused on reimbursing for FDA approved products. FDA is the scientific regulatory agency. “I am sure everyone here has heard complaints about the opaque and slow-moving National Coverage Determination process at CMS or had frustrations with Local Coverage Determinations. “One of the bills in front of us today will bring more transparency and accountability at CMS into both these coverage determination processes. “The final bill being considered today is H.R. 3826, the Expanding Access to Diabetes Self-Management Training Act by Representatives Schrier and Bilirakis. “This bill expands access to Diabetes Self-Management Training. This training is critical for individuals living with diabetes since it will help them cope, manage, and learn best practices when dealing with their diabetes. This bill will help increase the amount of educational opportunities for diabetes wellness training, lower costs for patients, and provide more access to certain services. “All of these bills before us today are important to bring more care to patients and achieve better health outcomes overall. “I am excited to hear from our expert panelists today to learn more about these bills and the importance of them.”

WASHINGTON, D.C.  – Congressman Richard Hudson (NC-09), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, delivered the following opening statement at today’s hearing titled Examining Solutions to Expedite Broadband Permitting . Subcommittee Chairman Hudson’s opening statement as prepared for delivery:  “Closing the digital divide has long been a bipartisan priority for this subcommittee. Under both Republican and Democratic majorities, we have discussed and found ways to ensure that every American has access to high-speed broadband. Today, we have the opportunity to achieve this goal with the $42 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program.   “I think members of both parties would agree that BEAD has not gone as we had hoped. After almost four years, not a single home has been connected. Some in my party want to completely scrap BEAD and start over because of how the previous Administration ran the program. But that is not my view. My goal has been to fix the program so that we can deploy broadband quickly. The name of my bill, the SPEED for BEAD Act, reflects this.    “I am pleased that many of my proposed reforms have been adopted by the Trump Administration and that they are working quickly to review and approve state proposals.    “Still, money alone will not close the digital divide. Burdensome, opaque, and expensive permitting reviews that exist at every level of government continue to prevent or delay deployment. I have heard this from broadband providers across the country.   “In my home state of North Carolina, one provider has waited over a year for the Department of the Interior to review its application to build on federal land—even though the agency is required to provide a response within 270 days.    “Another North Carolina provider’s project was delayed because it has to do a historic preservation review despite the fact that it was on previously disturbed terrain that likely already had a review. And this is in addition to lengthy state and local application reviews that can include excessive costs unrelated to approving the permit.    “Unless we streamline the permitting process, all of the money we have dedicated to deployment will be tied up in burdensome reviews resulting in more unnecessary delays, forcing millions of Americans to continue to wait for connectivity.   “Energy and Commerce Committee Republicans are committed to reforming this process. For the past three Congresses, we have introduced a package of bills to address this problem. Each of these bills tackles an obstacle that has either prevented, delayed, or complicated deployment, with the goal of instilling certainty, predictability, and savings into this process.  “For example, my RAPID Act would exempt small cell wireless antennas from burdensome and expensive environmental and historic preservation reviews, as well as reform the Tribal notification process to expedite wireless broadband deployment. I look forward to the discussion today to find the best path forward together.  “Some of these bills passed the House last Congress with bipartisan support. I hope we can pass those bills, as well as the others, into law this Congress. Enacting this package will make deploying broadband cheaper, more predictable, and less burdensome, ultimately connecting more Americans.  “I want to acknowledge our partners at the Federal Communications Commission for their work on this issue. Under then-Chairman Ajit Pai, the FCC used its authorities to remove state and local obstacles to deployment, implement shot clocks, and cap fees where they can. That work is continuing under Chairman Brendan Carr, as they will seek comment later this month on additional proposals. We are grateful for this work and, through these bills, hope to codify and build on what they have done.  “I hope that instead of playing the blame game today, we can focus on making sure every American has access to the broadband service that is essential to life in the 21st Century. We have an esteemed panel of witnesses with us today, all of whom have experience with the challenges of deploying broadband. I look forward to hearing from them and I look forward to this discussion.”  ###

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Brett Guthrie (KY-02), Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, and Congressman John Joyce, M.D. (PA-13), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, issued the following statement in response to an announcement by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) of a decision to decertify the organ procurement organization (OPO) covering South Florida, as well as new efforts by the Health Services and Resources Administration’s (HRSA) to improve operations within the organ procurement and transplant system. “It is critical to ensure that all entities involved in the organ procurement and transplantation process operate safely, and we are grateful to HHS for their instrumental action taken today to mitigate some of the harmful practices that have come to light through rigorous investigations by this Committee and HRSA,” said Chairmen Guthrie and Joyce. “The Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations held a hearing on issues related to patient safety in July and will continue working to protect patients and their families to restore trust in our nation’s organ procurement and transplant system. We applaud HHS for building upon those efforts through the actions taken today and look forward to continuing to work with them.”   Background:   Today, HHS announced it is moving to decertify an Organ Procurement Organization (OPO)—the Life Alliance Organ Recovery Agency, a division of the University of Miami Health System—after an investigation uncovered years of unsafe practices, poor training, chronic underperformance, understaffing, and paperwork errors.  HHS also announced reforms to restore integrity and trust in the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN), including:  Imposing safeguards to prevent line-skipping in organ allocation, immediately protecting nearly 300 patients.  Holding a special election, which spurred record turnout, to install an independent OPTN board.  Establishing a strengthened misconduct reporting system, giving patients and providers a direct channel for safety concerns.  Creating a transparency tool that shows when organs are allocated outside the standard match list.  Removing “DEI” provisions from the 2024 IOTA model to ensure procedural fairness.  Through its extensive investigation, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce has uncovered concerning practices in our nation’s organ procurement and transplant system.   On July 22, 2025, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce’s Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations held a hearing examining concerning practices within our nation’s organ procurement and transplant system that were also identified by HRSA’s investigation.    On September 12, 2025, Chairmen Guthrie and Joyce and Ranking Members Pallone and Clarke wrote a letter to HRSA requesting a briefing on its ongoing oversight of patient safety in our nation’s organ procurement and transplant system.  ###

WASHINGTON, D.C.  – House Committee on Energy and Commerce Chairman Brett Guthrie (KY-02) and Ranking Member Frank Pallone Jr., (NJ-06), along with Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations Chairman John Joyce, MD (PA-13), and Ranking Member Yvette D. Clarke (NY-09), wrote to the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) requesting a briefing on its ongoing oversight of patient safety in our nation’s organ procurement and transplant system.   In July, the Committee’s Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee held a hearing in response to a HRSA investigative report that found patient safety concerns at Kentucky Organ Donor Affiliates (KYDA) – the organ procurement organization (OPO) serving the state of Kentucky. In the investigative report, HRSA revealed that of the 351 cases reviewed, 103 cases (29.3 percent) showed “concerning features.” These concerning features included problems with patient-family interactions, medical assessments and team interactions, recognition of high neurologic function, and recognition and documentation of drugs in records.   In addition, HRSA issued a corrective action plan to address the findings in its report specific to KYDA and directing the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) Board of Directors to develop certain safety guidelines for the entire OPTN. The corrective action plan raised further questions about the possibility that there may be more systemic issues at OPOs across the country, noting that “ [s]ince the review of KYDA was initiated, HRSA has received reports of similar patterns of high risk [donation after circulatory death] procurement practices at other OPOs .” Moreover, during the July hearing, HRSA’s Organ Transplant Branch Chief, Dr. Raymond Lynch was questioned about the potential failure to adhere to existing protocols by Rep. Erin Houchin (IN-09): “ is it a broader systemic issue or is it limited to KYDA ?” Dr. Lynch responded that “ [u]nfortunately, it is not limited to KYDA. During the course of this investigation we received concerns that were in areas served by other OPOs. ”  Chairmen Guthrie and Joyce and Ranking Members Pallone and Clarke issued the following joint statement:    “ The Committee’s examination of the organ procurement and transplant system has demonstrated the need for further oversight.  Testimony from the July hearing, HRSA’s investigative report and corrective action plan, and continued reports of similar patterns at other OPOs all raise serious concerns. The American people should be able to have full faith and confidence in our organ donor and transplant system, and we will continue to work together to prevent these harmful practices from continuing. Americans’ confidence in the system comes when patient safety is protected. ”    Read the full letter  here . Background:  ·       During the 118th Congress, the Committee on Energy and Commerce  passed  the Securing the U.S. Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network Act to both modernize the OPTN and allow HRSA to institute a competitive contracting process to find the best contractors for various OPTN functions. This legislation was signed into law on September 22, 2023.   ·       On March 20, 2024, the Committee  launched an investigation  into the organ procurement and transplantation system by sending  a letter  to United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) requesting information related to concerns surrounding data security and operability, patient safety and equity, and conflicts of interest.    ·       On March 20, 2024, the Committee also sent  a letter  to HRSA requesting information related to implementation of the Securing the U.S. Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network Act as well as other concerns related to effective oversight and management.   ·       On September 11, 2024, the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations held a  hearing  that focused on the implementation of reforms at the OPTN, including the need for stronger oversight and accountability as well as ongoing patient safety concerns.   ·       During the hearing, questions were raised related to allegations of mismanagement and patient safety concerns after patients began exhibiting signs of increased neurologic function after being previously deemed suitable as an organ donation candidate. Several of these allegations, particularly those related to patient safety, were later substantiated through the findings contained in HRSA’s March 2025 report.   ·       On March 24, 2025, HRSA’s Division of Transplantation issued a  report  that summarized the findings of its investigation into KYDA, the OPO now known as Network for Hope, which serves Kentucky and parts of Ohio, West Virgina, and Indiana.  ·       On May 28, 2025, HRSA issued a  CAP  to OPTN, which directed the OTPN to take specific actions within a specified period of time, including developing a 12-month OPTN monitoring plan for KYDA to address concerns identified. The corrective action plan also requires the OPTN to propose policies for public comment to improve safeguards for potential donation after circulatory death (DCD) patients in the organ procurement process and increase information shared with patient families regarding DCD organ procurement.   ·       On July 22, 2025, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce’s Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations held a  hearing  examining concerning practices within our nation’s organ procurement and transplant system that were identified by HRSA’s investigation.   ###

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Brett Guthrie (KY-02), Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, along with Reps. Palmer (AL-06), Carter (GA-01), Bilirakis (FL-12), and Obernolte (CA-23), penned a letter to the Executive Director of Covered California (CoveredCA), Jessica Altman, to request further information related to the potentially unauthorized transmission of sensitive personal health information involving Covered California’s website. Key Letter Excerpt: “According to public reports and agency statements, tracking technology was embedded on Covered California's website beginning in February 2024, as part of a broader digital advertising effort, and in direct contravention of the tracking platform’s user agreement, which prohibits the use of such tools on pages that collect sensitive health information. Although the tags were reportedly removed in April 2025, following external scrutiny and a vendor transition, the extended period of data exposure raises serious questions about the adequacy of safeguards that Covered California had in place. Forensic testing by investigative reporters identified the trackers in operation and confirmed that user-entered health information was being transmitted to third parties without consent. These circumstances warrant examination of Covered California’s actions under federal privacy standards.” “Ensuring the confidentiality of health information is a foundational obligation for entities operating within the health insurance ecosystem. Federal privacy protections, particularly the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), establish expectations for how covered organizations handle sensitive data. Recent reports and public filings raised questions about whether those expectations were met in this case, and whether existing oversight mechanisms are sufficient to detect and prevent improper disclosures.” Background: Forensic testing shows Covered California —the State of California’s official health insurance marketplace—has been sending sensitive user health data to third-party websites through several online data trackers. Prior to removal of the trackers, CoveredCA had more than 60 trackers active on its website; the average number of trackers on a government website is three. Some types of information sent to such websites include: Searches for doctors in network with specific plans/specializations Demographic information, including gender, ethnicity, and marital status Length of treatment a patent received by a provider Frequency of doctor visits If the user indicated they were blind, pregnant, a victim of domestic abuse, or used prescription medications. The State of California independently operates CoveredCA. As the state’s official ACA marketplace, CoveredCA falls under the purview of Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). The disclosure of information such as pregnancy or prescription drug use without proper consent—even for “marketing purposes”—may violate HIPAA. This Congress, the Committee has sent letters to 23andMe and DeepSeek over potential data privacy concerns: The Committee also held a hearing last Congress on the Change Healthcare hack, where personal health information was also jeopardized. CLICK HERE to read Fox News coverage of the letter. CLICK HERE to view the full letter. ###

WASHINGTON, D.C.  – Today, Congressman Brett Guthrie (KY-02), Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, Congressman Richard Hudson (NC-09), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, sent a letter to President Donald J. Trump urging the administration to quickly remove burdensome regulations that have stopped the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program from connecting any American to reliable broadband. KEY EXCERPT: “The Biden administration added unnecessary and burdensome requirements that made participation in the program more expensive and less attractive to broadband providers. These include labor and climate change requirements, as well as rate regulation of low-cost broadband plans that were unlawfully imposed.  “To address these issues, we introduced the Streamlining Program Efficiency and Expanding Deployment (SPEED) for BEAD Act, which outlines necessary reforms to BEAD. We appreciate that Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick is undertaking a review of the program and urge any reforms to be enacted as soon as possible.” BACKGROUND: On March 5, 2025,  Congressman Hudson introduced  the SPEED for BEAD Act to remove harmful regulations that have prevented the $42 billion program from laying even a single inch of fiber to support rural Americans. Also on March 5, 2025, the Committee on Energy and Commerce  held a hearing  to discuss the BEAD program titled  Fixing Biden’s Broadband Blunder. CLICK HERE to read the full letter. ###