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Watchdogs from Commerce Dept, EPA, DOE, and GAO to Testify Washington, D.C. — House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) and Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations Chair Morgan Griffith (R-VA) today announced a subcommittee hearing to examine the Biden administration’s massive spending spree through the “ Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act,” the “CHIPS and Science Act,” and the so-called “Inflation Reduction Act.” The subcommittee will hear from the Inspectors General of the Department of Commerce, Environmental Protection Agency, and Department of Energy, as well as an official from the Government Accountability Office. These “watchdogs” are tasked with ensuring federal government agencies are accountable to the American people and comply with the law—as it was by written by Congress. "President Biden’s massive spending has led to record levels of inflation, which is hitting Americans hard at the pump, in the grocery store, and almost everywhere they turn. Worse, this administration is prioritizing projects that weaken our energy security, increase our dependency on foreign adversaries, and recklessly reward their political allies to the detriment of the American people’s interests. As part of our oversight efforts to eliminate government waste, fraud, and abuse, this hearing will give our committee a chance to hold the administration accountable.”  NOTE : Earlier this month, the Committee requested a full accounting of spending from the Biden administration, including Department of Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm. The Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations hearing is titled “Follow the Money: Oversight of President Biden's Massive Spending Spree.” WHAT : A subcommittee hearing to conduct oversight of President Biden’s massive spending spree. DATE : Wednesday, March 29, 2023 TIME : 2:00 PM or 30 minutes after the conclusion of the Subcommittee Health hearing, whichever is later. LOCATION : 2123 Rayburn House Office Building WITNESSES : Peggy Gustafson , Inspector General, Department of Commerce Sean O’Donnell , Inspector General, Environmental Protection Agency Teri Donaldson , Inspector General, Department of Energy Mark Gaffigan , Managing Director, Natural Resources and Environment, Government Accountability Office This notice is at the direction of the Chair. The hearing will be open to the public and press and will be live streamed online at https://energycommerce.house.gov/ . If you have any questions concerning the hearing, please contact Lauren Eriksen with the Committee staff at Lauren.Eriksen@mail.house.gov . If you have any press-related questions, please contact Christopher Krepich at Christopher.Krepich@mail.house.gov .

Washington, D.C. — House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy Rodgers (R-WA) delivered opening remarks at today’s joint Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee and Health Subcommittee field hearing: “President Biden's Border Crisis Is A Public Health Crisis.” Excerpts and highlights below: JUST ONE PILL CAN KILL “President Biden’s open-borders agenda is putting Americans across this country at risk every day, turning every town into a border town. “More people than ever are dying from fentanyl poisonings, most heart wrenching is that fentanyl is an attack on the young generation. “It’s the leading cause of death for Americans between the ages of 18 and 45. “Just last month in my district, law enforcement from the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and Spokane Police Department seized 35 pounds of meth and about 50 thousand fake pills believed to be laced with fentanyl. “It takes just one pill to kill. “That was Molly Cain’s message to us when she testified before our committee a few weeks ago. “She is pleading for action and for justice for her son Carson. “He should be alive today but one pill he purchased off Snapchat killed him instantly. “No parent should have to feel Molly’s pain.” FENTANYL SURGING ACROSS THE BORDER “Most illicit fentanyl and fentanyl analogues being smuggled across the border are being produced by cartels in Mexico—with precursor ingredients sourced from China. “Criminals and drug dealers are selling these deadly substances in communities and are killing a record number of Americans—71,000 in 2021. “Nearly two-thirds of drug overdose deaths in the United States in 2021 involved synthetic opioids. “So far in 2023, DEA has seized 4.5 million fake pills laced with fentanyl and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has seized more than 1400 pounds of fentanyl. “And this is just the amount that has been seized – how much is being missed? “The U.S. - Mexico border is close to two thousand miles long. How many pounds of fentanyl are coming across the areas that are scarcely monitored between ports of entry?” SOLUTIONS TO SAVE LIVES “That is why we need to secure the southern border and stem the flow of these weapons-grade poisons. “The Biden administration is set to do the opposite and create more chaos if the President ends the Title 42 protections. “That cannot happen. “Republicans are offering alternatives to keep people safe and save lives. “For example, Rep. Lesko has legislation to update Title 42 so it can be used in the case of situations we see with the fentanyl crisis. “We also must pass the HALT Fentanyl Act, led by Representatives Griffith and Latta, to permanently place fentanyl-related substances into Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act. “This will ensure that our law enforcement officials have the tools they need to keep these poisons off our streets. “As DEA has told us, this permanent scheduling is a top priority.” PUBLIC HEALTH CRISIS “In addition to discussing the fentanyl crisis, we will examine today how the influx of migrants is straining hospital capacity and making it harder to treat patients. “Yuma Regional Medical Center in Arizona has had to delay care for patients because of the surge in migrants. “They’ve had to hire additional staff to keep up with the demand. “El Paso, Texas, declared a state of emergency. The mayor said hundreds and hundreds of people are living in unsafe conditions because of the migrant surge. “These challenges created by President Biden’s open border agenda have only been made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic and work force shortages from his authoritarian vaccine mandates. “The status quo is unworkable, and it is harming patient care. “I look forward to from the witnesses here on the ground who are on the frontlines of President Biden’s border crisis. “We want to know what more we can be doing for a more secure future and to help keep your communities safe.”

Washington, D.C. —  Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations Chair Morgan Griffith (R-VA) delivered the following opening remarks during today’s joint Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee and Health Subcommittee field hearing titled “President Biden's Border Crisis Is a Public Health Crisis.”  Excerpts and highlights below: THE BRUTAL CONDITIONS AT THE BORDER “It is important we convene here in Texas to shed light on the brutal and unsustainable conditions this President’s administration has caused at our border. “No other country in the world operates its borders in the manner this administration has chosen. “According to a recent January 2023 Pew Research report, ‘Monthly encounters between U.S. Border Patrol agents and migrants attempting to cross into the United States at the U.S.-Mexico border remain at levels not seen in more than two decades.’ “There were more than 206,000 reported encounters in November 2022, according to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection. “For context, the highest number of reported encounters in the previous administration was 132,856.” FENTANYL FLOODING INTO AMERICA “The flood of migrants takes our Customs and Border Protection agents away from stopping the cartels and narcotics from being trafficked into our country. Substances such as fentanyl and fentanyl analogues are killing Americans on a daily basis. “In 2022 alone, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency seized over 379 million doses of fentanyl, which is enough to kill every American. “We must pass the HALT Fentanyl Act, that I have championed along with Representative [Bob] Latta. This bill would permanently schedule fentanyl analogues as Schedule I.” PROTECTING VULNERABLE UNACCOMPANIED CHILDREN “As one McAllen, Texas border patrol representative told reporters at Fox News: ‘We joined to stop all those statistics, the fentanyl, the rapists, the murderers, the molesters, and those people are still out there... If I'm over here with 100 women and kids... that's going to take hours of my time, and my partner's time.’ “While that is understandable, after all, we want to help these vulnerable people. “We must also address other issues at our southern border. Among those is the release of unaccompanied children. “The HHS Office of Refugee Resettlement, or ORR, is responsible for overseeing and safeguarding the thousands of unaccompanied children coming across our border. “The administration’s apathy to securing the borders has caused the number of children the ORR is charged with looking after to skyrocket from 1,929 children in October 2020 to 20,339 children in April 2021. “I have had serious concerns about what ORR considers to be background checks. “In 2021, I visited the Emergency Intake operation at Fort Bliss, Texas, and was both shocked and disappointed at what I learned there. “There was no collaboration with law enforcement for background checks when vetting sponsors and the ‘public records check’ they were using were widely available internet search engines. “A September 2022 Inspector General study related to the operation at Fort Bliss solidified my concerns. “The study concluded case managers lacked sufficient child welfare training and were ineffective at reuniting children with parents/sponsors; one interviewee informed the Inspector General there was a ‘pervasive sense of despair’ among children at the facility who reportedly experienced distress, anxiety, and in some cases, panic attacks. “The Inspector General reported on instances of children physically harming themselves due to case manager negligence. “Additionally, the Inspector General’s report found that at Fort Bliss, ORR ‘eliminat[ed] critical safeguards from the sponsor screening process’ thereby ‘potentially increasing children’s risk of release to unsafe sponsors.’ “Further, the Inspector General found ORR supervisors had grown concerned that policy changes prioritized fast tracking release of unaccompanied children to sponsors quickly, rather than taking the steps to ‘vet sponsors and protect children from risks such as trafficking and exploitation.’ “Supervisors also reported that inexperienced ORR case managers ‘failed to consider children’s significant history of abuse and neglect or whether sex offenders resided in the potential sponsor’s household.’” BIDEN’S POLICIES LEAD TO MORE HUMAN TRAFFICKING “The administration’s border neglect is not limited to poisoning Americans and undercutting our border patrol agents, but the White House’s immigration policies are essentially printing billions of dollars for Mexican cartels, who have dramatically increased profits in their human trafficking business. “Homeland Security investigations estimates the human trafficking industry generates about $13 billion dollars today, up from $500 million in 2018. “According to border patrol sources ‘criminal organizations trafficking women, children, families, and single adults over the US-Mexico border earned as much as $14 million a day in February 2021.’ “The disastrous impacts to this country’s health as a result of this administration’s policies must stop. “This Committee will shed light on this national emergency, even if the White House continues to ignore it. “I appreciate the opportunity to hold this hearing tonight and looking forward to working towards solutions to solves these issues.”

Washington, D.C. —  House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy Rodgers (R-WA) delivered the following opening remarks at today’s full committee markup of Energy and Commerce’s Authorization and Oversight Plan for the 118th Congress. Excerpts and highlights below: RESTORING TRUST IN GOVERNMENT “Today, we are marking up the Energy and Commerce authorization and oversight plan for the 118th Congress. “This is a key part of our efforts on this committee to restore trust and confidence in representative government. “We have a responsibility to conduct oversight to get answers on behalf of those we serve and to ensure accountability so the government is responsive to the American people. “The government cannot betray the just powers consented to it by the governed. “For 227 years, the Energy and Commerce Committee has been on the forefront of the most important issues before us as a nation. “Millions of people are depending on us. “Unfortunately today, there is this overwhelming sense that government is making lives harder for people with more inflation, more spending, higher energy costs, higher medical bills, and more crime. “We have a lot of work to do to make people’s lives better and that is why our mark up today to pass this plan is so important.” GREATEST EXPERIMENT IN REPRESENTATIVE GOVERNMENT “Our oversight work will inform how we hold the Biden administration accountable, legislate, and plow the hard ground necessary to deliver results. “This shouldn’t be a partisan exercise. “We will do the hard work of reclaiming Congress’s Article I authority to reauthorize expired programs that are running on autopilot. “For years, I have warned that when Congress delegates its power, the people’s representatives become irrelevant and therefore, the people of this great nation become irrelevant to a growing bureaucracy that isn’t accountable to them. “It shouldn’t be this way. “Executive agencies cannot continue to be disconnected or hostile to their core mission to serve ‘We, the People.’ “Across the board, we have a lot of work to do. “Our robust oversight agenda is just the beginning. “As I said yesterday in our joint Oversight and Health Subcommittee hearing with President Biden’s public health officials, the American people deserve full accountability and transparency. Nothing less. “Let’s come together to make sure we meet our responsibilities that make America the greatest experiment in self-governance the world has ever known.”

Washington, D.C. — Subcommittee on Health Chair Brett Guthrie (R-KY) delivered the following opening remarks at today’s joint Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee and Health Subcommittee hearing titled “The Federal Response to COVID-19.” Excerpts and highlights below: ENDING THE PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY “A little over a week ago, President Biden said his administration would end the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency on May 11. “I’m glad the President formally announced he would end the PHE and relinquish his emergency powers. “However, after over two years into the Biden presidency, Congress and the American people have had little-to-no visibility into, nor input on, the administration’s pandemic response. “That changes today.” IMPORTANT QUESTIONS FOR PUBLIC HEALTH OFFICIALS “Today is the first of many opportunities for both members of these subcommittees, and by extension our constituents, to ask important questions about decisions made by our nation’s leading public health officials in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. “My hope is that this work leads to reforms that make us better prepared for pandemics and other public health security threats in the future. “To start, public trust in our public health institutions is at an all-time low. “This has been driven by the federal government’s misguided and inconsistent preparation for and response to the COVID-19 pandemic. “This was heightened by the confusing, sometimes conflicting, communication and guidance coming from our public health agencies. “In the earliest days of the pandemic, the CDC stumbled rolling out testing kits, the Food and Drug Administration took too long to authorize diagnostics, and the Strategic National Stockpile was ill-equipped with deficient and expired equipment. “Thankfully, Operation Warp Speed was able to cut through some of this red tape and bureaucracy to facilitate the rapid development of vaccines and therapies that help prevent serious illness and death from COVID-19 and put us on the road towards normalcy. “The pandemic also exposed how our public health agencies failed at their core functions to be good stewards of taxpayer dollars. “The National Institutes of Health (NIH) flouted HHS-wide rules on conducting proper oversight of potential pandemic pathogen research.” WE MUST HAVE STRICT FEDERAL OVERSIGHT OF RISKY RESEARCH “After living through COVID-19 – the origins of which still largely remain unknown – it is absolutely clear that we must require strict federal oversight of these risky research projects. “Speaking of COVID-19 origins – NIH’s refusal to acknowledge any suggestion that the COVID-19 virus may have originated in a lab only continues to fuel the controversy and questions around it. “To discover the truth and instill confidence back in our federal research programs – why not engage in a robust, honest, and transparent dialogue and investigation? Instead, federal officials worked with social media companies to censor those who offered a differing viewpoint, further fueling public distrust in our public health institutions. “Unfortunately, the Biden administration’s one-size-fits-all approach to the pandemic has only made our response even more challenging between inconsistent CDC COVID-19 guidance policies, testing challenges, and the FDA rationing of key therapeutics to name a few.” ACCOUNTABILITY FROM PUBLIC HEALTH AGENCIES “And these mistakes carry significant real-world consequences. “Kids and parents were left with limited options for in-person instruction because the nation’s largest teachers union offered line by line edits on reopening guidance. “This robbed our kids of the benefits of in-person instruction and has had devastating effects on kids struggling with anxiety and depression at unprecedented levels. “As members of this Committee, we also cannot permit mission creep at our public health agencies – we must ensure our federal partners are focused on their core mission of preventing, preparing for, and responding to public health security threats. “Luckily, we have a chance to address many of the systemic issues that hindered our federal response to the COVID-19 pandemic. “I look forward to working with my colleagues on this Subcommittee, as well as with the witnesses before us here today, to consider appropriate reforms as we work to reauthorize the Pandemics and All-Hazards Preparedness Act, or PAHPA, that will be led by our colleague, Mr. Hudson. “Doing so could make a difference between life and death for millions of Americans.”

Washington, D.C. —  Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations Chair Morgan Griffith (R-VA) delivered the following opening remarks at today’s joint Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee and Health Subcommittee hearing titled “The Federal Response to COVID-19.” Excerpts and highlights below: COVID-19'S IMPACTS ON AMERICANS “To date, more than 1 million Americans have died from COVID-19. On top of the loss of life, the pandemic brought our country to a standstill. “It cost our economy around $15 trillion dollars. That equates to more than 200,000 small businesses permanently closed due to the pandemic. “Schools were closed for far too long, setting children behind in learning and damaging their social, emotional, and, in many cases, physical well-being. “The nation is still recovering from the pandemic’s impact and the damage it caused. “Given these loses, it is appalling that the last time we had the heads of the public health agencies before us was March of 2021—almost two years ago. “We held a hearing last week with the Governmental Accountability Office and other experts in the field of pandemic and biological outbreaks where we discussed how being able to quickly identify the root cause of a disease outbreak or biological incident is crucial for a list of reasons ranging from countermeasure development to identifying what activities may have been responsible for the pathogen outbreak. “While the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic is likely behind us, there are a host of areas that we need to examine, including the actions taken—and not taken—by the federal government, as well as how we address future pandemic preparedness. “By all accounts, the risk of catastrophic biological incidents and infectious disease pandemics is increasing, so it is critical that we understand in detail the federal response. “Since the heads of these agencies have not appeared before us in quite some time, we have a lot of questions about the federal government’s response to COVID-19.” LACK OF RESPONSE TO QUESTIONS ON COVID “Further, many of the questions we have are due to a lack of response to Congressional inquiries regarding COVID-19. “One of the major concerns that has gone unanswered by the National Institute of Health is the lack of compliance and oversight into grant awards to EcoHealth Alliance. “There are a myriad of compliance issues surrounding EcoHealth and their sub-award grants to the Wuhan Institute of Virology, specifically for coronavirus research. “The NIH has been reluctant to answer our inquiries on issues such as EcoHealth withholding data, potentially double billing the federal government, and missing laboratory notebooks and electronic files that were supposed to be delivered to NIH by EcoHealth. “This process does not have to be confrontational. “Republican leaders have sent a similar letter to entities such as Boston University about an experiment involving a hybrid COVID virus that attracted press attention. “Boston University fully cooperated, sending a written response letter directly addressing the questions, producing about 2,000 pages of documents, and providing a briefing to bipartisan staff. “In contrast, the NIH has not provided a satisfactory or complete response. This is not acceptable. “Let me be clear, it is not acceptable to Stonewall any Member of Congress with oversight authority. Whether that member be a Democrat or a Republican. Whether Minority or Majority. “The people of America entrust us to find the answers and to provide oversight of the federal government.” NO RATIONALE BEHIND THE FORCED MASKING OF CHILDREN “Another one of the many issues that we hope to address today is the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and their rationale for masking and the closure and reopening of schools. “We now have the findings of a comprehensive review of multiple randomized controlled trials that show ‘no clear reduction in respiratory viral infection with the use of medical/surgical masks’ or with the use of N95 masks. “The conclusion of these studies makes me wonder what evidence there ever was justifying forced masking of children. “The members of these subcommittees also have questions about pathogen research being funded and conducted by federal agencies. “In the United States, we have recently seen high-risk research done to intentionally modify pathogens, such as NIH’s experiments to enhance monkeypox’s virulence. “As a final note, I hope that our witnesses are more forthcoming and cooperative going forward. “At the end of day, we need to work together. “The Committee’s majority is willing work with you and our Democratic colleagues constructively to deliver solutions and pave a path forward for America. “We want to work in common purpose for the national good, but we must be partners, you and your agencies must be transparent, responsive, and cooperative in order for us to be able to work together.”

Washington, D.C. —  House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy Rodgers (R-WA) delivered the following opening remarks at today’s joint Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee and Health Subcommittee hearing titled “The Federal Response to COVID-19.” Excerpts and highlights below: "The questions we’re asking today are the questions we hear from people in our communities everyday. "As the people’s elected representatives, we have a responsibility to conduct oversight. “President Biden’s public health leaders are here today because they have broken the American people’s trust.” THE NIH’S ABYSMAL COOPERATION “I’ll start with you, Dr. Tabak. “I was once a huge supporter of NIH. “The overall lack of responsiveness, the suppression of dissenting voices in the COVID origins investigation, and the frequent mixed messaging on health precautions – the NIH is falling far short of its goals of integrity and accountability. “For the past two years, we’ve pressed for answers about what kind of research you’re funding with taxpayer dollars and what sort of oversight you’re doing to ensure funds are not being misspent. “You cooperation has been abysmal.” THE CDC NEEDS ROBUST OVERSIGHT “Next, Director Walensky and the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention. “Your guidance was used by the federal government to justify mandates that have more parents questioning routine vaccination. “Your guidance influenced by the teachers unions kept schools closed. “Your guidance using unreliable studies was used to justify mask mandates on kids. “We know these weren’t decisions based on the best science and data from across the world. “Now, our children are paying the price. “Academically, they’ve been set back for years. “Emotionally, they are living through the most severe youth mental health crisis we’ve ever seen. “And physically, cases of type 2 diabetes and obesity in children has surged. “Director Walensky, the CDC does not need more authority, it needs robust oversight. “It has always operated without a Congressional authorization and that is going to change.” ACCOUNTABILITY AT THE FDA “Dr. Califf, the FDA has failed to alleviate concerns about the vaccine. “I’ll note that before imposing authoritarian vaccine mandates as president, candidate Biden made statements about the vaccine that did lasting damage. “But, top vaccine review officials, Marion Gruber and Phil Krause, left the FDA as the Biden administration was working to authorize boosters – doses which many people may not have needed. “Beyond the vaccine, FDA inspections of foreign sites are woefully lacking innovators can’t get the guidance they need to meet approval standards, and patients are the ones left without the innovation or supply of products they need.” THE ASPR HAS NO EXCUSES “Finally, regarding Assistant Secretary Dawn O’Connell’s absence. “I understand why she couldn’t be here today, and I extend my deepest sympathies to her and her family for their loss. “However, the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response is the top office for public health emergencies. “ASPR’s job is to be prepared. “So, it is unacceptable that another leader from the administration wasn’t prepared to be here today in the Assistant Secretary’s place. “There are no excuses, especially given the enormous amounts of resources and responsibilities we have allocated to ASPR over the years.” THE LONG ROAD TO REBUILD TRUST “My message today to all of the administration’s public health officials is this is going to be a long road. “Trust is broken a lot faster than it can be rebuilt. “Many will say that the American people deserve an apology but they deserve much more. “I think about every single person who lost a loved one to COVID. “The people who died alone because of COVID-19 policies. “The frontline workers who sacrificed but were still forced out of their jobs because of vaccine mandates. “And the children were isolated and set back from school closures. “Surely, we can all agree that for them we can’t repeat the mistakes of this pandemic response. “They deserve full accountability and transparency. Nothing less. “That is the bare minimum of what we expect today, so we can begin to heal, restore trust, and better prepare for the future.”

It’s no secret the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) wants to replace the U.S. as a global economic and technological power. House Energy and Commerce Committee Republicans previewed their plans to strengthen American resolve against the CCP and ensure America, not China, wins the future. Last week, Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy Rodgers (R-WA) announced that TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew will testify on March 23, 2023, before the committee on the platform’s consumer privacy and data security practices, its harm to kids, and its ties to the CCP. AMERICA’S DANGEROUS ENERGY DEPENDENCE ON CHINA During a full committee hearing last week, Republicans raised concerns about how President Biden is making America dangerously dependent on adversaries like China for our energy. “Every energy technology and source has a role to play but we need to be able to ensure that we are not becoming entirely dependent on unreliable, intermittent energy sources that rely on Chinese supply chains,” Chair Rodgers said . “It’s time to flip the switch and unleash American energy and this committee is at the very center of securing our global leadership and making people's lives better.” “There’s no doubt that China is adding wind and solar and other renewables to their energy matrix,” Subcommittee on Energy, Climate, & Grid Security Chair Jeff Duncan (R-SC) said . “They’re also building a heck of a lot of coal fired power plants, fossil fuel generation, mining rare Earth minerals that they need for all the technology, which is very detrimental to the environment.” “If we want viable, sustainable energy solutions that make all Americans secure, that appreciates the diversity of our landscapes, and doesn’t rely on premature, aspirational technologies or the availability of mineral supplies from foreign countries being available; then it’s time to turn the page on the current, national energy strategy, or lack thereof. Particularly since it’s one that makes us more dependent on nations that hate us,” Subcommittee on Environment, Manufacturing, & Critical Materials Chair Bill Johnson (R-OH) said . “To illustrate the point, I ask my colleagues to consider a recent article in the Washington Post. It suggested senior U.S. military officials are predicting, and preparing for, war within one to five years with China—the very country we depend on for the critical minerals required for many of the ‘rush to green’ solutions.” “China is striving to secure oil, gas, and critical minerals supply around the world while defending its dominance of renewable energy supply chains,” Robert McNally, the President of Rapidan Energy Group, LLC, testified to the Committee. BOOSTING AMERICAN COMPETITIVENESS TO BEAT CHINA At an Innovation, Data, and Commerce Subcommittee hearing, members and witnesses discussed how America can compete against China and win the future. “Today’s hearing focuses on the greatest threat to our country right now—China. So, it is fitting that to begin the 118th Congress we focus on this threat and discuss how to recapture and maintain our global leadership. The CCP will stop at nothing to undermine our global leadership and weaken our economy,” Subcommittee Chair Bilirakis (R-FL) said . “They have bought up our farmlands, stolen our intellectual property, and embedded themselves deep within many of our supply chains. Now they are turning their attention towards establishing the global standards for emerging technologies. The CCP has invested heavily in Artificial Intelligence and other emerging technologies. Paired with this investment, China is creating favorable environments for their private sector companies and entrepreneurs to deploy and test these technologies.” “In 2020, the China Task Force found that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) ‘has a record of using official government resources and companies with CCP affiliations to compromise the data of people around the world’ and that the United States and its allies need to join the ‘effort to secure data from the CCP’s surveillance state and other malign entities.’ These concerns are especially prevalent in China itself, where advanced technology is used to track and monitor their citizens with few protections,” Brandon Pugh, Policy Director and Resident Senior Fellow of the R Street Institute, told the Subcommittee . “Similar concerns are echoed by federal government leaders like Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Christopher Wray, who previously said ‘if you are an American adult, it is more likely than not that China has stolen your personal data.’ He made even more pointed comments recently, saying that ‘China’s vast hacking program is the world’s largest, and they have stolen more Americans’ personal and business data than every other nation combined.’” CHINA'S DANGEROUS STONEWALLING During an Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee hearing, Republican members noted how China has put the world in danger of future outbreaks because of that country’s refusal to cooperate with investigations into the origins of COVID-19. “Existing pandemic preparedness plans have mentioned the need for investigating the origins of pandemics but have neither spelled out the challenges nor the specifics for how to conduct an effective probe,” Subcommittee Chair Morgan Griffith (R-VA) said . “One of the challenges laid out in the (GAO) report is the need for investigators to have more access to samples from early cases in order to be effective in determining the pandemic’s origin. We must address this issue since some government organizations, including the Government of the Chinese Communist Party, have a history of withholding this type of information.” BEATING CHINA IN NEXT-GEN TECHNOLOGY Members of the Communications and Technology Subcommittee examined how China is seeking to undermine us in a range of advanced communications technologies, including next-gen satellite technology. “We must also ensure continued American leadership in advanced communications services. In order to do that, our regulations must foster an environment of innovation and certainty,” Subcommittee Chair Bob Latta (R-OH) said . “As countries like China seek to dominate the technologies of the future, we must make the United States an attractive place to invest in cutting edge developments that align with American values and guarantee the availability of trusted satellite communications. “Countries like China seek to undermine us in a range of advanced communications technologies, including next-gen satellite technology. We can’t afford to let this happen,” Chair Rodgers said . “The Chinese Communist Party will do whatever it takes to embed their authoritarianism into next generation technologies like these. This is a country that spies on its citizens and asserts strict government control over businesses and the economy. They want to replace the U.S. as the economic and technological power so they can spread their values and vision of the future. We need to make sure these technologies are developed in an ecosystem that promotes America’s values, not China’s.” “China’s accelerating space prowess and reach presents both economic and national security challenges. China’s expanding space sector creates a competitive alternative in the global marketplace, oftentimes with attractive incentives and financing, that will steadily chip away at the market share enjoyed by U.S. companies,” Kari Bingen, Director, Aerospace Security Project and Senior Fellow, International Security Program, Center for Strategic and International Studies said. “As highlighted in a 2021 European market assessment, ‘[W]hile the most advanced commercial space companies clearly remain Western companies, China is now leading the world in terms of number of commercial space companies being established.’ On the national security front, the U.S. military’s battlefield advantage has long rested on our superior technology. But that is at risk as Beijing seeks to close the gap in our technology advantage.”

Washington, D.C. —  House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy Rodgers (R-WA) delivered opening remarks at today’s Oversight and Investigations subcommittee hearing titled “ Challenges and Opportunities to Investigating the Origins of Pandemics and Other Biological Events. ” Excerpts and highlights below: “Thank you, Chair Griffith, for convening this hearing about challenges and opportunities around investigating the origins of pandemics and other biological events and congratulations to becoming chair of this important subcommittee. “Welcome too to Rep. Castor for taking over as Ranking Member.” THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC “The COVID-19 pandemic has been a catastrophe for the U.S. and the world. “I think about the people who lost loved ones—many times without the chance to say goodbye, the first responders who worked around the clock, day and night, and every person who served on the front lines to provide hope and comfort in our communities. “Government-enforced lockdowns and school closures have hurt our children’s well-being—mentally, physically, and academically. “In addition, the pandemic cost the U.S. economy more than $15 trillion dollars. “Consider the hundreds of thousands of people whose businesses were shuttered, whose livelihoods were uprooted, who lost everything. “We owe it to every American to get to the bottom of the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic.” THE DIFFICULTIES IN INVESTIGATING COVID’19’S ORIGINS “Investigating the origins of COVID-19 has been very difficult and challenging. “Some of the hurdles we face are because of inherent scientific challenges. For reference, it took 13 years to determine the origins of the SARS outbreak. “In addition, the Chinese government has lied to America and the global health community on information related to COVID-19. “This is unacceptable and my hope is we will be able to join together in our search for the origins of the pandemic with the same bipartisan unity that an airplane crash investigation or other tragedy would receive. “The lesson learned is that we have to treat investigating the origins of pandemics as a major part of pandemic preparedness, with a single point of accountability in the federal government. “According to a paper recently released by the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, ‘there does not appear to be a single office within the U.S. Government that owns the challenge of bioattribution.’ “We need a plan. We need a point person. We need greater accountability.” GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE REPORT “In response to a request from Energy and Commerce Republicans, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) conducted a technical assessment on the origins of pandemics. “This report examined: key technologies available for pandemic investigations; strengths and limitations of these tools; and the cross-cutting challenges researchers face in determining a pandemic’s origin. “The GAO’s technical assessment is perhaps the first stand-alone document that addresses the issue of investigating the origins of pandemics in great detail. “The need for pandemic origins determinations have been noted in other documents, but preparation for investigating the origins of a pandemic or other serious biological events has not been treated as a major component of biodefense strategy. “The GAO detailed the difficulties with such investigations, including: lack of sufficient access to samples and genetic sequence data, lack of standardized processes for submitting, accessing, and using genetic sequence data, and lack of experts in certain fields.” PREPARING FOR THE FUTURE “Overall, we must be united in our efforts to investigate the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic and prepare for future pandemics. “It is the public health question of our generation. “We cannot afford to be divided. It will hurt our ability to prepare for the next pandemic, which could be more severe. “The evidence and experts tell us that the risks of pandemic are increasing for various reasons such as a surge in international travel, or more development in remote areas that leads to more human interaction with animals and novel viruses. “We need to be better prepared. “Our goal is for today’s hearing is to inform bipartisan efforts on this Committee to reauthorize pandemic preparedness legislation. “I thank the witnesses for their participation, especially testifying in-person on short notice. We appreciate your cooperation.”