Subcommittees

Washington, D.C. — House Energy and Commerce Committee Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) delivered a farewell address on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives, concluding her tenure in Congress. First elected in 2004, Chair Rodgers has served as the representative for Washington’s 5th Congressional District for the past 20 years. Before becoming Chair of the Energy and Commerce Committee, she previously served Committee Ranking Member from 2020 to 2022 and as Chair of the House Republican Conference from 2012 to 2018. She was the first woman to serve as Chair of the Committee, the 200th woman ever elected to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives, and the first woman to give birth three times while in office. At noon on January 3, 2025, Chair Rodgers will officially retire from the People’s House and return home to her husband, Brian Rodgers, a Spokane-native and retired 26-year Navy Commander, and their three children—Cole, Grace, and Brynn. Mr. Speaker, as I rise here tonight, yes, my heart is overflowing with gratitude. To all my colleagues, I thank you. I thank you for your friendship and your support. What an amazing institution the United States House of Representatives is.  Part of my mission has been to restore trust and confidence in this institution because I believe it is so important in our Nation. To my colleagues on the Energy and Commerce Committee and beyond, it really is great to be with you tonight. What an amazing journey for me, a farm kid, growing up and working alongside my brother and parents at our orchard and fruit stand in Kettle Falls, Washington, to walking the Halls of Congress, being elected the 200th woman ever to serve in this institution, and ultimately as the chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. I have truly lived the American Dream. To the people of eastern Washington, thank you. Thank you for putting your trust in me to be your voice in Congress for the past 20 years. Each person that I have met along the way influenced and inspired me in ways that I couldn't imagine. Serving you has been the honor of my life. I also want to thank my family. I couldn't have done it without my amazing, loving, and supportive husband, Brian, who has been by my side the last 18 years, at least. He said carrying the load at home was harder than anything he ever did in the Navy in his 26 years there. Thank you, Brian. You are the love of my life and the man of my dreams.  To our beloved, beautiful children, Cole McMorris Rodgers, now 17; Grace Blossom Rodgers, 14; and Brynn Catherine Rodgers, 11: You are the greatest blessings of my life. We are so proud, and I can't wait to be home with you. I thank my mom, Corene McMorris, for being my fierce defender against all who dare accuse me of anything wrong; my stepdad, Vern White, for his embracing of this journey. I thank my brother, Jeff McMorris, who managed my first campaign for Congress in 2004. It was there that he renewed his acquaintance with and fell in love with my sister-in-law, Sarah, an amazing woman who also dedicated much of her time and energy to helping me win. I thank my nieces and nephew, Kate, Reagan, Conner, and Halle, who I adore for joining me on the campaign trail. I thank my dad, Wayne McMorris, who impressed everyone as my sign chairman back in 2004, blanketing the Fifth Congressional District with red, white, and blue “Cathy for Congress” signs. Brian's family also joined in the fun, as well as so many, many friends and supporters. What an honor and privilege it has been for me to represent all of you. To my team, words cannot express my gratitude for the hundreds of brilliant men and women who have served alongside me here in my congressional office and on the Energy and Commerce Committee and back home in my district and campaign offices. While it was always my name on the door, it was your dedication that helped me succeed and deliver results. Together, we have fun while we SERVE—Seek excellence, Everybody matters, Responsibly own it, Vigilant integrity, and Embrace change. It made all the difference. Although I would like to give each one of you a shout-out by name, I thank the leadership, various chiefs of staff, and district directors beginning with Connie Partoyan, Jeremy Deutsch, David Condon, David Peluso, Jared Powell, Kyle VonEnde, Karli Plucker, Ian Field, Dick Leland, Chud Wendle, Traci Couture, Patrick Bell, Kristina Sabestinas, Dawn Sugasa, Nate Hodson, and Sarah Burke, who helped me navigate the mighty waters, the many highs and lows, and the disappointments and crowning achievements of my time in Congress. Most of all, I am grateful to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who lovingly drew me closer to Him over the past 20 years. He has spoken to me about His mercies that are new each morning, and He has poured out His grace on me and my family. As I leave Congress, I urge all of us to look for ways to cultivate more grace, love, and forgiveness in this world and serve others. We hope for a time of healing. Alexis de Tocqueville said it so well. He said: “America is great because America is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great.” I have served with so many good people and had the honor of representing the good people of eastern Washington. For that, I am grateful. I say thank you, may God bless you, and may God continue to bless the United States of America.

Focus on Inferior Officer Appointments and Political Accountability Heightened as Transition in Administration Begins Washington, D.C. — In a new report issued by House Energy and Commerce Committee Republican staff outlined Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra’s failure to legally reappoint 14 key officials at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). “Secretary Becerra, an attorney by trade, failed to sign the basic legal documents and follow the process required by the Constitution and federal law necessary to reappoint key NIH officials, putting their jobs, the decisions they’ve made, and the billions in funding they’ve approved in legal jeopardy,” said Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), Subcommittee on Health Chair Brett Guthrie (R-KY), and Oversight and Investigations Chair Morgan Griffith (R-VA). “This report outlines those failures, the administration’s efforts to cover it up, and important considerations for the incoming administration as it seeks to restore the rule of law and restore accountability at government health institutions.”  BACKGROUND AND TIMELINE OF INVESTIGATION :  The NIH is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It is one of 13 subcabinet agencies within the HHS and has an annual budget of more than $40 billion.  On December 12, 2021, the five-year terms of 14 of the 27 NIH Institute and Center (IC) Directors expired, pursuant to the 21st Century Cures Act .  Given reports of Secretary Becerra’s apparent detachment from the NIH and lack of visibility during the pandemic response as well as the lack of any public announcements, Committee Republicans began to question whether Secretary Becerra upheld his Constitutional and statutory responsibility to reappoint the 14 IC Directors upon expiration of their five-year terms.  Republicans investigated for more than two years, overcoming stonewalling, obfuscation, and four different, conflicting explanations from the administration.  WHY IT MATTERS :  The appointments and reappointments of IC Directors are personnel actions that rise to the level of Constitutional responsibility further bolstered by federal statutes. The leaders of these institutes and centers are the ultimate decision-makers involving tens of billions of taxpayer-funded research dollars. These leaders also can play prominent roles in response to public health emergencies or in developing research plans. The effectiveness of biomedical research investments depends on the decision-making abilities and strategic visions of these IC Directors.  The health of the American people is deeply impacted by the appointees who lead the NIH’s institutes and centers. Because the Directors of NIH Institutes and Centers exercise significant authority as the final approving authority for research awards, they would qualify as Inferior Officers of U.S. who must be appointed by the HHS Secretary pursuant to the Appointments Clause of the U.S. Constitution along with the provisions of the 21st Century Cures Act . Greater democratic accountability requires department heads to be responsible for properly managing their agencies in the best interest of the public. Holding department heads accountable for the staffing of executive agencies improves accountability and transparency.   1. Improper appointments jeopardize good stewardship of funds  Improper appointments and reappointments potentially expose the actions of the improperly appointed IC Directors to legal challenge and jeopardizes the proper administration of research funds.   2. Improper appointments risk legal challenge to IC hiring and policies Improper appointments and reappointments potentially expose any personnel actions approved by the improperly appointed IC Directors to legal challenge.  3. Improper appointments may have led to improper payment of Title 42 special consultant salaries  During the year and a half of their lapsed reappointments, the affected IC Directors continued on the NIH payroll and received salaries even though they were serving without the legal authority to hold their positions. This situation raises the question of improper payments of salaries. In a 1976 opinion, the GAO Comptroller General concluded that the Federal Insurance Administrator was improperly appointed and that the appointment required Presidential nomination and Senate confirmation pursuant to the Appointments Clause.   In a subsequent opinion, the GAO Comptroller General found that the Federal Insurance Administrator was not legally occupying the position and thus was not entitled to receive salary and related benefits from the Department. GAO then concluded that this official was a de facto officer, performing his duties of the Office of Insurance Administrator with the knowledge and apparent acquiescence of the Secretary and the President. GAO concluded it was not necessary to take action to recover the salary. However, whether an NIH or HHS official who approved an expenditure of funds without legal authority could be held liable for the funds is an open question.  4. Secretary Becerra violated his oath by failing to carry out his Appointments Clause responsibilities.  When he was sworn in as HHS Secretary, Secretary Becerra took his oath of office swearing to support and defend the Constitution of the United States, including the Appointments Clause. By failing to reappoint the IC Directors pursuant to the Appointment Clause, Secretary Becerra failed to uphold the Appointments Clause until he was pressured by the Committee to issue signed affidavits ratifying the selections for reappointments a year and a half after the statutory deadline. During that time lapse the individuals serving as IC Directors were holding their positions without valid reappointments.  5. IC Directors serving without valid reappointments further undermined public trust in public health leadership.  Public trust in the federal government’s health leadership was eroded during the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The public trust is further damaged by the fact that some public health leaders cloaked in the authority of their titles were not legally authorized to hold those positions. Ensuring proper appointments and reappointments to these offices is yet an additional challenge to restore public trust. Secretary Becerra’s failure raises questions whether the American people can assume that public health leaders actually have competent authority to act during a public health emergency.  6. The failure to take seriously the reappointments of the IC Directors subverts the rule of law. The failure to take seriously the reappointments of the IC Directors subverts the rule of law. In this instance, the law called for precision: the HHS Secretary reappointing of IC Directors by a certain date. The action to be taken was to fulfill the Constitutional duty and the statutory requirement to reappoint Inferior Officers of the United States. HHS’s lax approach toward this matter and its evasive, frequently misleading responses to this investigation reveals a lack of diligence in upholding the rule of law and our democratic values. The cavalier attitude toward following the law and the Constitution as well as the subsequent attempts at hiding its failure to follow the law is a prime example of the Biden-Harris administration’s above-the-law attitude and approach to governing.  CLICK HERE to read the full report.

Washington, D.C. — In a new letter to Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Inspector General Christi Grimm, House Energy and Commerce Committee Republicans requested an investigation into the strength, quality, and types of evidence-based scientific and pediatric medical literature relied on by the department to promote gender transition procedures for children.  KEY LETTER EXCERPT:  “As the agency responsible for safeguarding the health and well-being of Americans, all of HHS’s medical treatment recommendations, especially medical treatment recommendations for children, should be based on rigorous and well-established research, such as randomized controlled trials, that have definitively illustrated the long-term benefits of gender affirming care treatments.”  BACKGROUND:  Under the Biden administration, HHS has advocated for sex reassignment procedures on minors, including the use of serum puberty blockers, which have historically been used to treat children with precocious puberty (i.e., early onset puberty affecting about one percent of U.S. children) and sex offenders.   Puberty blockers, however, are known to stunt normal childhood development in children unaffected by precocious puberty.  HHS officials contend that sex reassignment procedures on minors are an unanimously accepted medical practice.  HHS Secretary Becerra testified before Congress that “every major medical association,” “medical journals,” and “scientific and medical evidence” has demonstrated the benefits of transitioning children’s biological sex.  When asked, via a Freedom of Information Act request, for the underlying scientific or medical basis for its position, HHS was only able to produce a two-page brochure that was already publicly available.  In contrast to HHS, a growing body of literature from medical experts and authorities around the world, including those in Europe, caution against performing such procedures on minors.   Courts and government health agencies responsible for determining child welfare have sought to limit child sex reassignment procedures.   Other countries have banned these interventions and surgeries on minors altogether.  An article published in the British Journal of Medicine found “there is great uncertainty about the effects of puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and surgeries in young people.”   A court in the United Kingdom noted the obvious about administering puberty blocking chemicals onto children: “[i]t is highly unlikely that a child aged 13 or under would be competent to give consent to the administration of puberty blockers. It is doubtful that a child aged 14 or 15 could understand and weigh the long-term risks and consequences of the administration of puberty blockers.”  In April 2024, the Cass Review , an independent review of gender identity services for children and young people, commissioned by the National Health Service England, found “[w]hile a considerable amount of research has been published in this field, systematic evidence reviews demonstrated the poor quality of the published studies, meaning there is not a reliable evidence base upon which to make clinical decisions, or for children and their families to make informed choices.”   The Cass Review also found that “[t]he rationale for early puberty suppression remains unclear, with weak evidence regarding the impact on gender dysphoria, mental or psychosocial health,” as well as unknown effects on cognitive and psychosexual development.  In August 2024, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) became the first major U.S. medical association to express caution on the use of gender surgery for gender dysphoria in adolescents. In its formal statement, the association stated: “ASPS currently understands that there is considerable uncertainty as to the long-term efficacy for the use of chest and genital surgical interventions for the treatment of adolescents with gender dysphoria, and the existing evidence base is viewed as low quality/low certainty. This patient population requires specific considerations.”   The letter was signed by Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), Subcommittee on Health Chair Brett Guthrie (R-KY), Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations Chair Morgan Griffith (R-VA), Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX), Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), Rep. Buddy Carter (R-GA), Rep. Gary Palmer (R-AL), Rep. Neal Dunn (R-FL), Rep. Randy Weber (R-TX), Rep. Troy Balderson (R-OH), Rep. August Pfluger (R-TX), Rep. Diana Harshbarger (R-TN), and Rep. Kat Cammack (R-FL).  CLICK HERE to read the letter.