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WASHINGTON, D.C.  – Congressman Brett Guthrie (KY-02), Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, and Congressman Gary Palmer (AL-06), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Environment, announced a hearing titled  Ready for Reuse: Legislative Proposals to Unleash the Potential of America’s Brownfields Sites. “For years, the Brownfields Program has been a vital tool to support the cleanup of contaminated sites, putting many locations back into productive use and creating jobs to revitalize communities across the country. As demand grows to redevelop these sites for advanced manufacturing, and other critical infrastructure, it is essential that the program continues to serve the needs of our communities,” said Chairmen Guthrie and Palmer. “This hearing will provide the opportunity to discuss legislation that would strengthen and modernize the Brownfields Program to cut red tape, protect our environment, and support the innovative use of these sites.”   Subcommittee on Environment hearing titled  Ready for Reuse: Legislative Proposals to Unleash the Potential of America’s Brownfields Sites.   WHAT:  Subcommittee on Environment hearing to discuss examine legislative proposals supporting the remediation and redevelopment of America’s Brownfields Sites.  DATE:  Wednesday, March 4, 2026 TIME:  2:00 PM ET  LOCATION:  2123 Rayburn House Office Building This hearing will focus on the following bills:   H.R. ____ , Brownfields Revitalization for a Better Tomorrow Act  H.R. ____ , Brownfields Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act  H.R. ____ , Brownfields Inventory and Permitting Efficiency Act H.R. ____ , Brownfields Reauthorization for an Affordable and Revitalized America Act  This notice is at the direction of the Chairman. The hearing will be open to the public and press and will be live streamed online at energycommerce.house.gov . If you have any questions concerning the hearing, please contact Seth Ricketts with the Committee staff at  Seth.Ricketts@mail.house.gov . If you have any press-related questions, please contact Ben Mullany at Ben.Mullany@mail.house.gov . ###

WASHINGTON, D.C.  – Congressman Brett Guthrie (KY-02), Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, and Congressman Bob Latta (OH-05), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Energy, announced a hearing titled  America’s Energy Infrastructure: Authorizing Pipeline Safety . “America’s pipelines are the safest and most cost-effective mode of transportation for the oil, natural gas, and numerous other energy products our communities and manufacturers need,”   said Chairmen Guthrie and Latta .  “This hearing will provide the opportunity to examine legislation to reauthorize the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration’s (PHMSA) pipeline safety program. Ensuring these pipelines remain operational, safe, and dependable is vital to meeting our nation’s energy demand, securing our grid, and lowering costs for hardworking American families.” Subcommittee on Energy hearing titled  America’s Energy Infrastructure: Authorizing Pipeline Safety. WHAT:  Subcommittee on Energy hearing to discuss legislation to reauthorize the PHMSA pipeline safety program. DATE:  Wednesday, March 4, 2026     TIME:  10:15 AM ET LOCATION:  2123 Rayburn House Office Building  This hearing will focus on the following bill:  H.R. ____ , Pipeline Safety Authorization Act of 2026 This notice is at the direction of the Chairman. The hearing will be open to the public and press and will be live streamed online at  energycommerce.house.gov . If you have any questions concerning the hearing, please contact Seth Ricketts with the Committee staff at  Seth.Ricketts@mail.house.gov . If you have any press-related questions, please contact Ben Mullany at  Ben.Mullany@mail.house.gov . ###

WASHINGTON, D.C.  – Today, Congressman Brett Guthrie (KY-02), Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, celebrated the House passage of two bills that lower prices for hard-working families, protect consumer choice, and cut burdensome regulations.  The House passed H.R. 4626, the  Home Appliance Protection and Affordability Act , and H.R. 4758, the  Homeowner Energy Freedom Act , legislation that modernizes outdated energy efficiency regulations, restores consumer choice in home appliances and commercial equipment, and repeals costly green energy programs that drive up prices for homeowners. Chairman Guthrie, along with Reps. Allen (GA-12) and Goldman (TX-12), issued the following statements on the passage of the two pieces of legislation.  “For too long, burdensome regulations established by the Biden-Harris Administration have driven up costs for home buyers, forcing them to pay more for appliances that fail to offer reasonable energy savings,” said Chairman Guthrie. “The Home Appliance Protection and Affordability Act cuts red tape and ensures that regulations aren’t being weaponized as part of a radical, left-wing agenda. Likewise, the Homeowner Energy Freedom Act puts an end to expensive building code mandates that push homeownership out of reach for millions of hardworking families. Thank you to Congressman Allen and Congressman Goldman for their work on lowering prices in communities across the country.”   “The American people do not need the federal government to tell them which household appliances will best meet the needs of their families. In issuing egregious regulations on home appliances and attempting to tilt the scales on what consumers purchase, the Biden-Harris Department of Energy significantly drove up costs and reduced availability for American families,”  said Rep. Allen.  “My legislation, the Home Appliance Protection and Affordability Act, is a commonsense measure to prevent future administrations from repeating the same harmful mistakes. House passage of H.R. 4626 is a win for consumer choice. I thank Chairmen Guthrie and Latta, as well as House Republican Leadership for their continued support of this legislation.”   “The Biden-Harris Administration implemented costly green energy regulations that made life unaffordable for many Americans,”   said Rep. Goldman.   “Thanks to the leadership of Chairman Guthrie and support from my fellow Republican Energy and Commerce Committee colleagues, my Homeowner Energy Freedom Act has passed out of the House. This bill repeals costly red tape and will help improve housing affordability for Americans.”   BACKGROUND:   H.R. 4626, the  Home Appliance Protection and Affordability Act— Rep. Allen (GA-12) Amends the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA) by reducing regulatory burdens on home appliances to increase consumer choice and prevent the weaponization of energy efficiency standards, while ensuring standards are cost-effective and can demonstrably lower energy prices for hardworking households. Since 1975, EPCA has regulated more than 60 products representing about 90 percent of household energy use. The Biden-Harris Administration used this authority to push far-left electrification policies that ignored costs and technological feasibility, reducing consumer choice and raising prices for families. H.R. 4626 establishes guardrails against unrealistic, unaffordable standards and restores consumer choice while lowering energy costs for American homeowners and businesses. H.R. 4758, the  Homeowner Energy Freedom Act— Rep. Goldman (TX-12)   Repeals three sections of the Inflation Reduction Act that subsidized the Biden-Harris Administration’s suffocating regulatory agenda and mandated expensive building codes, pushing homeownership out of reach for millions of hardworking families. This legislation repeals these programs to protect finite taxpayer resources and protect consumer choice for home energy needs. Currently, the Inflation Reduction Act’s energy efficiency and building code programs raise home energy bills and exacerbate the housing affordability crisis while doing nothing to address the root cause of higher costs facing hardworking families.  ###

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Gary Palmer (AL-06), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Environment, delivered the following opening statement at today’s hearing titled  From Source to Tap: A Hearing to Examine Challenges and Opportunities for Safe, Reliable, and Affordable Drinking Water. Subcommittee Chairman Palmer’s opening statement as prepared for delivery: “Good morning and welcome to Ranking Members Pallone and Tonko, my colleagues, and to our witnesses for this hearing of the Subcommittee on the Environment. “Today’s hearing provides a timely and important opportunity to examine the safety, reliability and affordability of our nation’s drinking water system. “For those you have been following the news in recent weeks, a sewer line in suburban Maryland ruptured in January and released more than 200 million gallons of untreated sewage into the Potomac River, which separates Maryland and D.C. from Virginia and is the main source of drinking water for millions of Americans and visitors to the national capital region. “The D.C. government just last week declared a state of emergency as a result of the sewage spill, and President Trump has directed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Federal Emergency Management Agency to take a lead role in coordinating the cleanup and response to this unfortunate incident.  “Given the significance of the spill and its potential impact on public health, interstate commerce, and drinking water and the environment in the nation’s capital region, this Committee has begun an investigation into what was known about the risks of this rupture and if it could have been avoided. “Local authorities say the drinking water supply has not been affected, and that the intakes at Great Falls are located upriver from the sewage spill and that the intakes at Little Falls have been closed. “DC Water was contacted but declined to testify at today’s hearing. “Congress first enacted the Safe Drinking Water Act more than 50 years ago and amended it several times since. One of the goals of this hearing is to hear how the law is working and what if anything needs to be modernized to address current challenges. “Many Americans receive their drinking water from publicly owned water utilities who have to navigate the law’s complicated regulatory requirements, manage both aging infrastructure and an aging workforce, and provide safe and affordable water to their customers.  “We will hear from two of these utilities today: Eric Hill, General Manager of the Russellville, Alabama Water & Sewer Board and Lindsey Rechtin, President & CEO of the Northern Kentucky Water District. “In recent years, Congress has appropriated EPA more than $1 billion annually for the Drinking Water State Revolving Loan Fund, an important source of infrastructure funding for states and local utilities. “However, as part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, EPA received a supplemental appropriation of more than $50 billion for water infrastructure. I look forward to hearing from “EPA’s Deputy Inspector General about how EPA has been using that money and whether taxpayers have gotten what they paid for, or if these precious taxpayer funds are at risk. “We will also hear from a witness from the Natural Resources Defense Council with a background on water issues. “I thank the witnesses for their input and look forward to working with my colleagues on the Committee to identify commonsense solutions to protecting and modernizing our drinking water system . ”

WASHINGTON, D.C.  – Today, Congressman Gary Palmer (AL-06), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Environment, led a hearing titled  From Source to Tap: A Hearing to Examine Challenges and Opportunities for Safe, Reliable, and Affordable Drinking Water. “Congress first enacted the Safe Drinking Water Act more than 50 years ago and amended it several times since,”  said Chairman Palmer.  “Many Americans receive their drinking water from publicly owned water utilities who have to navigate the law’s complicated regulatory requirements, manage both aging infrastructure and an aging workforce, and provide safe and affordable water to their customers.” Watch the full hearing  here .    Below are key excerpts from today’s hearing: Congressman Bob Latta (OH-05):   “Mr. Hill, I go around my district all the time. I mean, a lot of my water treatment plants. The number one issue we're hearing out there today is what happens when our operators are retiring and we don't have that certification. And I know you said you had a situation where you had somebody be able to step in, but a lot of places they're getting concerned because they don't have these people. […] It also comes down to we can't force people to do a job. We have to make sure we get these people out there and trained because as they retire, we can't just say, you know, these people are going to do this.” Congressman John Joyce, M.D. (PA-13):   “Often, rural communities rely on small teams with limited resources to run both the sewer and the clean water facilities. A disruption in either can put a strain on both systems, and place extreme burdens on operators and the communities that they serve. For these communities, federal support like what is provided by the state revolving funds represents a much-needed lifeline, allowing rural Americans to receive uninterrupted drinking and wastewater services in under-resourced areas.” Congressman August Pfluger (TX-11):  “Are small and rural water systems facing unique challenges in accessing federal infrastructure funds? And if so, can you kind of go into detail about that?”  Ms. Murley:  “Yes, I would point you to a series of work that we have done on, state capacity to handle the influx of IIJA funds, both drinking water and clean water. We've looked at the state of New Mexico, we looked at South Carolina, and we looked at the U.S. Virgin Islands. I would say that each state has different demographics and different challenges, either human capacity, technical capacity, or organizational challenges to receive those funds. And we've done work and made recommendations to the agency for improving those areas.”

WASHINGTON, D.C.  – Today, Congressman Brett Guthrie (KY-02), Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, issued a statement following President Trump’s State of the Union Address to a Joint Session of Congress: “Tonight, President Trump laid out a bold vision for the American people as we celebrate the 250th anniversary since our founding. By unleashing American energy dominance, we can lower energy costs, strengthen our national security, and power innovation. As the President discussed in his speech, we must rely on baseload power from coal, oil, natural gas, nuclear, and hydropower that can provide the on-demand electricity we need. Our Committee will remain focused on cutting red tape and lowering prices for hard-working families.   “ House Republicans stand with President Trump tonight, with a strong focus on making life more affordable for everyday Americans—not only when it comes to energy prices, but when it comes to the cost of health care, too. Previous Democrat administrations effectively broke our American health care system, and I applaud President Trump in his steadfast efforts to fix it. Through programs like TrumpRx, Americans now have access to the lowest cost prescription drugs. Through commitments like Making America Healthy Again, Americans see the promise of health improvements for generations to come. Our country’s milestone of 250 years signifies an opportunity to put the wellbeing of Americans back at the forefront of our health care system.    “ As we look to the future, adversaries are challenging our standing as the world’s greatest innovator. Americans have the creativity and the skills to compete on the world stage, but we need the regulatory environment to match our aspirations. The President and I share a vision for a future where the United States can lead the development and deployment of cutting-edge technologies and Americans enjoy the benefits of these advances.   “ Tonight, the President outlined a vision of prosperity shared widely across the Republican Party. By unleashing American energy, lowering health care prices, and supporting U.S. innovators, President Trump and Committee Republicans are in lockstep fighting to address the issues that matter most to American families.”   ###

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. 4626, the  Home Appliance Protection and Affordability Act. Chairman Guthrie’s remarks on H.R. 4626, the  Home Appliance Protection and Affordability Act : “I rise in support of H.R. 4626 the Home Appliance Protection and Affordability Act, sponsored by my colleague from Georgia’s 12th District. “This legislation modernizes energy efficiency authorities to lower costs for households and protect consumer choice. “The Energy Policy and Conservation Act, or EPCA, was established in 1975 amidst the oil crises of the 1970’s.   “EPCA gave statutory authority to the Department of Energy to regulate and set minimum energy efficiency standards for a list of covered products including stoves, water heaters, and dishwashers, as well as certain commercial equipment.    “At the time, Americans were dealing with the aftermath of oil embargoes that led to mile long gas lines and fuel rationing.     “The initial establishment of energy efficiency regulations was a matter of energy security.    “By reducing consumption through the use of innovative technologies, we could insulate families from the harm caused by adversarial nations restricting access to critical energy resources.     “Fifty years later, EPCA has remained largely unchanged, but, under Democratic administrations, the focus of conservation efforts shifted from energy security to green policies that advance a far-Left agenda.    “During the same period, the United States has become the premier energy producing nation while home appliances have simultaneously become vastly more efficient.    “During the four long years of the Biden-Harris administration, however, DOE used EPCA authorities to regulate a host of everyday products like dishwashers, freezers, and dryers.     “But these regulations were neither based on what consumers need, nor focused on affordability – they were rooted in ambitious climate goals.    “While EPCA requires regulations to be economically justified and cost-effective, the Biden-Harris administration bent the rules so that households and businesses may not see any efficiency savings for decades.   “In fact, the Biden-Harris DOE regulations on dryers could take up to 46 years to see efficiency benefits, even though household appliances are replaced every 8-9 years on average.     “Americans are already paying 34 percent more on their energy bills than they were in 2010 – households simply cannot afford more expensive mandates coming out of Washington.  “At a time when Americans are struggling to pay their bills because of the inflation caused by the Biden-Harris administration’s spending spree, the Home Appliance Protection and Affordability Act takes important steps to provide necessary relief to hardworking families.   “Decisions about home appliances should be left to American families, not bureaucrats in Washington.   “The Home Appliance Protection and Affordability Act institutes commonsense accountability at DOE to protect consumers from overregulation.     “Importantly, this bill will foster continued innovation in energy efficiency technologies.     “Refocusing EPCA authorities on cost effective efficiency standards will lower costs while continuing to improve household appliance performance.    “I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 4626, the Home Appliance Protection and Affordability Act to protect consumer choice, to modernize EPCA authorities, and to lower costs for American families and businesses.”   ###

WASHINGTON, D.C. – This week, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce is holding one Subcommittee Hearing. Read more below.  SUBCOMMITTEE HEARING: The Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment is holding a hearing on safe drinking water. DATE: Tuesday, February 24, 2026  TIME: 10:15 AM ET  LOCATION: 2123 Rayburn House Office Building     ###

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Brett Guthrie (KY-02), Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, Congressman John Joyce, M.D. (PA-13), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, and Congressman Gary Palmer (AL-06), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Environment sent a letter to David Gadis, the Chief Executive Officer of DC Water requesting information on the failures that led to the spill in the Potomac River and what steps are being taken to ensure it is contained. “The Committee has concerns about how this incident will impact public health, safe drinking water, the environment, interstate commerce, and tourism, all of which fall within the Committee’s jurisdiction,” said Chairmen Guthrie, Joyce, and Palmer. “DC Water is responsible for delivering drinking water and wastewater services to communities in Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia (DC), as well as the federal government, including operation and maintenance of the 54-mile Potomac Interceptor line. The Committee is requesting documents and information from DC Water about what is already being referred to as ‘one of the largest sewage spills in U.S. history.’” Key excerpt from the letter: “Public health warnings have been given for people and pets to avoid contact with water from the Potomac River and to avoid fishing, rowing, and other activities in the area.The warnings to avoid the contaminated water come shortly before the annual Cherry Blossom Festival, which is centered around the Tidal Basin along the Potomac River, and the celebration of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, both of which are expected to attract millions of visitors to the District of Columbia. “An incident of this size and scale presents a significant threat to the public health and welfare of the affected communities, and swift mitigation of these risks is critical. Understanding the nature of how this incident occurred and how future incidents of this scale may be prevented in the future is imperative.” CLICK HERE to read the full letter. BACKGROUND: The letter comes as Washington, DC, Virginia, and Maryland residents continue to deal with the fallout of the spill that occurred on January 19, 2026, and now has resulted in e. coli levels at the spill site measuring at hundreds of times above EPA safety thresholds. As part of its oversight authority, the Committee is requesting information on what DC Water knew about the risk of a potential spill prior to January, documents discussing why emergency contracting was warranted to repair the pipe, why any approved contracts were not implemented, as well as actions DC Water has taken to address the environmental impacts of the spill.