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The Latest

From the Committee

Jul 16, 2025
Press Release
Chairman Griffith Delivers Opening Statement at Subcommittee on Health Hearing on Preserving Access to Timely and Affordable Care

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Morgan Griffith (VA-09), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Health, delivered the following opening statement at today’s hearing titled Legislative Proposals to Maintain and Improve the Public Health Workforce, Rural Health, and Over-the-Counter Medicines.

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

“Today’s legislative hearing is necessary to continue essential programs that are vital to our health care infrastructure. 

“Many of the bills before us expire at the end of this fiscal year and must be reauthorized.  

“One of the bills that will be discussed today is H.R. 4273, the Over-the-Counter Monograph Drug User Fee Amendments, led by Mr. Latta and Ranking Member DeGette.  

“The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, which passed in 2020, modernized the regulation of over-the-counter monograph drugs and products. It also created a new user fee program to support this new framework, also known as OMUFA.  

“Generally, a company can market an over-the-counter drug if they either submit a new drug application or go through the over-the-counter monograph process.  

“Prior to 2020, this involved a lengthy, burdensome three-phase, rulemaking process. 

“This led to Congress creating a new regulatory framework that allows FDA to issue administrative orders determining that a product is generally recognized as safe and effective, or GRASE, and simultaneously establishing a new user fee program to help ensure this process is effective and streamlined.  

“This is the first reauthorization of OMUFA. 

“We hope to work in a bipartisan way to address any outstanding issues to ensure this program is functioning how Congress initially intended, including minimizing regulatory burdens, supporting innovation, and increasing access to products in a safe and efficient manner.  

“We will also consider other legislation that will help encourage the FDA to be more flexible in their review processes.  

“H.R. 3686, the SAFE Sunscreen Standards Act, led by Dr. Joyce and Mrs. Dingell, would require the FDA to consider the use of certain real-world, evidence-based and non-animal testing methods when it comes to evaluating new sunscreen active ingredients in the United States.  

“We are behind other countries in bringing innovative sunscreens to market, and this bill would help to bridge that gap. 

“During our last hearing on OMUFA, we had a robust discussion around the need for more innovative sunscreens to be available in the United States.  

“I look forward to the discussion around these policies today. 

“Along similar lines, the FDA must keep pace with current technological advancements, which includes greater utilization of non-animal testing methods.  

“H.R. 2821, led by Reps. Carter and Barragan, would help support FDA’s efforts to do just that.  

“Congress gave FDA this ability in 2022 when the FDA Modernization 2.0 was signed into law, but the FDA has failed to fully implement these practices.  

“This legislation would require the FDA to finally update its regulations to account for non-animal testing.

“This bill does not require non-animal testing; it simply provides the option if companies wish to pursue less costly methods, such as computer AI modeling or organ chip testing.  

“There are also two important reauthorizations in front of us today that serve a vital role in helping our medical workforce, which are the Title VII and Title VIII reauthorizations.  

“These programs allocate resources for scholarships and educational assistance, so students from underserved backgrounds, who are often from rural areas, can pursue medical careers and help support the medical workforce that Americans widely rely upon.  

“It is crucial for Congress to take a close look at these programs to ensure resources are going to areas and patients who need it most. 

“We are also discussing legislation that will continue grants for certain health care services in rural areas and help to increase the use of telehealth, so patients can access care more easily. 

“Reauthorizing the Telehealth Resource Centers Grant Program will support our telehealth infrastructure that has become a lifeline for both providers and patients across the country– especially in rural areas.  

“Considering each of these reauthorizations is an important step forward to ensure each program is working as intended. 

“I look forward to hearing from our witnesses today regarding the importance of these programs, and to ensure they are reauthorized in a timely manner.”  

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More News & Announcements


Jul 16, 2025
Press Release

Chairman Palmer Delivers Opening Statement at Subcommittee on Environment Hearing to Discuss Advanced Recycling

WASHINGTON, D.C.  – Congressman Gary Palmer (AL-06), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Environment, delivered the following opening statement at today's hearing titled Beyond the Blue Bin: Forging a Federal Landscape for Recycling Innovation and Economic Growth . Subcommittee Chairman Palmer's opening statement as prepared for delivery: “Good morning, and welcome to today’s subcommittee hearing entitled Beyond the Blue Bin: Forging a Federal Landscape for Recycling Innovation and Economic Growth. “Before we begin, I’d like to thank Chairman Guthrie for the opportunity to lead the Environment Subcommittee. I’d also like to thank Chairman Griffith for his excellent leadership of the Subcommittee and wish him the best as the new Chairman of the Subcommittee on Health. And to Ranking Member, Mr. Tonko, I look forward to working with you. “As Chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, I focused on the importance of critical minerals to our national security and holding the Environmental Protection Agency accountable. I look forward to continuing that important work in this new role. “Waste and recycling are generally considered to be regional issues, regulated at the state and local level. However, we will hear testimony today about the national and economic security implications of recycling policy. “In his first days in office, President Trump emphasized the need to secure our critical mineral and material supply chains. We must use an all-of-the-above approach when it comes to ensuring our ability to access these critical minerals and materials, which is why electronic waste (e-waste) is so important for our future. “With the growth of data centers and use of technology, e-waste is accumulating at higher rates every year, with billions of dollars in losses as this technology reaches its end of life. E-waste is a commodity that can be repurposed in our fight to not only be energy independent, but energy dominant. “Let me be clear – we will not recycle our way out of these issues. However, as we look to build out our mining capacities, e-waste recycling innovation provides vital short and long-term support for our needs as a nation. “The President also issued an executive order on the importance of Putting America First in International Environmental Agreements. “As part of the negotiations for the global plastics treaty, the Biden-Harris administration announced support for bans on plastics and a cap on plastic production. That would not be in America’s interest. “I look forward to hearing from our witnesses about the role that American businesses can play in innovating and developing technologies to take advantage of the opportunities in the recycling industry. “The threat China poses to the United States and our allies cannot be overstated. We will hear from our witnesses today on how we can use recycling as a tool to compete with China and protect our communities. “Thank you to our witnesses for being here today. It is my understanding we have not had a hearing on this topic in some time, and I appreciate my colleagues engaging on this important issue. I look forward to our discussion.” ###



Jul 16, 2025
Press Release

Chairman Guthrie Celebrates President Trump’s Signing of the HALT Fentanyl Act

WASHINGTON, D.C.  – Today, Congressman Brett Guthrie (KY-02), Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, issued the following statement after President Trump signed the HALT Fentanyl Act into law.  “Today, America celebrates the passage of legislation that equips law-enforcement officers with necessary tools needed to combat the fentanyl crisis, promotes effective research of schedule I substances, and works to keep extremely lethal and dangerous drugs off of our streets,” said Chairman Guthrie . “I want to thank President Trump for his continued commitment to keeping illicit substances out of our country, and the HALT Fentanyl Act works directly in line with that mission. As the Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, I’m proud to have been a part of creating such critical legislation that permanently places fentanyl-related substances into schedule I of the Controlled Substance Act to ensure law enforcement can crack down on drug traffickers that have wrought havoc on our communities for too long.”   ###



Jul 16, 2025
Press Release

Chairman Guthrie and Chairman Joyce Announce Oversight and Investigations Hearing on Oversight of the U.S. Organ Procurement and Transplant System

WASHINGTON, D.C.  – Congressman Brett Guthrie (KY-02), Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, and Congressman John Joyce (PA-13), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, announced a hearing titled Ensuring Patient Safety: Oversight of the U.S. Organ Procurement and Transplant System.   “The Committee is continuing oversight of our nation’s organ procurement and transplant system. Shocking information obtained by the Committee has shone a spotlight on ongoing patient safety concerns, lack of transparency, and mismanagement occurring within this system,” said Chairman Guthrie and Chairman Joyce . “This hearing is an opportunity to build upon previous bipartisan oversight work by this Committee and better understand how entities within the organ procurement and transplant system intend to institute reforms. Our members are committed to following the facts wherever they may lead with the goal of improving the organ procurement and transplant system in the United States and restoring faith in the system.”   Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations hearing titled Ensuring Patient Safety: Oversight of the U.S. Organ Procurement and Transplant System .   WHAT: Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations hearing on ensuring the nation’s organ procurement and transplant system prioritizes patient safety.  DATE: Tuesday, July 22, 2025  TIME: 10:15 AM ET  LOCATION: 2123 Rayburn House Office Building  This notice is at the direction of the Chairman. The hearing will be open to the public and press and will be livestreamed online at energycommerce.house.gov . If you have any questions concerning 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 .   ###


Trending Subcommittees

Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade


12 Updates

Interstate and foreign commerce, including all trade matters within the jurisdiction of the full committee; consumer protection, including privacy matters generally; data security; motor vehicle safety; regulation of commercial practices (the Federal Trade Commission), including sports-related matters; consumer product safety (the Consumer Product Safety Commission); product liability; and regulation of travel, tourism, and time. The Subcommittee’s jurisdiction can be directly traced to Congress’ constitutional authority “to regulate Commerce with foreign nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes.”


Communications & Technology


6 Updates

Electronic communications, both Interstate and foreign, including voice, video, audio and data, whether transmitted by wire or wirelessly, and whether transmitted by telecommunications, commercial or private mobile service, broadcast, cable, satellite, microwave, or other mode; technology generally; emergency and public safety communications; cybersecurity, privacy, and data security; the Federal Communications Commission, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, the Office of Emergency Communications in the Department of Homeland Security; and all aspects of the above-referenced jurisdiction related to the Department of Homeland Security.


Energy


4 Updates

National Energy Policy, energy infrastructure and security, energy related Agencies and Commissions, all laws, programs, and government activities affecting energy matters. National Energy Policy focuses on fossil energy; renewable energy; nuclear energy; energy conservation, utility issues, including but not limited to interstate energy compacts; energy generation, marketing, reliability, transmission, siting, exploration, production, efficiency, cybersecurity, and ratemaking for all generated power. Energy infrastructure and security focuses on pipelines, the strategic petroleum reserve, nuclear facilities, and cybersecurity for our nation’s grid. Our jurisdiction also includes all aspects of the above-referenced jurisdiction related to the Department of Homeland Security. Agencies and Commissions in our jurisdiction include: The US Department of Energy, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission; and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.


Recent Letters


Jun 18, 2025
Press Release

Chairman Guthrie Requests More Information on Improperly Shared User Data by California’s Health Insurance Marketplace Website

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. ###



Jun 5, 2025
Press Release

Chairmen Guthrie and Hudson Ask President Trump to Remove Biden-era BEAD Regulations and Expedite Funds to Deploy Rural Broadband

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. ###



Apr 17, 2025
Press Release

Chairmen Guthrie, Bilirakis, and Palmer Launch Investigation into 23andMe and its Handling of Americans’ Sensitive Medical and Genetic Information

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. ###