Welcome to the Committee on Energy and Commerce.

Washington D.C. — House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) delivered the following opening remarks at today’s Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee hearing titled “Examining Accusations of Ideological Bias at NPR, a Taxpayer Funded News Entity.”  “Like everyone here in this room, I am an adamant supporter of the First Amendment to the Constitution and the freedom of the press. “As Thomas Jefferson once said, 'Our liberty depends on the freedom of the press, and that cannot be limited without being lost.’ “Every news outlet and network should be free to express viewpoints, even those I may disagree with. “It is a fundamental principle under the First Amendment for news agencies to report on stories however they see fit. “It is not, however, a fundamental principle for news organizations to receive public funding to express their viewpoint. “We are holding this hearing today to discuss accusations from within National Public Radio, or NPR, that the organization’s DC bureau is actively censoring viewpoints—all while enjoying funding from Americans’ hard-earned tax dollars. “Following the accusations, Speaker Johnson and I fully agreed that Congress needed to quickly investigate. “I will note for the record, we invited NPR’s CEO, Ms. Maher, to participate in today’s hearing. She has declined to do so stating that she needed more time to prepare and that she had a conflict with an NPR board meeting.” ACCESS TO TAXPAYER FUNDING IS NOT A RIGHT “It is especially troubling that an organization funded with taxpayer dollars has mocked, ridiculed, and attacked the very people who fund their organization. “As if the problem wasn’t self-evident, a 25-year veteran of NPR’s national news desk outlined it in an op-ed just a few weeks ago. “Uri Berliner, a longtime journalist and senior business editor for NPR since 1999, has described a troubling culture at the organization stating 'An open-minded spirit no longer exists within NPR, and now, predictably, we don’t have an audience that reflects America.' “Berliner also explained how tax-funded NPR never admitted to its audience how off its reporting was on the debunked Russia collusion story stating 'What’s worse is to pretend it never happened, to move on with no mea culpas , no self-reflection. Especially when you expect high standards of transparency from public figures and institutions, but don’t practice those standards yourself. That’s what shatters trust and engenders cynicism about the media.’” VIEWPOINT DISCRIMINATION AT NPR “It was quite revealing from Mr. Berliner that NPR did not want to report stories that could help President Trump’s chances of winning the 2020 Presidential Election—no matter how evidently true or important to the public conversation they were, according to Mr. Berliner: 'I listened as one of NPR’s best and most fair-minded journalists said it was good we weren’t following the laptop story because it could help Trump.’ “Moreover, according to Mr. Berliner, he could not find a single registered Republican editor at NPR headquarters. “Since many journalists don’t affiliate themselves politically so they can remain objective, this might not sound abnormal, except that Mr. Berliner was able to identify 87 editors in NPR’s newsroom who were registered Democrats. “Founding NPR Board Member Bill Siemering put into the original mission statement that NPR should, among other things, 'speak with many voices and many dialects.' “According to what we’ve learned from Mr. Berliner’s insight, today’s NPR has strayed from their core mission. “When an entity that was created by Congress, and that receives taxpayer funding, strays from their core mission there needs to be accountability and oversight. “The Energy and Commerce Committee will fulfill its responsibility to investigate the allegations against NPR and take appropriate action based on what we find. “That process takes a step forward with today’s hearing. “I thank our panel of witnesses, who bring to the table a variety of viewpoints about the matter, and I look forward to the conversation.” 

Washington D.C. — House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations Chair Morgan Griffith (R-VA) delivered the following opening remarks at today’s subcommittee hearing titled “Examining Accusations of Ideological Bias at NPR, a Taxpayer Funded News Entity.”  IDEOLOGICAL BIAS AT NPR “Thank you to our witnesses who are before us today to testify on National Public Radio, NPR.  “I do have to note for the record that we invited NPR’s CEO, Katherine Maher who declined to appear today to discuss NPR’s alleged past efforts to pressure conservative and moderate voices into silence.  “Hopefully, we can work out a time for her to appear and testify before this Committee in the near future.  “The only reason not to appear in front of the Committee at some point in the near future is if the allegations are both true and NPR doesn’t care. “Last month, longtime NPR business editor, Uri Berliner, wrote an article published by conservative news website, The Free Press, accusing his then-employer of having an 'absence of viewpoint diversity.'  “Berliner criticized NPR for not reflecting the viewpoints of all Americans.  “Instead, Berliner wrote, NPR is 'the distilled worldview of a very small segment of the U.S. population,' meaning the people clustered around coastal cities and college towns.  “It was alleged that, in recent years, NPR’s extremely progressive viewpoints are evident in its coverage of major news stories.   “For example, just a couple of days ago, in an article on a recent bill regarding TikTok and foreign owned social media, the author claimed that Congress had no ‘direct evidence' that Tik Tok was a threat.  “That’s simply not true.  “If NPR had listened openly and fairly to comments TikTok’s own CEO made before this Committee last year, they would know there was no real firewall between the Chinese Communist Party and the American company.  “They also fail to mention the three-hour security briefing before the Committee took up the bill.  “That type of biased viewpoint affects the way I look at NPR’s coverage of ongoing antisemitic riots at universities across the country.”  NPR’S LEFTWING WORLDVIEW   “NPR’s coverage of these chaotic protests has been borderline encouraging, nostalgic even, evoking the good old days of protesting Vietnam.  “NPR reporters have dismissed evidence suggesting external groups have had a role in coordinating these protests, despite contrary reporting by outlets like the Wall Street Journal.   “As far back as 2005, NPR editors were aware of and trying to address a question that was bothering listeners: how truly national is NPR?  “For those in rural communities and in smaller towns, like the folks I represent, nationally produced NPR news programs are not relevant and not of interest.  “Nationally produced NPR news programs often simply do not broadcast content that reflects their values, and culture.  “As a result of adopting a mostly progressive framing in so much of its reporting, NPR is losing its audience.  “At its peak in 2017, NPR had over 30 million weekly listeners. By 2022, NPR had lost 6.6 million weekly listeners.  “As a result, NPR has had a substantial budget deficits and layoffs including 10 percent of its staff.  “What was intended to be a media organization that brought together millions of Americans across geographic, socio-economic, and ideological boundaries to discuss life, the arts, and culture, has turned into what appears to be a progressive propaganda purveyor. Using our taxpayer dollars, no less.  “Now, to be clear, the local public radio station affiliates are not what I am talking about. I would make the distinction that they often have more responsive programming and local public interest and civic stories.  “I have generally thought that the local public radio stations in my part of Virginia mostly provide a public service and in many cases are useful in helping to preserve local heritage.”  TAXPAYERS ARE FUNDING NPR   “NPR claims federal spending accounts for less than one percent of its annual operating budget.  “Although NPR receives one percent in direct federal grants, local radio stations may use any portion of their federal grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, to pay NPR’s membership dues and programming fees. That figure is roughly 30 percent of NPR’s revenue.  “This hearing is a chance for us to take stock of whether we should be using federal taxpayer dollars to promote one ideology to the exclusion of others.  “If NPR wants to create a one-sided ideological content that marginalizes a substantial portion of Americans, they can fight it out with all the other media companies for market share and pay for it on their own dime.  “I would prefer NPR to return to its original mission under the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, to provide objectivity and balance in coverage of controversial subjects.  “To me that means representing many different opinions in its newsgathering.” 

On the House Floor: H.R. 6192 to reform the Energy Policy Conservation Act The Biden administration is waging war on American energy, and this war is making its way into Americans’ homes. President Biden and Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Granholm are sacrificing peoples’ ability to purchase affordable and reliable products for their homes in their pursuit of a radical rush-to-green agenda. Housing prices and utility bills are already too high for Americans, but that isn’t stopping the administration from continuing to impose burdensome regulations. Since taking office, the Biden administration has been attacking common and popular household appliances in the name of “energy efficiency.” In fact, last year the Biden administration proposed a ban on gas stoves as part of its war against fossil fuels. More recently, the DOE has announced plans to regulate washers, dryers, dishwashers, refrigerators, freezers, air conditioners, and more, which is forcing people to spend more for less reliable options. Even worse, these new regulations fail to accomplish their stated goals as they will NOT save a significant amount of energy and are NOT cost-effective. For example, the DOE’s own analysis finds that efficiency mandates on dishwashers could increase the upfront cost by 28% and it could take consumers 12 years to payback the increased costs on a product that may only last 7-12 years.    This comes at a time when Americans are already being crushed by rising costs thanks to Bidenflation. By continuing to double down on policies like these, the Biden administration is showing just how out of touch they are with the financial struggles the vast majority of Americans are feeling. In contrast, House Republicans are leading to protect Americans from federal mandates that result in minimal energy savings while significantly driving up costs. Today, the House will consider H.R. 6192, the Hands Off Our Home Appliances Act , led by Congresswoman Debbie Lesko (R-AZ), to preserve the affordability, availability, and quality of the household appliances Americans rely on every day. Here’s why H.R. 6192 is important: Enacted in 1975, the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA) provides specific criteria the DOE must follow in order to propose a new appliance efficiency standard. The DOE may only propose a new standard if it results in a significant conservation of energy, is technologically feasible, and economically justified. The Biden administration has consistently ignored these critical consumer protections by proposing and finalizing standards that violate the statute. H.R. 6192 would prevent this abuse by: Eliminating unnecessary and duplicative rulemaking requirements  Authorizing the Secretary of Energy to amend or revoke a standard if it increases costs for consumers, does not result in significant energy or water savings, is not technologically feasible, or results in the unavailability of product  Protecting affordability by requiring the DOE to consider the cost to low-income households and the full-life cycle cost of appliances when determining if the new standard is economically justified  Establishing minimum thresholds for energy or water savings that must be achieved before imposing new standards  Prohibiting the Secretary of Energy from banning products based on what type of fuel that product uses (no natural gas bans)  Bottomline:  At a time when the American people are struggling under the crushing weight of Bidenflation, the last thing they need is more government mandates that drive up costs and fail to achieve their stated mission.

Washington, D.C. — House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), Subcommittee on Communications and Technology Chair Bob Latta (R-OH), and Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations Chair Morgan Griffith (R-VA) wrote to NPR CEO Katherine Maher regarding reports of political and ideological bias at the taxpayer-funded public radio organization. In addition to requesting answers to questions, the letter requests Ms. Maher appear before the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee for a hearing on May 8, 2024. "The Committee has concerns about the direction in which NPR may be headed under past and present leadership. As a taxpayer funded, public radio organization, NPR should focus on fair and objective news reporting that both considers and reflects the views of the larger U.S. population and not just a niche audience," the Chairs wrote.   They continued , "We also find it disconcerting that NPR’s coverage of major news in recent years has been so polarized as to preclude any need to uncover the truth. These have included news stories on matters of national security and importance, such as the Mueller report, the Hunter Biden laptop, and the COVID-19 origins investigation. On each of these issues, NPR has been accused of approaching its news reporting with an extreme left-leaning lens." “In light of the recent, disturbing revelations about National Public Radio (NPR) and its leadership, I’ve directed Chair McMorris Rodgers and the Energy and Commerce Committee to conduct an investigation of NPR and determine what actions should be taken to hold the organization accountable for its ideological bias and contempt for facts. The American people support the free press but will not be made to fund a left-leaning political agenda with taxpayer funds.” said Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) regarding the effort. CLICK HERE to read the letter.

Washington, D.C. — House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), Subcommittee on Health Chair Brett Guthrie (R-KY), and Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations Chair Morgan Griffith (R-VA), on behalf of the Health and Oversight Subcommittee Republicans, wrote to National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director Monica Bertagnolli. In the letter, the Chairs ask the NIH to confirm by May 14, 2024, whether the agency has complied with White House guidance to stop funding projects led by researchers and entities in Russia.  BACKGROUND :  On June 11, 2022, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) issued guidance stating such projects and programs that commenced and/or were funded prior to Russia’s further invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 may be concluded, but new projects in affected subject areas will not be initiated.   The OSTP advised applicable departments and agencies to curtail interaction with the leadership of Russian government-affiliated universities and research institutions, as well as those who have publicly expressed support for the invasion of Ukraine.  In a statement in an April 9, 2023, article in The Washington Times , the NIH’s Office of Extramural Research claimed that “NIH currently does not fund any research in Russia.”  However, the Data Abyss tracker for the OSTP Russia guidance on federal funding agencies indicates that, as of April 5, 2024, the NIH has potentially 240 instances of problematic research collaborations since June 2022 that do not comply with the guidance. CLICK HERE to read the letter.

Letter argues agency lacks legal authority to reinstate burdensome rules that will hurt consumers Washington, D.C. – U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) and Senate Commerce Committee Ranking Member Ted Cruz (R-TX) led a bicameral coalition of their committee colleagues in calling on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to reverse course and abandon its so-called “net neutrality” draft order—an illegal power grab that would expose the broadband industry to an oppressive regulatory regime under Title II of the Communications Act. The FCC is set to vote on the draft order on Thursday. The members argue that the FCC’s draft order ignores the text of the Communications Act of 1934, which explicitly precludes the FCC from treating broadband as a public utility. Moreover, the Supreme Court’s recent jurisprudence on the major questions doctrine confirms that the only body that can authorize public utility regulation of broadband is Congress. Resurrecting this failed Obama-era policy, which will inevitably be struck down by the courts, is a waste of time and re sources and will punish American consumers by choking off investment, innovation, and competition. In a letter to Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, the members write: “Congress’s decision to treat broadband Internet access as an information service, rather than a telecommunications service, was a deliberate policy choice. Congress recognized that ‘[t]he Internet and other interactive computer services have flourished, to the benefit of all Americans, with a minimum of government regulation,’ and accordingly decreed that it ‘is the policy of the United States... to promote the continued development of the internet and other interactive computer services... [and] to preserve the vibrant and competitive free market that presently exists for the Internet and other interactive computer services, unfettered by Federal or State regulation.’   “Your proposal to reclassify broadband as a telecommunications service does the exact opposite. It would give the Commission largely unfettered power to impose (and allow states to impose) rate regulation, tariffing requirements, unbundling obligations, entry and exit regulation, and taxation of broadband—the antithesis of leaving broadband ‘unfettered’ by regulation as the law requires. Congress has had many opportunities to give the FCC such power, yet it has never done so in any of its ample legislative enactments regarding broadband over the past two decades. Rather, legislators have repeatedly considered but ultimately rejected efforts to replace the longstanding light-touch framework with common carrier regulation. And for good reason: Title II will inflict significant damage on consumers by chilling investment and innovation.   “Finally, recent jurisprudence from the Supreme Court confirms that the Commission has no power to impose Title II on the broadband industry. As the Commission’s record demonstrates, the question of whether broadband should be subject to public utility regulation is an issue of ‘vast economic and political significance,’ such that the Commission must identify ‘clear authorization from Congress’ to justify such a decision. Our review of the relevant statutory provisions leaves no doubt that, far from possessing the type of ‘clear’ statutory authority required under Supreme Court precedent, the Commission lacks any authority to subject broadband services to common-carrier regulation.” The full list of Senators joining Chair Rodgers and Ranking Member Cruz in sending the letter include: Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Deb Fischer (Re-Neb.), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Todd Young (R-Ind.), Ted Budd (R-N.C.), Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), and Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.). Also signing the letter were Reps. Bob Latta (OH-5), Michael Burgess (TX-26), Brett Guthrie (KY-2), Morgan Griffith (VA-9), Gus Bilirakis (FL-12), Larry Bucshon (IN-8), Richard Hudson (NC-9), Tim Walberg (MI-5), Buddy Carter (GA-1), Jeff Duncan (SC-3), Gary Palmer (AL-6), Neal Dunn (FL-2), John Curtis (UT-3), Debbie Lesko (AZ-8), Greg Pence (IN-6), Dan Crenshaw (TX-2), John Joyce (PA-13), Kelly Armstrong (ND-At-large), Randy Weber (TX-14), Rick Allen (GA-12), Troy Balderson (OH-12), Russ Fulcher (ID-1), August Pfluger (TX-11), Diana Harshbarger (TN-1), Mariannette Miller-Meeks (IA-1), Kat Cammack (FL-3), Jay Obernolte (CA-23), and John James (MI-10). The full text of the letter is available HERE .