WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, led by Chairman Brett Guthrie (KY-02), reported eight pieces of legislation to the full House of Representatives. “As people, as a Committee, and as a Congress, there are few things that are more essential than our responsibility to protect our nation’s children,” said Chairman Guthrie. “We are taking the meaningful steps forward to empower parents and protect children and teens online. We owe it to parents. We owe it to communities. And most importantly, we owe it to the kids who are counting on us to get this right.” “Empowering parents to better protect their children—especially amid the near-constant barrage of digital threats—remains one of our most solemn and important responsibilities,” said Rep. Bilirakis. “Today, we took meaningful action to advance that mission by moving forward several key measures, including the Kids Online Safety Act, designed to strengthen safeguards and increase transparency in the online space. I remain steadfast in my commitment to ensuring that children can safely navigate the digital world, while holding technology companies accountable for the platforms they operate. Protecting our kids must always come before protecting corporate profits.” Legislative Vote Summary: H.R. 7757 , Kids Internet and Digital Safety (KIDS) Act, was reported to the full House as amended by a roll call vote of 28 yeas – 24 nays. H.R. 2657 , Sammy’s Law was reported to the full House as amended by a roll call vote of 36 yeas – 16 nays. H.R. 3149 , App Store Accountability Act was reported to the full House as emended by a roll call vote of 26 yeas – 23 nays. H.R. 7258 , Energy Emergency Leadership Act was reported to the full House by a roll call vote of 50 yeas – 0 nays. H.R. 7266 , Rural and Municipal Utility Cybersecurity Act was reported to the full House by a roll call vote of 49 yeas – 0 nays. H.R. 7257 , Securing Community Upgrades for a Resilient Grid (SECURE Grid) Act was reported to the full House as amended by a roll call vote of 47 yeas – 0 nays. H.R. 7272 , Pipeline Cybersecurity Preparedness Act was reported to the full House by a roll call vote of 48 yeas – 0 nays. H.R. 7305 , Energy Threat Analysis Center Act of 2026 was reported to the full House as amended by a roll call vote of 47 yeas – 0 nays. Watch the full markup here . Below are key excerpts from today’s markup: Congressman Buddy Carter (GA-01) on H.R. 2657, Sammy’s Law: “This is absolutely necessary because the harms that our children are confronting on social media are severe, and our children simply do not yet have the development skills to protect themselves alone. If this bill helps even one family avoid what happened to Sammy Chapman, then it will be worth it. As the proud grandfather of eight beautiful grandkids, I want to know that their parents and all other parents across the country have the best safety tools possible when protecting their innocent loved ones. What happened to Sammy is a travesty that no parent should experience, and we can prevent it today by passing this bill.” Congressman John James (MI-10) on H.R. 3149, the App Store Accountability Act: “The App Store Accountability Act holds big tech companies to the same standard as local corner stores. It protects the next generation by empowering parents and making clear that when it comes to safeguarding children, no one gets a free pass. How many studies, how many congressional hearings do we need to know the status quo is broken? How many heartbreaking stories do we need to hear from parents? So many of us on this committee are parents ourselves. We see with our own eyes the threat that Big Tech poses to children every single day. Our nation's children deserve better, and we will act.” Congresswoman Erin Houchin (IN-09) on H.R. 6489, the SAFE BOTs Act: “We're in the middle of a chatbot revolution. Children are on the front lines. Kids today aren't just scrolling feeds, they're forming emotional bonds with AI companions that simulate empathy, mimic authority figures, and are available at any hour. And in too many cases, those kids don't even know they're talking to software. We saw a tragic illustration of this when a 14-year-old lost his life after months of conversations with a chatbot that validated his most troubling thoughts, rather than routing him to real help, that can't be the norm. The SAFE BOTs Act creates common sense, baseline guardrails. It prohibits AI from impersonating licensed professionals. It requires age-appropriate disclosure, so minors always know they're talking to an AI, not a human. It mandates that platforms provide a crisis hotline when a minor raises self-harm or suicide, it requires reasonable take-a-break prompts after extended interactions, and directs the NIH to study long-term mental health effects of chatbots on minors.” Congressman Gabe Evans (CO-08) on H.R. 7305, the Energy Threat Analysis Center Act of 2026: “The Energy Threat Analysis Center plays an essential role in safeguarding critical infrastructure that ensures economic growth and national security. It brings together the Department of Energy, national labs, and private sector utilities, and provides early threat detection and coordinated analysis of threats to our energy generation and transmission networks. Colorado's own National Lab of the Rockies, hosts ITAC and is leading the way in this vital work, which protects our infrastructure's reliability, security, and ultimately, affordability. We know that terrorism and sophisticated cyber threats are on the rise, and this mission is not abstract, it's urgent. I'm especially proud this bill passed the subcommittee unanimously, which is a clear sign that protecting our nation's energy systems is a shared priority.”
