Welcome to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Richard Hudson (NC-09), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, delivered the following opening statement at today’s markup of a bill to reauthorize FirstNet.

Subcommittee Chairman Hudson’s opening statement as prepared for delivery:

“Good morning, and welcome to today’s subcommittee markup on the First Responder Network Authority Reauthorization Act. I’m excited about our progress and taking this next step towards reauthorizing this important program.

“Last week we heard from a great panel of witnesses who shared their expertise and experience with FirstNet and provided input on how this legislation would improve the network and ensure it operates in the best interest of public safety.

“We heard directly from NTIA that not only is the FirstNet Board protected in statute, but they have no intention of dismantling or casting aside the FirstNet Board. It’s actually quite the opposite. NTIA relies on the Board to provide crucial expertise and direction on the needs of public safety. This legislation not only keeps the Board, but strengthens public safety’s voice by requiring 2 additional seats on the Board be dedicated to public safety.

“I want to note this vote today does not signify we’re done working on this legislation. We are continuing to gather feedback from public safety groups and stakeholders about certain provisions in this legislation, and we have a lot of work in the coming weeks to ensure that this bill is the best possible version it can be before it reaches the House floor.

“Reliable communications are absolutely essential for our first responders in emergencies. While a lot has been done to stand up this first-of-its-kind public safety communications network, there is more work to do to ensure the promise of FirstNet is fulfilled. In my home state of North Carolina, first responders have shared their frustrations about FirstNet not working during Hurricane Helene. The reforms included in the legislation before us today are intended to ensure that FirstNet delivers a reliable, interoperable communications network to our first responders and the FirstNet Authority acts in the best interests of the public safety community it serves.

“I want to thank my colleagues for their continued commitment to this issue and for their work developing this proposal. I look forward to reauthorizing the First Responder Network Authority.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Gus Bilirakis (FL-12), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade, delivered the following opening statement at today’s markup of twelve bills to strengthen automotive safety, affordability, and leadership.

Subcommittee Chairman Bilirakis’s opening statement as prepared for delivery:

“Today we will be advancing legislation aimed at modernizing and ensuring motor vehicle safety, promoting innovation, and ensuring affordability.

“The Members of this subcommittee understand better than anyone that there is no partisan way to save lives. In 2024, nearly 40,000 people died on our roadways. That number is staggering—but what matters most is what it represents: families forever changed, milestones never reached, and seats left empty around kitchen tables. That reality should drive our work here today.

“Meeting this moment requires practical solutions to strengthen motor vehicle safety and empower NHTSA to succeed in its mission. I would like to highlight three solutions to bolster motor vehicle safety.

“First, we must address the growing risks that electric vehicle battery fires present to vehicle occupants, firefighters, and the public at large. These fires have led to serious fatalities and created dangerous conditions for firefighters, made worse by inconsistent vehicle designs and a lack of standardized response protocols. This is an area where Congress can and must bring together first responders, safety experts, NHTSA, and industry to develop real solutions.

“This issue has had tragic consequences, and I want to again thank Florida State Rep. Meg Weinberger for her leadership in bringing attention to this problem and working with me on potential solutions. I’m grateful to the Chairman for partnering with me to include a new provision in the Motor Vehicle Modernization Act that strengthens fire rescue capabilities and improves safety for first responders on the front line.

“Second, we are considering the SELF-DRIVE Act, which establishes a federal framework for the safe deployment of autonomous vehicles. I want to commend Mr. Latta for his years of dedication to this issue.

“Autonomous vehicles hold enormous potential, not just as a technological advancement, but as a tool to save lives. By reducing human error, which is responsible for most crashes, AVs can prevent accidents before they happen. They also offer new mobility and independence for seniors and people with disabilities.

“Finally, accessibility must remain central to our approach to mobility. Today, millions of wheelchair users rely on outdated and non-standardized securement systems that are often unreliable. This has led to preventable injuries, restricted travel, and unnecessary dependence on caregivers.

“The Motor Vehicle Modernization Act takes an important step forward by directing NHTSA to prioritize research into automated wheelchair securing systems. I thank the Chairman for recognizing the importance of this issue and including this impactful provision.

“I am confident that, working together, we can advance legislation that prioritizes safety, accessibility, and American automotive leadership. I look forward to our discussion today on how we can achieve these goals by moving these bills to the next stage of the legislative process.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Gus Bilirakis (FL-12), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade, led a markup of twelve bills to strengthen automotive safety, affordability, and leadership.

“The twelve bills we considered address a wide range of priorities from improving vehicle safety technology to modernizing our transportation regulations. Each of these measures reflects a commitment to keeping Americans safe on the road, while supporting the competitiveness and innovation of our domestic automotive industry,” said Chairman Bilirakis. “Ensuring safe, affordable, and reliable transportation is critical for families, businesses, and communities alike, and today’s markup is another step toward saving lives and preparing our automotive industry for the challenges and opportunities of the future.”

Legislative Vote Summary:

• H.R. 1566, Right to Equitable and Professional Auto Industry Repair (REPAIR) Act, was forwarded to the Full Committee by a voice vote.
• H.R. 7390, Safely Ensuring Lives Future Deployment and Research In Vehicle Evolution (SELF DRIVE) Act of 2026, was forwarded to the Full Committee by a roll call vote of 12 yeas – 11 nays.
• H.R. 7389, Motor Vehicle Modernization Act of 2026, was forwarded, as amended, to the Full Committee by a voice vote.
• H.R. 5221, PART Act, was forwarded to the Full Committee by a voice vote.
• H.R. 2110, Safe Vehicle Access for Survivors Act, was forwarded to the Full Committee by a voice vote.
• H.R. 6688, ADAS Functionality and Integrity Act, was forwarded to the Full Committee by a voice vote.
• H.R. 3360, Driver Technology and Pedestrian Safety Act, was forwarded, as amended, to the Full Committee by a voice vote.
• H.R. 3385, To direct the Secretary of Transportation to issue certain regulations to update the definition of motorcycle, and for other purposes, was forwarded to the Full Committee by a voice vote.
• H.R. 7372, Safety Is Not for Sale Act, was forwarded to the Full Committee by a voice vote.
• H.R. 7377, Know Before You Drive Act, was forwarded to the Full Committee by a voice vote.
• H.R. 6947, Securing Accessible Functional Emergency (SAFE) Exit Act of 2026, was forwarded to the Full Committee by a voice vote.
• H.R. 7353, Magnus White and Safe Streets for Everyone Act of 2026, was forwarded to the Full Committee by a voice vote.

Watch the full markup here.

Below are key excerpts from today’s markup:

Congressman Craig Goldman (TX-12) on H.R. 7390, the Safely Ensuring Lives Future Deployment and Research In Vehicle Evolution (SELF DRIVE) Act of 2026: “The SELF DRIVE Act takes a clear approach to regulating autonomous vehicles by pairing innovation with clear, enforceable safety expectations. […] A chaotic web of over 30 state laws breeds confusion, stalls deployment, undermines consistent safety, and erodes consumer confidence. The SELF DRIVE Act cuts through this red tape with a unified national framework, unleashing innovation nationwide.”

Chairman Brett Guthrie (KY-02) on H.R. 7389, the Motor Vehicle Modernization Act of 2026: “Our primary tasks here today are to strengthen motor vehicle safety, modernize, and unlock innovation in the automotive industry. The Motor Vehicle Modernization Act advances all three of these objectives.”

Congressman Gabe Evans (CO-08) on H.R. 5221, the PART Act: “Law enforcement groups have gone on the record to state that including tracing in legislation is critical to helping deter the theft and trafficking of stolen catalytic converters, making it easier to prosecute the criminals committing these crimes. […] My constituents deserve real solutions, which the PART Act helps to deliver with a national framework to combat catalytic converter theft.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Brett Guthrie (KY-02), Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, Congressman John Joyce, M.D. (PA-13), Chairman of the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, Congressman Morgan Griffith (VA-09), Chairman of the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health, Congressman Jason Smith (MO-08), Chairman of the House Committee on Ways and Means, Congressman David Schweikert (AZ-01), Chairman of the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Oversight, and Congressman Vern Buchanan (FL-16), Chairman of the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health, authored ** a letter ** to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) requesting a meeting on the concerning evidence detailed in the letter that points to large-scale, ongoing Medicare fraud in Los Angeles County, along with what action is being taken to address the situation.

“The House Committee on Energy and Commerce has an extensive history of digging deeper into matters where program integrity has been compromised. This letter is crucial in our commitment to eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse in federal health care programs,” said Chairmen Guthrie, Joyce, and Griffith. “Republicans have spent much of this Congress furthering legislation to protect our most vulnerable Americans—especially seniors, but our work is not done. Continued oversight is crucial to uphold the integrity of programs that serve our most vulnerable populations. We applaud the ongoing work being conducted by HHS-OIG in cracking down on the fraud that has occurred, and we look forward to addressing the larger-scale scheme that is draining public resources from Americans who need these services the most.”

“Medicare home health and hospice fraud directly undermines the safety and reliability of care for America’s most vulnerable seniors. Auditors have reported an unprecedented jump in home health and hospice fraud in Los Angeles County, California – including one report showing 112 different hospices located at the same physical address. With $1.2 billion in improper payments in home health claims and the Inspector General reporting $198 million in suspected hospice fraud, Gavin Newsom’s California could just as well be another Minnesota,” said Chairman Smith. “The Ways and Means Committee will not hesitate to use our broad oversight authority to get to the bottom of this and protect taxpayers and vulnerable patients against these bad actors.”

BACKGROUND:

Evidence has strongly suggested large-scale Medicare fraud involving home health agencies (HHA) and hospice agencies in Los Angeles County, California, noting that such practices not only drain public resources but also compromise the quality of care provided to patients, especially those most vulnerable populations.

• The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) found that the 2023 improper payment error rate for home health claims was 7.7 percent, or about $1.2 billion, in 2023.
• In terms of hospice care, HHS OIG reported suspected hospice fraud to be an estimated $198.1 million in fiscal year (FY) 2023.
• CMS has placed HHAs as an area of high risk for Medicare fraud.

Emerging concerns over Medicare fraud in the HHAs and hospice sector highlights heightened activity, specifically in Los Angeles County.

• From 2019 through June 2023, HHAs in the U.S. decreased from 8,838 to 8,280 (6 percent), while, at the same time, HHAs in Los Angeles County increased from 896 to 1,309 (46 percent).
• More than 1,400 new Los Angeles County HHAs enrolled in Medicare in the last five years, representing over 50 percent of all HHAs in the state of California and nearly 14 percent of all HHAs in the country.

Based on data from the March 2022 California State Auditor’s Report and from HHS on hospice ownership, Los Angeles County had more than 31 percent of the hospice agencies in the U.S. in 2022.

• There were approximately 58 million seniors in the U.S. in 2022, with Los Angeles County having approximately 1.49 million seniors (2.5 percent).
• The report highlighted indicators that included a “rapid, disproportionate growth in the number of hospice agencies” and “excessive geographic clustering of hospice agencies,” noting that 112 different licensed hospice agencies were located at the same physical address.
• State auditors in California estimated that hospice agencies in Los Angeles County likely overbilled Medicare by $105 million in 2019.

These accounts of widespread fraud occurring in Los Angeles County’s HHAs and hospice agencies have raised concerns about whether home health and hospice Accrediting Organizations (AO) are effectively examining such organizations at the time of their enrollment in Medicare.

• In November 2024, CMS issued a Quality, Safety, and Oversight memo to surveyors, reminding them to closely inspect hospices’ Medicare enrollment documents to understand changes in ownership and location, but neglecting to encourage AOs to pursue other commonsense antifraud measures.

In April 2025, HHS OIG announced that the Office of Audit Services would compile a report for FY 2026 to identify trends, patterns, and comparisons that could indicate potential vulnerabilities related to new Medicare hospice provider enrollments.

In May 2025, the Health Care Fraud Strike Force—a joint task force of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, including HHS OIG—** announced multiple arrests ** following a multi-year investigation into Armenian Organized Crime, which dismantled five hospices in the greater Los Angeles area.

On November 28, 2025, CMS ** announced ** the Calendar Year 2026 Home Health Prospective Payment System Final Rule, providing comments that suggest an interest in addressing the aforementioned accounts of fraud.

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, sent a letter to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) requesting a briefing to better understand the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) recent actions and ongoing work to enhance safety within the organ procurement and transplantation system. On Thursday, September 18, 2025, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced major efforts to improve safety, transparency, and efficiency within the organ procurement and transplantation system, including the decertification of an organ procurement organization (OPO) for the first time in U.S. history. According to the announcement , the decision was made “after an investigation uncovered years of unsafe practices, poor training, chronic underperformance, understaffing, and paperwork errors.” The Committee has a history of ensuring patient safety remains the highest priority in our organ procurement and transplantation system, as evident from the Committee’s work last Congress on organ transplantation and donation issues as well as its oversight this Congress. As a part of its ongoing investigation, the Committee requests that CMS respond to questions, including those related to the decertification of the OPO in South Florida and the prevalence of incidents similar to those outlined in the Health Resources and Services Administration’s (HRSA) investigative report, to ensure patient safety remains a top priority. Read the full letter HERE . “While the Committee applauds efforts taken by CMS to uphold the highest standards of care to which all OPOs are expected to adhere, HHS’s announcement decertifying the Life Alliance Organ Recovery Agency illustrates the urgency of this moment and why the subcommittee is not finished with our oversight of the organ transplant system,” said Chairmen Guthrie and Joyce. “It is our moral obligation as members of Congress to establish safeguards and prevent these harmful practices from persisting further, and we look forward to obtaining answers from the agency about the prevalence of these incidents, as well as how CMS plans to proceed with prioritizing patient safety first and foremost.” Background: During the 118th Congress, the Committee on Energy and Commerce led the passage of the Securing the U.S. Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network Act to both modernize the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (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 Virginia, and Indiana.   HRSA’s investigation examined an “index case” and an additional 351 unique cases of authorized, not recovered (ANR) patients. This means that the patients were considered for donation after circulatory death recovery, but no organs were transplanted. The report showed that nearly 30 percent of the cases “had concerning features.” The 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.  On May 28, 2025, HRSA issued a corrective action plan to the 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.  On September 12, 2025, the Committee sent a bipartisan 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. – Yesterday, Congressman John Joyce, M.D. (PA-13), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, and Congressman Gary Palmer (AL-06), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Environment, sent a letter to Gene Dodaro, the Comptroller General of the Government Accountability Office (GAO), requesting an assessment of available or emerging technologies and materials that could be used to supplement critical minerals in semiconductors. “Critical minerals such as lithium, cobalt, and rare earth elements are essential for technologies used in many sectors of the economy, including energy, transportation, national defense, health care, and consumer electronics,” said Chairmen Joyce and Palmer . “These minerals are vulnerable to supply-chain disruptions for several reasons, including U.S. reliance on foreign sources, as well as the rapid growth in demand for critical minerals in the U.S. and abroad.” CLICK HERE to read the full letter. The letter asks the GAO to examine: The status of domestic technologies and supplemental materials, such as critical minerals found in mine waste, tailings, or reclaimed from end-of-life batteries and electronic waste, that can serve as substitutes for foreign-sourced critical minerals from non-allied nations needed for semiconductors and energy grid or power electronics, including impacts on material and product performance. Key technological challenges to the development or adoption of these domestic supplemental and materials to advance the diversification of U.S. critical mineral sources. BACKGROUND: In May, the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations held a hearing on ways to enhance our critical mineral supply chains. Energy and Commerce Committee Republicans are committed to strengthening our critical mineral supply chains and finding solutions to reduce our reliance on foreign sources, particularly when it comes to foreign adversaries like China. The Trump Administration has also worked hard to bolster these supply chains. Critical minerals are essential to American technologies and industries, and finding innovative domestic solutions that can contribute to our independence from non-allied nations is essential as we work to onshore American innovation and strengthen our national security. ###