Subcommittees

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman John Joyce, M.D. (PA-13), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, delivered the following opening statement at today’s hearing titled Examining Biosecurity at the Intersection of AI and Biology.

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

“Good morning, and welcome to today’s hearing entitled “Examining Biosecurity at the Intersection of AI and Biology.

“The goal of today’s hearing is to examine a rapidly evolving threat landscape at the intersection of artificial intelligence (AI) and biotechnology. This convergence promises extraordinary breakthroughs for medicine, public health, and scientific discovery. It also introduces profound new risks to the safety and security of the American people.

“Our hearing today is about minimizing the risk of misuse to protect national security, while also maintaining public support of AI’s ability to assist with miraculous things—like finding life-saving cures for diseases.

“For decades, the United States has led the world in biotechnology. But what was once confined to specialized labs with highly trained scientists is now increasingly accessible far beyond traditional boundaries. Synthetic biology tools have become less expensive and more widely available. For example, a basic CRISPR gene-editing kit can be purchased online for under $300.

“Advanced AI systems—like large language models, or LLMs, and biological design tools capable of generating, troubleshooting, and optimizing biological designs—are moving faster than our existing oversight frameworks were built to anticipate.

“In recent years, studies have shown that cutting-edge AI models can walk users step-by-step through complex biological processes, including those relevant to developing or modifying dangerous pathogens. These tools can assist experts in breakthrough research, but they may also enable individuals with far less training to bypass barriers that once protected against accidental or intentional misuse. Some LLMs have even been shown to outperform PhD-level virologists on advanced troubleshooting tasks.

“There is also early evidence that AI systems can design entirely new biological entities. A recent study demonstrated that an AI model generated multiple synthetic viruses—some with capabilities that researchers previously believed were impossible.

“As a physician, I must acknowledge the extraordinary promise that AI-enabled biotechnology holds for patient care. AI is accelerating drug discovery, improving protein modeling, and enabling the development of therapies with unprecedented precision.

“But the same technological advancements can also raise the stakes for biosecurity. These risks are not theoretical. National security experts warn that adversarial nations—including China, North Korea, Iran, Russia, and others—may seek to exploit AI-enabled biological design tools for malicious purposes. We must take those warnings seriously.

“AI-enabled biotechnology presents issues that our current frameworks may not adequately account for. Existing government oversight systems—such as the Dual Use Research of Concern (DURC) policy—may not apply when an AI-designed organism is not identified as a Select Agent, not known to infect humans, or not developed with federal funds.

“The Trump administration has taken steps to keep up with such advancements, but the federal government must continue to carefully assess whether our current safeguards and reporting systems are adequate in an era of rapidly advancing AI technology.

“I want to thank our witnesses for being here today. Your expertise will help guide Congress as we confront this challenge.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Marking a milestone in delivering affordable coverage to the American people, Members of House Republican Leadership, Committee Chairmen Brett Guthrie (KY-02), Jason Smith (MO-08), and Tim Walberg (MI-05), join Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks (IA-01) in applauding the passage of her bill, H.R. 6703, the Lower Health Care Premiums for All Americans Act.

Quote Attributable to Speaker Johnson, Majority Leader Scalise, Majority Whip Emmer, Conference Chairwoman McClain, and Congresswoman Miller-Meeks:

“Today, every House Republican voted to lower health care costs for all Americans. Every House Democrat voted against it. After months of empty ‘affordability’ rhetoric and forcing the longest government shutdown in American history, Democrats once again rejected a valuable, common-sense solution to address the unaffordability they created with their own health insurance law – the Unaffordable Care Act.

“House Republicans are taking meaningful action to fix what Democrats broke. For too long, Democrats have forced hardworking American taxpayers to bail out big health insurance companies for hundreds of billions of dollars. Meanwhile, Americans are left paying for increasingly expensive care with fewer choices, lower quality, and worse health outcomes. They broke America’s health care system and with today’s vote, Democrats have abandoned a critical opportunity to fix their own failed law.

“The Lower Health Care Premiums for All Americans Act puts patients first. It does exactly what its title promises and more: lowers premium costs, expands access to affordable, quality care, gives every American more options and flexibility to choose coverage that is best for their needs, and brings greater transparency to the health care system. It delivers twice the cost reduction of the Democrats’ temporary, COVID-era enhanced subsidies and brings those costs down for ALL Americans – not just some. House Republicans are working to fix what is broken, restore integrity in our nation’s health care system, and lower the cost of health care for every citizen.”

Quote Attributable to Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Guthrie, Ways and Means Committee Chairman Smith, and Education and Workforce Committee Chairman Walberg:

“By passing the Lower Health Care Premiums for All Americans Act, the House is putting the wellbeing of all American patients at the forefront of our health care system. This is the product of our longstanding effort to make health insurance affordable for the American people. Families and small businesses benefit from commonsense measures like funding cost sharing reductions, which would lower health care premiums by 11 percent, while expanding choices for American patients, and bringing transparency to how pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) operate.

“Republicans reject the waste, fraud, and abuse in Obamacare and know that Democrats’ temporary COVID-era subsidies aren’t a long-term answer. Americans would be worse off with Democrats’ plot to subsidize very high-income earners and to stuff big health insurance companies’ pockets with an additional $400 billion.

“Republicans are empowering patients while Democrats seek simply to write larger and larger checks to big insurance companies. Providing access to quality care at affordable prices begins with the Lower Health Care Premiums for All Americans Act. Democrats must stop rejecting solutions merely because they are Republican ones and should work with us to lower the cost of care for all Americans.”

Background on the Lower Health Care Premiums for All Americans Act:

• H.R. 6703, the Lower Health Care Premiums for All Americans Act, sponsored by Rep. Miller-Meeks (IA-01), would establish new rules for association health plans, modify requirements for individual and group health coverage, require contracts between plan sponsors and PBMs to meet certain standards, and appropriate funding for reductions in cost sharing.
• The Congressional Budget office (CBO) and the Joint Committee on Taxation estimate that enacting the bill would reduce the deficit by $35.6 billion over the 2026-2035 period.
• CBO also estimates that enacting the bill would reduce gross benchmark premiums by 11 percent, on average, through 2035.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Brett Guthrie (KY-02), Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, delivered remarks on the House floor regarding H.R. 6703, the Lower Health Care Premiums for All Americans Act, legislation that establishes new rules for association health plans, modifies requirements for individual and group health coverage, requires contracts between plan sponsors and PBMs to meet certain standards, and appropriates funding for reductions in cost sharing.

Chairman Guthrie’s remarks on H.R. 6703, the Lower Health Care Premiums for All Americans Act, as prepared for delivery:

“I rise today in strong support of H.R. 6703, the Lower Health Care Premiums for All Americans Act.

“When the Democrats passed Obamacare over a decade ago, they sold the bill on the promise that it would lower health care costs and preserve plan options.

“‘If you like your plan, you can keep it. If you like your doctor, you can keep them.’

“These famous last words still haunt us.

“Today, we know that Obamacare has not lived up to Democrats’ lofty promises; instead, the consequences of that bill continue to burden American patients as they have since its enactment.

“Health care spending has nearly doubled since Obamacare passed. Health plan options have been decimated by Democratic overreach, and millions of Americans are saddled with medical debt across the country.

“Obamacare premiums are up 80 percent since the program’s inception, with patients paying on average $5,000 out of their own pocket to hit their deductible, and the average out of pocket spending maximum for one year is over $20,000!

“Without a doubt, Obamacare has proven to be unaffordable and unsustainable.

“In an attempt to respond to the affordability crisis created by Obamacare, Democrats leveraged a public health emergency to shovel hundreds of billions of dollars to big health insurance plans to mask the rising unaffordability of coverage.

“First in the American Rescue plan of 2021, and then again in the Inflation Reduction Act of 2023, Democrats sent temporary taxpayer funded ‘enhanced’ premium tax credits directly to the coffers of big health insurance plans.

“They did this without a single Republican vote of support.

“On both occasions, Democrats chose to make these COVID Credits temporary. They could have made them permanent, but they chose instead to focus on advancing priorities for wealthy Americans to buy subsidized EVs and for politically connected cronies to siphon federal dollars out of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction slush Fund.

“Now, Democrats are uniting behind a policy to send billions more taxpayer dollars to big health insurance plans.

“With the Democrats’ temporary COVID Credits set to expire at the end of the year, they are attempting to turn their policy failures into political gains—using the American people as collateral.

“It is worth reiterating – Democrats funded temporary band aids to cover up unaffordable care, they set the expiration dates, and they chose to fund liberal priorities instead of making them permanent.

“While Democrats continue to fearmonger, I wanted to shed light on what Republicans are doing to fix the Democrats’ affordability crisis, with policies that deliver real, lasting relief to the American people.

“This includes:

• Eliminating health plan gimmicks like silver loading, which will lower ACA premiums by 11 percent;
• Increasing transparency for pharmacy benefit manager middlemen and lowering drug costs for all Americans; and
• Increasing affordable plan choices and putting patients back in the driver’s seat for their own health care choices by instituting Association Health Plans, CHOICE Arrangements, and stop-loss insurance.

“This proposal results in more than double the premium reduction than the Democrats’ extension of the enhanced COVID subsidies. The Congressional Budget Office estimates the Republican plan before us will lower premiums by 11 percent, compared to just 5 percent from continuing the Democrats’ subsidies.

“These policies will also lower health care costs for all Americans, not just the roughly-seven percent of Americans enrolled in Obamacare.

“And many of these policies are bipartisan! Ending silver loading, addressing nefarious PBM practices, and strengthening the employer insurance marketplace have all garnered broad bipartisan support.

“I hope we can overlook the politics that are clouding the issue, come together to pass this bill, and continue work together into 2026 to deliver more affordable health care to all Americans.”