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

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.

Environment

13 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

11 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

4 Updates

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

Subcommittees News & Announcements

May 20, 2026

Press Release

Chairman Guthrie Touts House Passage of Lulu’s Law

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Brett Guthrie (KY-02), Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, issued a statement following the House passage of S. 1003, Lulu’s Law.

“In moments of crisis, strong public safety communications save lives. In honor of Lulu Gribbin of Alabama, the House passed Lulu’s Law to clarify the FCC’s ability to facilitate emergency alerts in the event of a shark attack, so that all families can be better protected,” said Chairman Guthrie. “I am especially grateful for the work of Representative Palmer for his work to honor Lulu’s efforts and enhance public safety.”

BACKGROUND:

S. 1003/H.R. 2076, Lulu’s Law, requires the Federal Communications Commission to issue an order providing that a shark attack is an event for which a wireless emergency alert may be transmitted, and for other purposes.

May 20, 2026

Chairman Griffith Delivers Opening Statement at Health Subcommittee Hearing to Examine Medicare Physician Fee Schedule and MACRA

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

“Today’s hearing will examine reforms that could be made to Medicare physician payment and policies enacted in the Medicare Access and Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act, commonly known as MACRA, to incentivize value-based care.

“Physicians, nurses, and other health care providers are critical to our health care system, and their work remains essential to ensuring patients have access to timely, high-quality care in every community.

“Our discussion today builds on the Affordability Series that we have been working on throughout the year and will give us the opportunity to better understand how provider payment challenges can impact health care affordability.

“MACRA, was enacted into law in 2015 with overwhelming bipartisan support.

“This Committee and Subcommittee, under the leadership of Dr. Michael Burgess, worked diligently on furthering that policy.

“MACRA marked a significant shift in Medicare physician payment, aiming to modernize the program and improve its long-term sustainability.

“It was intended to move physician reimbursement away from a traditional fee-for-service structure, which often rewards volume of services provided, toward a model that incentivizes high-quality, value-based patient care.

“MACRA permanently repealed the Sustainable Growth Rate, or SGR, that had been used to calculate provider reimbursement under the physician fee schedule. This was intended to bring better stability to physician payment updates.

“The other core component of MACRA was the Quality Payment Program, which established the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System, or MIPS, and incentivized participation in Alternative Payment Models, or APMs.

“Under MIPS, providers participate in a performance-based payment system where reimbursement is tied to their performance based on certain quality reporting measures.

“On the other hand, APMs enable physicians to participate in risk-based care models that reward providers through financial incentives, such as bonus payments, for meeting specific quality and cost benchmarks.

“It is important we look for ways to make improvements and strengthen this landmark legislation, as we have heard from various health systems and providers that the current structure presents several reporting challenges under MIPS.

“Shifting quality measures, administrative burdens, and uncertainty around scoring has not only slowed adoption of MACRA’s quality payment programs, but it has also led to additional levels of complexity and increased costs that are especially concerning for smaller, independent, and rural providers.

“We hear too often about the costs and infrastructure needed to comply with reporting requirements.

“This often makes meaningful participation in the payment models unrealistic and financially unviable in many cases, as many of these smaller practices do not have the administrative staff, technical resources, or financial ability needed to meet the reporting demands.

“At the same time, we have also heard concerns regarding the underlying Medicare physician fee schedule and long-term payment stability.

“Many physicians have expressed concerns that annual payment updates are not keeping up with inflation, leading to rising practice costs, longer patient wait times, and overall strain on the provider workforce.

“Relatedly, these physicians have also noted that the fee schedule’s budget neutrality requirement has placed additional pressure on reimbursement for certain procedures and often pits specialties against one another.

“It is critical that we continue to work to balance fair and adequate compensation for physicians and other health care providers to maintain access to high quality care and promote patient choice.

“This is also critical to the viability of independent physician practices, as further consolidation risks increased costs for patients, the federal government, and also disincentivizes individuals from entering the physician workforce.

“Congress has provided temporary patches to physician payments with another payment bump expiring at the end of the year.

“We need to look for opportunities that address these long-standing issues and level the playing field while we continue work to move patients into innovative care delivery models.

“Maintaining a stable and sustainable physician payment system is important not only for supporting providers, but also for preserving competition, affordability, and access to care for patients.

“I am excited to have our witnesses before us this afternoon, and I look forward to the discussion.”

May 20, 2026

Oversight & Investigations

O&I Subcommittee Holds Hearing on Potomac Interceptor Collapse

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman John Joyce, M.D. (PA-13), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, led a hearing titled Corrosion, Collapse, and Clean-Up: Examining the Potomac Interceptor Collapse.

“The collapse, which occurred on January 19, resulted in hundreds of gallons of untreated sewage overflowing onto nearby land and down to the Potomac River. This incident raises serious concerns about the resilience of critical wastewater infrastructure, and the impact that collapses or breaks like this can have on our communities, including on safe drinking water, public health, the environment, and local businesses,” said Chairman Joyce. “The Potomac Interceptor is a vital component of the region’s critical wastewater infrastructure. When it failed, it caused over 240 million gallons of wastewater to overflow into the Potomac River, threatening water quality, ecosystems, and the health of surrounding communities that rely on this river for recreation, fish and shellfish harvesting, and safe drinking water once treated.”

Watch the full hearing here.

Below are key excerpts from today’s hearing:

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Congresswoman Diana Harshbarger (TN-01): “Assistant Administrator Kramer, how did the issuance of an emergency declaration allow for increased access to resources and a more expedited cleanup process?”
Assistant Administrator Kramer: “On the resources front, it allowed for additional deployment under FEMA's standard process — the mission assignments, scope of work, funding, and the 75/25 cost share split. In terms of what it allowed us to do on site, it enabled us to undertake remediation actions concurrently with the emergency repair of the collapse. Had there not been access to federal resources — both dollars and people — the cleanup was projected to proceed sequentially rather than concurrently. So we were able to move much more quickly.”

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Congressman Troy Balderson (OH-12): “Your testimony also notes that the Great Falls intake site was able to provide all the necessary raw water required to meet water demand at the time of the incident, which was approximately 130 million gallons a day. If a break or wastewater overflow happened upstream from the two intake sites and the intakes needed to be closed throughout the response effort, how much water storage capacity do we have? And how long would it be able to supply the region with its water needs — such as drinking water and fire suppression — for D.C., Arlington, and Fairfax, with both intake sites closed?”
Col. Pera: “Vice Chairman Balderson, when we talk about the secondary approach that Ranking Member Clarke brought up, that added about 54 acre-feet of storage capacity. We're at about 47 acre-feet right now in our reservoir. So we're estimating close to that same 12 hours that we would be getting with that additional expansion of the reservoir — about 12 hours right now. There are some control measures that you can put in through strategic communication — asking the public to hold off on water use — that we can do through our platforms. But right now, it's about 12 hours.”

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Congressman Gary Palmer (AL-06): “Trying to avoid any culpability or any appearance of incompetence is not what this is about. It's about making sure this doesn't happen again. This is an ecological and environmental disaster because you didn't execute the contract in a timely manner to have someone on site with the ability to mitigate a collapse or a breach. And that really bothers me. What I'm trying to find out is why the contract wasn't executed and why this was allowed to happen. There are failures across the board. The Park Service, the Corps of Engineers — they all should have been informed when the inspection showed certain sections of the line were in imminent possibility of breach or collapse. This should have been a total team effort. The one thing you did right, in my opinion, was that your engineer gave a report to the board or members of the board, and they approved an emergency contract. The one thing you really failed on was executing the contract. And I'm not done with this. I'm going to continue to look into this, because this is not a red or blue issue. This is not liberal or conservative. It's about taking care of people.”

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Congressman John Joyce, M.D. (PA-13): “How confident are you that another collapse like this will not occur?”
Mr. Gaddis: “Congressman, I think that's sort of a hypothetical, and I—”
Congressman Joyce: “That's what I'm asking you — a hypothetical. With the information you have, with the drones you've utilized, with everything from your investigation, how can we tell the public that another imminent situation like January 19th won't be occurring soon?
Mr. Gaddis: “We're hopeful that we do not have another break like this one, and that is why we're doing all the things we're doing right now. But there are no guarantees when dealing with aging infrastructure.”

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Subcommittees News & Announcements

Chairman Guthrie Touts House Passage of Lulu’s Law

Chairman Griffith Delivers Opening Statement at Health Subcommittee Hearing to Examine Medicare Physician Fee Schedule and MACRA

O&I Subcommittee Holds Hearing on Potomac Interceptor Collapse