Washington, D.C. — The House Energy and Commerce Committee last week advanced 19 solutions during a full committee markup. Below are excerpts from Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers’ (R-WA) remarks delivered during the markup. 

Chair Rodgers on Cybersecurity Legislation: 

“We must make sure our laws keep pace with advancements in technology and allow innovation and entrepreneurship to flourish." 

[…] 

“We must also make sure the United States and our allies enhance their participation in international standards setting bodies to lead on the development of new international standards, rather than have them dictated by the Chinese Communist Party. 

“As technologies advance, so too do the attempts by bad actors seeking to hack our networks. 

“Improving cybersecurity literacy will help protect our data and make our networks more secure."

Chair Rodgers on Legislation to Address the Fentanyl Crisis: 

“More people than ever are dying of illicit fentanyl poisonings. 

“As many parents have appealed to us, this requires urgent action. 

“Moms like Molly Cain deserve justice. 

“We must secure the border and make sure law enforcement has the tools they need to seize fentanyl and fentanyl-related substances."

[…] 

“The Securing the Border for Public Health Act would expand current Title 42 authority to be used to stop the import of certain controlled substances, including fentanyl and fentanyl-related substances. 

“I want to be very clear: President Biden cannot let the emergency scheduling expire and it should not lift Title 42."

[…] 

“The opioid epidemic was fueled, in part, by suspiciously large shipments of controlled substances being delivered across the country—particularly in the Appalachian region. 

“This bill [H.R. 501] would help stop this practice and save lives by requiring drug manufacturers and distributors that discover a suspicious package to stop the order and report the information to the DEA.” 

Chair Rodgers on Legislation to Stop Discrimination Against Individuals with Chronic Illnesses and Disabilities: 

“We are also taking action today to ban the use of Quality Adjusted Life Years—or QALYs—and other similar measures by state and federal government health care programs. 

“More than 70 disability and patient organizations agree that QALYs are discriminatory and have no place in our decision making. 

“The federal government can evaluate the effectiveness of treatments and cures without devaluing the lives of seniors and people with disabilities. 

“We’ve worked tirelessly with the minority and with CMS to get this bill right. 

“We’ve resolved every outstanding comment from the agency and worked to address the concerns by the minority. 

“I hope we will come together with a strong vote to affirm the dignity of every person to receive lifesaving and quality care.” 

The Committee reported the following bills favorably to the House Floor: 

• H.R. 1338, the “Satellite and Telecommunications Streamlining Act,” was reported favorably to the House floor by a roll call vote of 44 Yeas to 0 Nays. 
• H.R. 675, the “Secure Space Act” as amended was reported favorably to the House floor by a roll call vote of 46 Yeas to 0 Nays. 
• H.R. 1339, the “Precision Agriculture Satellite Connectivity Act” was reported favorably to the House floor by a roll call vote of 46 Yeas to 0 Nays. 
• H.R. 682, the “Launch Communications Act” as amended was reported favorably to the House floor by a roll call vote of 46 Yeas to 0 Nays. 
• H.R. 1353, the “Advanced, Local Emergency Response Telecommunications Parity Act” as amended was reported favorably to the House floor by a roll call vote of 46 Yeas to 0 Nays. 
• H.R. 1345, the “NTIA Policy and Cybersecurity Coordination Act” was reported favorably to the House floor by a roll call vote of 44 Yeas to 0 Nays. 
• H.R. 1354, the “Information and Communication Technology Strategy Act” was reported favorably to the House floor by a roll call vote of 48 Yeas to 0 Nays. 
• H.R. 1370, the “Communications Security Act” was reported favorably to the House floor by a roll call vote of 49 Yeas to 0 Nays. 
• H.R. 1360, the “American Cybersecurity Literacy Act” was reported favorably to the House floor by a roll call vote of 49 Yeas to 0 Nays. 
• H.R. 1340, the “Open RAN Outreach Act” was reported favorably to the House floor by a roll call vote of 49 Yeas to 0 Nays. 
• H.R. 1343, the “ITS Codification Act” was reported favorably to the House floor by a roll call vote of 49 Yeas to 0 Nays. 
• H.R. 1377, the “Promoting U.S. Wireless Leadership Act” was reported favorably to the House floor by a roll call vote of 50 Yeas to 0 Nays. 
• H.R. 1341, the “Spectrum Coordination Act” was reported favorably to the House floor by a roll call vote of 49 Yeas to 0 Nays. 
• H.R. 1603, the “Homeowner Energy Freedom Act” was reported favorably to the House floor by a roll call vote of 27 Yeas to 22 Nays. 
• H.R. 501, the “Block, Report, and Suspend Suspicious Shipments Act” as amended was reported favorably to the House floor by a roll call vote of 44 Yeas to 0 Nays. 
• H.R. 498, the “9-8-8 Lifeline Cybersecurity Responsibility Act” was reported favorably to the House floor by a roll call vote of 46 Yeas to 0 Nays. 
• H.R. 485, the “Protecting Health Care for All Patients Act of 2023” as amended was reported favorably to the House floor by a roll call vote of 27 Yeas to 20 Nays. 
• H.R. 467, the “Halt All Lethal Trafficking of Fentanyl Act” was reported favorably to the House floor by a roll call vote of 27 Yeas to 19 Nays. 
• H.R. 801, the “Securing the Border for Public Health Act of 2023” was reported favorably to the House floor by a roll call vote of 24 Yeas to 19 Nays. 

CLICK HERE to watch the markup.