Welcome to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Brett Guthrie (KY-02), Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, and Congressman Morgan Griffith (VA-09), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Health, announced a hearing titled Legislative Proposals to Support Patient Access to Medicare Services.

Subcommittee on Health hearing titled Legislative Proposals to Support Patient Access to Medicare Services

WHAT: Subcommittee on Health hearing to discuss legislation focused on improving Medicare payment policies and expanding access to care for seniors.

DATE: Thursday, January 8, 2026

TIME: 10:15 AM ET

LOCATION: 2123 Rayburn House Office Building

This hearing will focus on the following bills:

• H.R. 1703, Choices for Increased Mobility Act of 2025 (Rep. Joyce – PA)
• H.R. 2005, DMEPOS Relief Act of 2025 (Rep. Miller-Meeks)
• H.R. 2172, Preserving Patient Access to Home Infusion Act (Rep. Buchanan)
• H.R. 2477, Portable Ultrasound Reimbursement Equity Act of 2025 (Rep. Van Duyne)
• H.R. 2902, Supplemental Oxygen Access Reform (SOAR) Act of 2025 (Rep. Valadao)
• H.R. 5243, To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to increase data transparency for supplemental benefits under Medicare Advantage. (Rep. McClellan)
• H.R. 5269, Reforming and Enhancing Sustainable Updates to Laboratory Testing Services (RESULTS) Act of 2025 (Rep. Hudson)
• H.R. 5347, Health Care Efficiency Through Flexibility Act (Rep. Buchanan)
• H.R. 6210, Senior Savings Protection Act (Rep. Matsui)
• H.R. 6361, Ban AI Denials in Medicare Act (Rep. Landsman)

This notice is at the direction of the Chairman. This hearing will be open to the public and press and will be livestreamed at energycommerce.house.gov. If you have any questions about this hearing, please contact Annabelle Huffman at Annabelle.Huffman@mail.house.gov. If you have any press related questions, please contact Katie West at Katie.West@mail.house.gov.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Brett Guthrie (KY-02), Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, and Congressman Morgan Griffith (VA-09), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Health, issued the following statement applauding the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) recent announcement of funding allocations for states through the Rural Health Transformation (RHT) program, which was established in President Trump’s Working Families Tax Cuts.

“Our Working Families Tax Cuts law delivered the most historic investment in rural health that we’ve seen in our lifetimes,” said Chairmen Guthrie and Griffith.“The RHT program will provide funding to transform health care systems so that we can help assure the long-term sustainability of our rural providers for years to come. We applaud Secretary Kennedy and Administrator Oz on this critical effort, and we look forward to seeing states use these resources to bolster health care delivery through innovative solutions in rural America.”

Allocations of funding were based upon rigorous, data-driven merit review—led by federal and non-federal rural health experts and overseen by senior federal review directors—to assess each state’s proposed initiatives and alignment with program goals to ensure a fair, transparent, and consistent merit review process across all states.

Funding will be distributed over five years beginning in federal fiscal year 2026. As states begin implementation, program officers from CMS’s Office of Rural Health Transformation will provide technical assistance and ongoing support to help states design, launch, and sustain initiatives that best serve their rural communities.

CLICK HERE to view a list of each State’s allocated RHT funds.

Background on the Rural Health Transformation Program:

• The Rural Health Transformation (RHT) Program was created by the Working Families Tax Cuts law and empowers states to strengthen rural communities across America by improving access to quality health care outcomes and transforming the health care delivery ecosystem.

• RHT funding will be allocated through the following formula:

• $25 billion over five years will be distributed evenly among the states; this means each state will receive $100 million each year for FY 2026-2030 ($500 million total).

• $25 billion will be distributed to states based on criteria established by the Secretary that target funding to states with high rural health care needs and that outline long-term programmatic goals that will transform access to care in the state.

In accordance with the law, only the 50 states are eligible to receive an RHT Program award; the District of Columbia and U.S. Territories are not eligible.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Gary Palmer (AL-06), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Environment, delivered the following opening statement at today’s hearing titled Examining the Impact of EPA’s CERCLA Designation for Two PFAS Chemistries and Potential Policy Responses to Superfund Liability Concerns.

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

“Welcome to today’s hearing before the Subcommittee on Environment. This year, we’ve revisited some of our country’s most important environmental laws and confronted emerging challenges in protecting our environment and promoted a regulatory climate that encourages innovation and economic growth.

“Among other things, we’ve identified shortcomings with the administration of the Toxic Substances Control Act that delay newer, safer chemistries from reaching consumers; explored opportunities to revitalize brownfields sites for crucial infrastructure projects; evaluated the state of technologies to improve our recycling systems; and passed common-sense Clear Air Act reforms.

“Today, we are examining EPA’s decision last year to designate two PFAS chemistries—PFOA and PFOS—as hazardous substance under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, also known as ‘CERCLA’ or the Superfund law. CERLCA was enacted in 1980 to facilitate the cleanup of the most contaminated sites around the country and to establish a scheme to hold liable for cleanup costs the parties responsible for that contamination. Superfund imposes strict, and joint and several liability on parties.

“In other words, a responsible party could be responsible for the entire cost to cleanup a contaminated site even if its contribution to the pollution was minimal. CERCLA includes exemptions as well as defenses to liability for certain parties such as ‘bona fide prospective purchasers’ and ‘innocent landowners,’ as they are referred to. However, in the context of the hazardous substance designations for PFOA and PFOS, there are concerns that the existing exemptions and defenses may not adequately protect a class of parties commonly known as ‘passive receivers’ who did not manufacture or use PFOA or PFOS, but may have acquired, used, or disposed of material containing these chemicals. Today, we will examine the impacts of potential liability for PFAS contamination on these entities. Congress has clarified and expanded liability protections before, such as by passing the Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act in 2002. We will consider how concerns about PFAS liability may deter a range of economic activities and whether changes to CERCLA, or other legislative action, are needed.

“Additionally, at our March hearing on reauthorization of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Brownfields Program, we discussed the tremendous potential of the estimated 450,000 brownfields sites in our country for housing important infrastructure such as power generation, semiconductor manufacturing facilities, and data centers.

“We hope to examine whether concerns about liability for PFAS hinder the redevelopment of these sites.

“To this end, we welcome Susan Bodine, who previously served as Assistant Administrator for the Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response at EPA during the George W. Bush Administration and then as Assistant Administrator for the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance in the first Trump Administration, in addition to senior staff roles in both the House and the Senate.

“We are also joined by Lawrence Falbe, Chair of the International Council of Shopping Centers Environmental and Land Use Policy Committee. Mr. Falbe will share his experience on how potential PFAS contamination impacts real estate transactions for those seeking to reuse those sites.

“Next, Emily Donovan joins us a co-founder of Clean Cape Fear, a grassroots community advocacy organization focused on the presence and impact of certain PFAS in communities. We also welcome Tracy Mehan, who represents the American Water Works Association and served as EPA Assistant Administrator for Water, also during the George W. Bush Administration. I thank all of our Members and witnesses for being here, and I look forward to today’s 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, 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. ###

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 Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, and Congressman Gus Bilirakis (FL-12), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade, sent a letter to National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) President Charlie Baker following the recent announcement that student athletes and athletic department staff will be allowed to bet on professional sports. KEY EXCERPTS: “The Committee on Energy and Commerce is examining the NCAA’s recent policy change permitting student athletes and athletic department staff to bet on professional sports.” [...] To assist the Committee in its oversight, we request a briefing by no later than November 13, 2025, that addresses the following: Why is the NCAA changing its policy allowing student athletes to bet on professional sports? Has the NCAA conducted any studies, analyses, or reviews of the impact of gambling on student athletes? If so, what are the results? What role did they play in the NCAA’s decision to allow student athletes to bet on professional sports? How does this change allow the NCAA, the conferences, and the member schools to better protect the integrity of college games and encourage healthy habits for student-athletes who choose to engage in betting activities on professional sports? How is the NCAA engaging with athletic conferences, member institutions, and teams to address questions and concerns about this rule change? Amid recent allegations of illegal sports betting among student athletes and concerns expressed by member institutions, is NCAA reconsidering implementation of the policy? What guardrails are in place to prevent the type of illegal sports betting activity that is allegedly occurring in the NCAA and NBA, considering that some student athletes will go on to become professional athletes? Please provide details about any fraudulent, illegal, and alleged betting practices in connection with NCAA players, coaches, and officials, including the actions of NCAA players identified in recent infraction decisions; as well as prior instances, some of which are identified above. Please describe the NCAA’s “layered integrity monitoring program,” for maintaining competition integrity and pursuing sports betting violations. What gaps, if any, are in existing regulations that allow illegal betting schemes to occur in college sports? BACKGROUND: On October 24, 2025, the Committee on Energy and Commerce launched its investigation into sports fixing and illegal gambling after the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) unsealed indictments of current and former NBA players and coaches. An initial announcement stated that, effective November 1, 2025, student athletes and athletic department staff in all three NCAA divisions would be permitted to bet on professional sports. A few days before the policy change was supposed to take effect, the Division I Board of Directors voted to delay implementation of the rule change across all three divisions to November 22, 2025. A recent NCAA press release stated that “enforcement staff has opened investigations into potential sports betting violations by approximately 30 current or former men's basketball student-athletes.” CLICK HERE to read the full letter.