Subcommittees

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Brett Guthrie (KY-02), Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, delivered the following opening statement at today’s Committee on Rules hearing on H.R. 498, the Do No Harm in Medicaid Act.

Chairman Guthrie’s opening statement as prepared for delivery:

“Thank you, Chairwoman Foxx and Ranking Member McGovern for inviting me to testify today.

“House Republicans, and especially my colleagues on the Energy and Commerce Committee, have been focused on rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse in the Medicaid program this year already through the Working Families Tax Cuts Act.

“Our work to this point has been driven by the desire to create a sustainable financial future for the Medicaid program and to strengthen, secure, and sustain it for those who are truly among the most vulnerable populations: expectant mothers, their children, low-income seniors, and individuals with disabilities.

“Even with all of the important work we have accomplished this Congress, there is still more to be done.

“Americans work hard to make a living, and it’s our obligation as members of Congress to ensure taxpayer dollars are used to support care that is truly necessary in improving the health of Americans.

“H.R. 498, the Do No Harm in Medicaid Act, prohibits federal Medicaid dollars from going toward specified gender transition procedures for individuals under the age of 18.

“While CBO estimates that this bill would save taxpayers $445 million over a decade, I want to make it abundantly clear that this legislation does not prevent minors from accessing medical care that they truly need.

“It simply prohibits the use of federal Medicaid funding on specified gender transition procedures that are medically unnecessary.

“This legislation builds upon our work done in the Working Families Tax Cuts Act to create a more sustainable financial future for Medicaid and preserve the program for those who truly need it.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Richard Hudson (NC-09), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, delivered the following opening statement at today’s hearing titled Legislative Improvements to Public Safety Communications in the United States.

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

“Good morning, and welcome to today’s legislative hearing on public safety communications in the United States. I’m glad we were able to convene this hearing in a bipartisan manner, and we have several bipartisan bills in front of us today.

“I am looking forward to hearing from our witnesses about how these bills will improve communications for public safety and give first responders additional tools to do their jobs so they can best serve our communities.

“This hearing will be the next step in advancing the important legislation before us. In September we held a hearing examining the broad state of public safety communications. Now, we’re looking at legislative improvements to that space.

“Important things like upgrading our 911 call centers, improvements to our wireless emergency alerting, and improvements to our outage reporting are crucial improvements that we now can look at through a legislative lens.

“Alongside my friend Representative Carter from Louisiana, I recently introduced the Next Generation 911 Act. This legislation would establish a grant program at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, or NTIA, for Next Generation 911 technology. It would also establish a nationwide Next Generation 911 Cybersecurity Center and a Next Generation 911 Advisory Board.

“Upgrading our nation’s call centers to NG911 technology is crucial for public safety. This internet protocol-based system will open the door for advanced tools for both the public and our first responders to use.

“Further, this legislation will enable deployment nationwide. A patchwork of call centers that still have aging, outdated legacy systems risks a communications landscape that is uneven and non-interoperable. I have been a long-time supporter of NG911 deployment nationwide and I am proud to lead this legislation to do so.

“We have a few bills before us that look to improve our wireless emergency alerts, or WEAs. Wireless alerts to mobile phones can be powerful tools to quickly and directly disseminate warnings of dangerous weather, threats to public safety, national emergencies, and even missing children. However, these alerts can only be received if a phone is in range of traditional cell service. As we see mobile carriers moving toward innovative technologies like satellite direct-to-device connections, it is worth exploring how this technology can be used as another tool for public safety communications like WEAs when outside of a terrestrial cell service network.

“Our public safety and law enforcement officers put their lives on the line every day to help us in our times of need, and we must make sure they have the best tools to do their jobs.

“Today, we will hear from our witnesses about the legislative improvements to public safety communications before us and how these bills can make our country a safer place.

“I look forward to hearing from the witnesses today about these issues and how Congress can stand ready as a partner.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Brett Guthrie (KY-02), Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, delivered the following opening statement at today’s Committee on Rules hearing on H.R. 6703, the Lower Health Care Premiums for All Americans Act.

Chairman Guthrie’s opening statement as prepared for delivery:

“Thank you, Chairwoman Foxx and Ranking Member McGovern for inviting me to testify today.

“Sixteen years ago, Democrats passed Obamacare and fundamentally changed how health care is offered in the United States. Democrats sold the bill by promising the American people that Obamacare would reduce health care costs, preserve plan choice, and lower premiums for the American people.

“However, here we are, a decade and a half later and it is obvious that the Democrats’ promises have not proven true. Health care spending has only increased, plan options have been depleted, and the American people are being crushed by the unaffordability of the one-size-fits-all, government-first approach Obamacare codified.

“Since its passage, health care premiums in the Obamacare marketplace have increased by 80 percent, deductibles are now on average $5,000, and the average out of pocket maximum sits at over $20,000. All the while, Obamacare policies redirected trillions in taxpayer dollars to big health insurance plans.

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

“Seizing the opportunity of COVID-19, Democrats passed temporary ‘enhanced’ taxpayer-funded subsidies that go to big health insurance plans. These temporary COVID Credits were designed to mask the unaffordability of Obamacare, and they were passed not once, but twice, without a single Republican vote of support.

“Democrats have now argued that these additional subsidies should be permanent, but let’s not forget how we got here. It was Democrats that set up these credits to expire at the end of this year.

“When they were in charge, they chose not to make them permanent. If these subsidies are as essential as the rhetoric today would suggest, why would they choose to allow them to expire?

“In that same legislation, again passed with only Democrat votes, they chose to prioritize tax credits for the wealthy to buy electric vehicles and sent $27 billion dollars to Democrats’ politically connected friends through the Greenhouse Gas Reduction slush Fund (including $2 billion to a group that only had $100 in previous revenue), instead of making these enhanced tax credits permanent.

“Since the Democrats created these temporary COVID Credits we’ve seen an explosion of waste, fraud, and abuse that has exacerbated a major affordability crisis and hurt millions of Americans across the country.

“How have Democrats responded to this? By shifting the blame of their own failed policies onto Republicans, attempting to force legislation that would continue to send hundreds of billions straight to the coffers of big health insurance plans, and turning a blind eye to the growing evidence of widespread Obamacare fraud.

“They would rather put a Band-Aid on rising health care costs, masking their true impact on American families, rather than focus on policies to actually address the issue.

“The most frustrating part about this is that health care affordability is a real issue impacting all Americans, and in the past, Republicans and Democrats have worked together to pass policies that would have a real impact on lowering costs for everyone.

“Instead of working to pass policies that would implement real, lasting solutions to lower health care costs for all Americans, Democrats have chosen the partisan path in an attempt to turn their own Obamacare policy failures into political points.

“I am proud of the policies that Republicans have worked on as a part of the Lowering Health Care Costs for All Americans Act because they do exactly what the title of the bill says: advance real policies that lower costs for all Americans.

“The bill includes bipartisan policies that would finally take the first steps to hold drug industry middlemen, pharmacy benefit managers, accountable to their own customers: the American people. Policies in the Lowering Health Care Costs for All Americans Act would shine a light on nefarious practices perpetrated by these middlemen and lower drug costs for all Americans.

“The Lower Health Care Costs for All Americans Act would also finally appropriate funds for Cost Sharing Reductions. This policy would reduce ACA premiums by 11 percent – an even greater savings than extending the Democrats’ temporary COVID Credits. Funding CSRs has also enjoyed broad bipartisan support in the past, and it is a policy that was previously endorsed by my friends Ranking Member Pallone, Ranking Member Neal, and Ranking Member McGovern.

“I hope that we can work across the aisle to support this commonsense bill that would—without a doubt—increase health care affordability for all Americans.

“I also hope that, in 2026, Democrats will choose to rise above the politics and work with Republicans to advance real policy solutions that build on provisions included in the Lower Health Care Costs for All Americans Act to make health care even more affordable for the American people.”