Subcommittees

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.

Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade

3 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

3 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.

Environment

3 Updates

All matters related to soil, air, noise and water contamination; emergency environmental response, both physical and cybersecurity. In particular, the subcommittee has jurisdiction over The Nuclear Waste Policy Act, The Clean Air Act, The Safe Drinking Water Act, Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act – including Superfund and the Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act, The Solid Waste Disposal Act, The Toxic Substance Control Act and The Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards Program. Under the Clean Air Act, this subcommittee deals with National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for criteria pollutants; National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) Standards; New Source Performance Standards (NSPS); Mobile Source Standards for vehicles, aircraft, fuels and fuel additives, including the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) and greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicles. The subcommittee focuses on the regulation of solid, hazardous, and nuclear wastes, including mining, nuclear, oil, gas, and coal combustion waste.

Health

5 Updates

The health sector broadly, including private and public health insurance (Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Medicare, Medicaid, CHIP); biomedical research and development; hospital construction; mental health; health information technology, privacy, and cybersecurity; medical malpractice and medical malpractice insurance; the 340B drug discount program; the regulation of food, drugs, and cosmetics; drug abuse; the Department of Health and Human Services; the National Institutes of Health; the Centers for Disease Control; Indian Health Service; and all aspects of the above-referenced jurisdiction related to the Department of Homeland Security.

Oversight & Investigations

2 Updates

Responsible for conducting oversight and investigations of any matter related to the jurisdiction of the full committee.

All Subcommittees

(7)

3 Updates

Subcommittees News & Announcements

Oct 1, 2026

Press Release

Watchdog Report Requested by E&C Leaders Finds Disposal of High-Risk Laboratory Equipment by HHS, USDA, GSA Exposed U.S. to Severe Bioterrorism Threat

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Brett Guthrie (KY-02), Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, issued the following statement in response to a new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report revealing that in fiscal years 2022 through 2025, federal agencies sold unneeded laboratory equipment—that is subject to export controls because it could be used for malicious purposes—to apparent resellers. This led to the items potentially being acquired and redeployed by lone wolf bad actors or even adversarial foreign nations, putting our country at a heightened national security and biosecurity risk.

According to GAO, “[w]hile the donation and sale of unneeded federal laboratory equipment may increase access to resources needed to conduct scientific research, it may also present biosecurity risks . . . Many types of laboratory equipment are considered to be ‘dual use,’” meaning the equipment has a legitimate use but can also be “misused by bad actors for malicious purposes, such as biological terrorism or warfare.”

The 2022 National Biodefense Strategy states that biological threats “are among the most serious threats facing the U.S. and allied nations across the world,” and that the U.S. “must address the risk of intentional misuse of advances in biotechnology and threats posed by terrorist groups or adversaries seeking to use biological weapons.” One goal of implementing the strategy is that the U.S. “will strengthen biosecurity to prevent both state and nonstate actors from obtaining equipment for nefarious purposes.”

“With advances in AI and synthetic biology, bad actors and foreign adversaries of the U.S. already possess enhanced access to scientific research information. This underscores the need for the U.S. government to more carefully monitor and control disposal of federal laboratory equipment that could supercharge nefarious plots,” said Chairman Guthrie. “The GAO report provides a path forward to remedy vulnerabilities in the federal lab equipment disposal program. The House Committee on Energy and Commerce has similarly examined ways we can strengthen biosecurity in the digital age, and we will continue to explore how best to implement additional safeguards and strengthen existing controls. We commend the Trump Administration for promptly responding to the GAO recommendations.”

BACKGROUND:

At the behest of a February 9, 2024 request from Chairman Guthrie and other Republican leaders, GAO conducted an investigation, including undercover work, that demonstrated how risky federal lab equipment—freeze dryers and mass spectrometers, specifically—was sold to individuals and companies, some of which appeared to be resellers, outside federal controls that are aimed at preventing certain countries of concern from being able to develop biological weapons or gain a military advantage.
The Department of Commerce maintains the Commerce Control List, a list of certain types of laboratory equipment for which licenses are required for exports to certain countries of concern. According to regulations, “export controls on certain laboratory equipment are maintained to oppose the proliferation and illegal use of biological weapons.”
“Most of the experts” that GAO spoke to “identified 16 additional types [of equipment] that [] could present risk” that were not included on the Commerce Control List.
In its review of FY 2022-2025 General Services Administration (GSA) data, GAO found that “few sales of laboratory equipment were subject to export controls and agencies did not notify GSA as required.”
GAO also found that “[b]iosecurity risks associated with disposal of laboratory equipment include creation of a biological weapon and acquisition of sensitive information.”
Through undercover work using fictitious identities, GAO was able to bid or request pieces of lab equipment of concern, demonstrating “the potential risks associated with laboratory equipment disposal.”
The report focused on three agencies: the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the GSA. All three agencies generally agreed with GAO’s recommendations; HHS has already started taking immediate action to address GAO’s recommendations.
HHS and USDA run research laboratories that dispose of laboratory equipment. GSA implements the process of disposing of unneeded federal laboratory equipment.
The Committee has previously engaged in activity examining solutions to enhance biosecurity in America. These critical findings and subsequent actions taken by involved agencies are crucial in protecting the public health and national security of our country and preventing adversarial nations from acquiring equipment that could be used for bioterrorism against the United States.
On December 17, 2025, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations held a hearing on how AI and biotechnology advancements affect biosecurity and efforts to mitigate risks.

Sep 30, 2026

Press Release

Chairman Guthrie Blasts Senate Democrats for Failing to Protect Americans from Higher Energy Costs

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Brett Guthrie (KY-02), Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, released the following statement following Senate Democrats’ vote to block cloture on the motion to proceed for H.R. 9340, the Ratepayer Protection Act.

“Today’s vote by Senate Democrats to block cloture on the Ratepayer Protection Act is politics at its worst. This legislation to protect Americans from paying higher electricity costs passed the House with overwhelming bipartisan support,” said Chairman Guthrie. “The Ratepayer Protection Act ensures the companies who are building data centers, not hardworking families, foot the bill for the electricity and infrastructure they need and use. Blocking this commonsense legislation from moving forward puts politics above people at a time when our communities are looking for solutions to make life more affordable.”

Sep 29, 2026

Press Release

E&C Releases Staff Report Exposing How Fraudsters are Ripping Off Medicare and Medicaid and How More Must be Done to Protect These Programs

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, chaired by Congressman Brett Guthrie (KY-02), through the work of the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, chaired by Congressman John Joyce, M.D. (PA-13), released a Majority Staff Report detailing how fraud has continued to undermine the integrity of critical taxpayer-funded health care programs. The report also details the disparities in the oversight and enforcement of fraud within state Medicaid programs. The report outlines 13 investigative findings and 37 recommendations to strengthen program integrity and keep fraudsters out of Medicare and Medicaid.

“Every dollar stolen from Medicare and Medicaid is a dollar taken from the seniors, children, pregnant women, and Americans with disabilities these programs were created to serve,” said Chairman Guthrie. “That’s why Chairman Joyce and our Committee have made rooting out fraud a top priority. Our findings expose the worst actors, but the accompanying recommendations also lay out commonsense steps to help CMS and the states stop fraud before it happens. We will keep fighting to hold criminals accountable, protect patients, and safeguard taxpayer dollars.”

“The Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee is focused on rooting out fraud that threatens the future of Medicare and Medicaid. These crimes hurt patients and steal from the American taxpayer,” said Chairman Joyce. “We will continue to expose those who exploit the system, hold fraudsters accountable, and advance commonsense recommendations that states can implement. This cannot be solved alone. Protecting the integrity of these programs must be a shared goal, because millions of Americans are counting on us to get it right.”

Read the full report here.

BACKGROUND:

During the investigation, the Committee sent 12 letters, held three Oversight and Investigations hearings, and reviewed more than 100,000 pages of documents.

Key findings include:

Medicare and Medicaid fraud is occurring nationwide.
Some states do not consider fraud trends when setting required Medicaid provider risk levels, and they do not regularly update the risk levels that they set. This alleviates states from conducting more rigorous oversight that they would be required to conduct if the provider was assigned a higher risk level. These actions weaken a key safeguard that can help keep fraudsters out of these programs.
States are not using audit and investigative authorities to their fullest potential to prevent Medicaid fraud from occurring. States vary in auditing capacity and are generally not focusing on high-risk providers in their state.
Medicare and Medicaid have traditionally relied on the “pay and chase” model instead of stopping fraud before it happens. New efforts by CMS under the Trump Administration are investing in “detect and prevent” strategies to shut down fraudsters before they are paid.

Fraud puts vulnerable patients at risk. A 2019 Johns Hopkins study found that providers kicked out of Medicare for fraud and abuse were more likely to have been treating low-income seniors or people with disabilities. These patients may be unable to report inadequate care, which in some cases led to hospitalizations and deaths.

The Trump Administration is already working to address these issues. Since January 2025, it has uncovered $96.4 billion of fraud in HHS programs, stopped $46.2 billion from wrongly going out the door, and recovered $33.1 billion.

Trending

Full Committee

Energy

Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade

Communications & Technology

Environment

Health

Oversight & Investigations

All Subcommittees

Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade

Communications & Technology

Energy

Environment

Full Committee

Health

Oversight & Investigations

Subcommittees News & Announcements

Watchdog Report Requested by E&C Leaders Finds Disposal of High-Risk Laboratory Equipment by HHS, USDA, GSA Exposed U.S. to Severe Bioterrorism Threat

Chairman Guthrie Blasts Senate Democrats for Failing to Protect Americans from Higher Energy Costs

E&C Releases Staff Report Exposing How Fraudsters are Ripping Off Medicare and Medicaid and How More Must be Done to Protect These Programs