Welcome to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Yesterday, Congressman Morgan Griffith (VA-09), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Health, led a markup of several public health reauthorization bills. “As we must do with every authorization bill that moves through this committee, it is critical that we evaluate the impacts these programs have had, and not only ensure the money is being spent as it was originally intended, but also ensure patient privacy is protected ,” said Chairman Griffith. “ Considering each of these reauthorizations is an important step forward to ensure each program is working as intended, and we will continue to examine these programs as we move to full committee .” Legislative Vote Summary: H.R. 4262 , To reauthorize programs related to health professions education, and for other purposes, was reported to the full committee by a voice vote. H.R. 3593 , Title VIII Nursing Workforce Reauthorization Act of 2025, was reported to the full committee by a voice vote. H.R. 2493 , Improving Care in Rural America Reauthorization Act of 2025, was reported to the full committee by a voice vote. H.R. 3419 , To amend the Public Health Service Act to reauthorize the telehealth network and telehealth resource centers grant programs, was reported to the full committee by a voice vote. H.R. 3302 ,  Healthy Start Reauthorization Act of 2025, was reported to the full committee by a voice vote. H.R. 2846 , To amend title II of the Public Health Service Act to include as an additional right or privilege of commissioned officers of the Public Health Service (and their beneficiaries) certain leave provided under title 10, United States Code to commissioned officers of the Army (or their beneficiaries), was reported to the full committee by a voice vote. H.R. 4709 ,  Newborn Screening Saves Lives Reauthorization Act of 2025, was reported to the full committee by a voice vote Watch the full markup here . Below are key excerpts from today’s markup: Congressman Buddy Carter (GA-01) on the To amend the Public Health Service Act to reauthorize the telehealth network and telehealth resource centers grant programs : “This bill reauthorizes the telehealth network and telehealth resource centers grant programs, administered by the Health Resources and Services Administration. These programs aim to improve access to telehealth services by providing technical assistance and other support methods to providers in rural and frontier communities, so patients in these areas can more easily access necessary telehealth services. Approximately 22,000 patients across the country have benefited from these programs. We must continue these vital resources to help improve health outcomes in underserved communities.” Chairman John Joyce (PA-13) on the Improving Care in Rural America Reauthorization Act of 2025: “The Improving Care in Rural America [Reauthorization Act] is legislation that accomplishes something that is so important for the constituents that don't have that access to screening, that don't have that access to care, and it is important that we reauthorize this. Representative Carter, in his legislation, understands that rural America is often left behind. This is a bipartisan piece of legislation that addresses that issue, that understands that we have a responsibility to all of our constituents, to all of America.”

WASHINGTON, D.C.  – Today, Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Brett Guthrie (KY-02) and Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06) issued the following statement regarding the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC)  decision  to launch an inquiry into artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots acting as a companion: “Artificial intelligence has unleashed exponential levels of innovation, yet we are alarmed by recent incidents concerning the use of AI chatbots by minors. While some AI chatbot providers are taking steps to address such horrific and disturbing instances, additional investigation is needed to ensure children and teens are not in danger when using these services,”  said Chairman Guthrie and Ranking Member Pallone.   “We strongly support this action by the FTC and urge the agency to consider the tools at its disposal to protect children from online harms. We are also hopeful Congress will be able to build on this work with durable, bipartisan legislation to protect children online and empower parents.” ###

WASHINGTON, D.C.  – Today, Congressman Brett Guthrie (KY-02), Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, and Congressman Richard Hudson (NC-09), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, announced a hearing titled Examining Solutions to Expedite Broadband Permitting . “For far too long, cumbersome and expensive permitting regulations at every level of government have stood in the way of connectivity for millions of Americans,” said Chairmen Guthrie and Hudson . “Streamlining the broadband permitting process will help expedite deployment, especially in our nation’s most underserved and rural areas. We look forward to discussing different legislative proposals that will help accomplish this goal so that every American has the opportunity to take part in the digital economy through access to fast, reliable, and secure broadband.”   Subcommittee on Communications and Technology hearing titled Examining Solutions to Expedite Broadband Permitting. WHAT: Subcommittee on Communications and Technology hearing to discuss permitting reform for enhanced connectivity. DATE: Thursday, September 18, 2025 TIME: 2:00 PM ET LOCATION: 2123 Rayburn House Office Building This hearing will focus on the following bills: H.R.278 , the “BROADBAND Leadership Act” (Rep. Griffith) H.R.339 , the “Broadband Resiliency and Flexible Investment Act” (Rep. Crenshaw) H.R.1343 , the “Federal Broadband Deployment Tracking Act” (Reps. Pfluger and Soto) H.R.1541 , the “Wireless Broadband Competition and Efficient Deployment Act” (Rep. Rulli) H.R.1588 , the “Facilitating DIGITAL Applications Act” (Reps. Miller-Meeks and Dingell) H.R.1617 , the “Wireless Resiliency and Flexible Investment Act of 2025” (Rep. Langworthy) H.R.1655 , the “Wildfire Communications Resiliency Act” (Rep. Bentz) H.R.1665 , the “DIGITAL Applications Act” (Reps. Cammack and Matsui) H.R. 1681 , the “Expediting Federal Broadband Deployment Act” (Rep. Evans and Craig) H.R.1731 , the “Standard FEES Act” (Reps. Palmer and Ryan) H.R.1836 , the “GRANTED Act of 2025” (Rep. Obernolte) H.R.1975 , the “BEAD FEE Act of 2025” (Rep. Allen) H.R.2289 , the “Proportional Reviews for Broadband Deployment Act” (Rep. Carter) H.R.2298 , the “Reducing Barriers for Broadband on Federal Lands Act of 2025” (Rep. Fulcher) H.R.2817 , the “Coastal Broadband Deployment Act” (Rep. Bilirakis) H.R.2975 , the Broadband Incentives for Communities Act (Rep. Fletcher) H.R.3960 , the “Connecting Communities Post Disasters Act of 2025” (Rep. Dunn) H.R.4211 , the “Brownfields Broadband Deployment Act” (Rep. Walberg) H.R.4927 , the “CABLE Competition Act” (Rep. Houchin) H.R.5147 , the “Winning the International Race for Economic Leadership and Expanding Service to Support Leadership Act” or the “WIRELESS Leadership Act” (Rep. Latta) H.R.5170 , the “Cable Access for Broadband and Local Economic Leadership Act” or the “CABLE Leadership Act” (Rep. Balderson) H.R.5264 , the “Streamlining Permitting to Enable Efficient Deployment for Broadband Infrastructure or the “SPEED for Broadband Infrastructure Act” (Rep. Goldman) H.R.5266 , the “5G Using Previously Granted Rulings that Accelerate Deployment Everywhere Act” or the “5G UPGRADE Act” (Rep. Harshbarger) H.R.5273 , the “Broadband Competition and Efficient Deployment Act” (Rep. Joyce) H.R.5290 , the “Cable Transparency Act” (Rep. Weber) H.R.5311 , the “Connecting and Building Lines for Expedited Expansion Act” or the “CABLE Expansion Act” (Rep. Fedorchak) H.R.5318 , the “Reducing Antiquated Permitting for Infrastructure Deployment Act” (Rep. Hudson) H.R. ____ , the “TRUSTED Broadband Networks Act" (Rep. Fry) H.R. ___ , the “Broadband and Telecommunications RAIL Act” (Rep. Joyce) This notice is at the direction of the Chairman. The hearing will be open to the public and press and will be live streamed online at energycommerce.house.gov . If you have any questions concerning the hearing, please contact Noah Jackson with the Committee staff at Noah.Jackson@mail.house.gov . If you have any press-related questions, please contact Daniel Kelly at Daniel.Kelly@mail.house.gov . ###

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. ###

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. ###