Rep. Buddy Carter

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2432 Rayburn House Office Building

Washington, DC 20515

(202) 225-5831

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Georgia – 1st District

Georgia – District 1

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Health

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Environment

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Communications & Technology

Biography

Earl L. “Buddy” Carter is an experienced businessman, health care professional and faithful public servant. For over 32 years Buddy owned Carter’s Pharmacy, Inc. where South Georgians trusted him with their most valuable assets: their health, lives and families. While running his business, he learned how to balance a budget and create jobs. He also saw firsthand the devastating impacts of government overregulation which drives his commitment to ensuring that the federal government creates policies to empower business instead of increasing burdens on America’s job creators.

A committed public servant, Buddy previously served as the Mayor of Pooler, Georgia and in the Georgia General Assembly where he used his business experience to make government more efficient and responsive to the people. Buddy is serving his fifth term in the United States House of Representatives and is a member of the House Energy and Commerce (E&C) Committee and the House Budget Committee. He proudly serves as Chairman of the E&C Subcommittee on Environment, Manufacturing, and Critical Materials, where he prioritizes beating China, reducing emissions, unleashing American energy, and creating a pro-growth business environment. As a pharmacist serving in Congress, Buddy is dedicated to working towards a health care system that provides more choices, less costs and better services.

A lifelong resident of the First District, Buddy was born and raised in Port Wentworth, Georgia and is a proud graduate of Young Harris College and the University of Georgia where he earned his Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy. Buddy married his college sweetheart, Amy. Buddy and Amy have three sons, three daughters-in-law and six grandchildren.

Georgia – District 1

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News & Announcements

Mar 5, 2026

Markups

Full Committee Markup Recap: E&C Advances Eight Bills to the Full House of Representatives

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.”

Feb 3, 2026

Hearings

O&I Subcommittee Holds Hearing on Ongoing Fraud in Medicare and Medicaid Programs

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman John Joyce, M.D. (PA-13), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, led a hearing titled Common Schemes, Real Harm: Examining Fraud in Medicare and Medicaid.

“What’s happening in Minnesota’s Medicaid program is deeply concerning and requires robust Congressional oversight; however, it is just the tip of the iceberg,” said Chairman Joyce. “Medicare and Medicaid fraud has been occurring in communities across the U.S. for decades, diverting necessary resources from patients in need. It is our duty to protect these programs for our most vulnerable Americans.”

Watch the full hearing here.

Below are key excerpts from today's hearing:

Congressman Russ Fulcher (ID-01): “I’m from the state of Idaho—which, sometimes, may not be the first state you think about when there might be fraud, but that is kind of the basis of my question. Have you noticed any trends where states might get targeted or regions might get targeted as a function of potentially them having a lower barrier for entry, or maybe perceived as not being as likely to be audited?” Ms. Gay: “Absolutely. We talk a lot in the industry how [fraud] can be regionally generated. It tends to start in one particular area, and then I don’t know if they’re all hanging out, talking to each other, or how that spreads, but it does tend to start in certain populations and then branch out from there based on controls.” Mr. Fulcher: “What if the bad actor is a foreign actor? How much of that do you see? And if so, what kind of a challenge does that bring to potentially pursuing that fraud, if it’s perpetrated by a foreign actor?” Ms. Wooten: “Certainly, states have seen both fraud cases perpetrated by foreign and by U.S. citizens or people in the U.S., and from our perspective, as being a Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, it makes no difference. We look at allegations, try to identify whether there is something we can do about them? Is the dollar amount something we can pursue? Are we going to be able to get value back for the Medicaid program? Do we have the laws in place to prosecute whatever type of fraud is referred? And we move forward with that investigation.”

Congressman Dan Crenshaw (TX-02): “So what’s the solution here? I mean, some argue stronger oversight would actually threaten access to care, but based on your experience, what actually happens to access when fraud is not controlled? Who bears the brunt of this?” Ms. Gay: “I think there’s certainly the patient-harm attribute you mentioned—you know, not getting the care that you need. […] We dealt with some cases with ACA enrollments, and by the time we verified with CMS that those were eligible recipients, the health plan was already on the hook for $1, $2, $3 million. Were these patients even receiving the care? In some cases, yes. In other cases, they had no idea that they were in a facility for such treatment. […] Now you have somebody that doesn’t even have that challenge, but that is now on their record. And even worse—those that do, that are getting subpar treatment at a very exorbitant rate and still not getting better.”

Congressman Buddy Carter (GA-01): “Auditors found 112 hospice providers operating out of a single physical address. 112...holy cow. As a result, hospice agencies in LA County alone likely overbilled Medicare by $105 million in just one year. […] It looks like it’s a problem in a lot of different places. And that’s why I want to ask you, Ms. Wooten, have you seen instances of copycats where fraudsters see a successful fraud scheme happening in one location, so they try to replicate the same fraud elsewhere?” Ms. Wooten: “Absolutely. We definitely see replicated fraud schemes in hospices; an excellent example. I share your concerns about home health and hospice because I owned a home health agency for many years, and I didn’t even choose to be a hospice because there were specialized agencies that could handle that part, and we would refer to them under the right circumstances. What we now see, though—hospices who are admitting patients who are not terminally ill, patients who don’t know they were put on hospice, patients who maybe aren’t getting treatments that they need, because the hospice philosophy, as you know, is for comfort care, not for treating illnesses. We have seen the same thing in Utah that the hospices have exploded. Now, I’m not saying they’re all fraudulent either, but absolutely; fraudsters learn from fraudsters and it’s an area we have to investigate.”

Jan 15, 2026

Communications & Technology

C&T Subcommittee Forwards Public Safety Communications Bills to Full Committee

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Richard Hudson (NC-09), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, led a markup of several public safety communications bills.

“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 and best serve all Americans,” said Chairman Hudson. “I want to thank my colleagues for their continued commitment to this issue and for their work developing these proposals.”

Legislative Vote Summary:

H.R. 6505, Next Generation 9-1-1 Act, was forwarded without amendment to the Full Committee by a voice vote.
H.R. 2076, LuLu’s Law, was forwarded without amendment to the Full Committee by a voice vote.
H.R. 5200, Emergency Reporting Act, was forwarded without amendment to the Full Committee by a voice vote.
H.R. 5201, Kari’s Law Reporting Act, was forwarded without amendment to the Full Committee by a voice vote.
H.R. 7022, Mystic Alerts Act, was forwarded without amendment to the Full Committee by a voice vote.
H.R. 1519, Public Safety Communications Act, was forwarded without amendment to the Full Committee by a voice vote.

Watch the full hearing here .

Below are key excerpts from today’s markup:

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Congressman Buddy Carter (GA-01) on the Mystic Alerts Act: “The Mystic Alerts Act strengthens our emergency alerting framework by directing the FCC to establish standards and requirements that allow alerts to be delivered via satellite connectivity, ensuring redundancy when traditional networks are down, by incorporating satellite-based capabilities. This bill helps ensure emergency alerts can reach rural communities, disaster zones and other hard to reach areas, improving resilience and saving lives during floods, wildlife, wildfires, hurricanes and other emergencies. This legislation honors the victims of the Camp Mystic flood by taking meaningful action to prevent similar tragedies and by making our emergency communications system more reliable, modern, and resilient.”

Congressman August Pfluger (TX-11) on the Mystic Alerts Act: “Today, too many Americans lose access to alerts when cellular infrastructure is damaged, overwhelmed, or nonexistent—particularly in rural areas—and this bill helps to close that gap by ensuring emergency alerts can still be delivered via satellite when traditional networks fail. […] There is still work to be done to incorporate technical assistance into this legislation, but moving the Mystic Alerts Act forward is a meaningful step toward modernizing public safety communications, closing dangerous gaps in emergency alert coverage, and ensuring Americans can receive critical information when it matters the most.”

Congresswoman Kat Cammack (FL-03) on the Public Safety Communications Act: “This bill strengthens federal coordination for Next Gen 911, ensuring that states have a clear, accountable partner as they modernize their emergency systems. Public safety communications should never be political, fragmented, or unclear. Right now, they are. This bill fixes that. It keeps public safety in charge, reduces confusion and strengthens accountability where it belongs. I appreciate the engagement from our public safety stakeholders and remain committed to the collaboration as we move this bill forward.”

Letters

Jun 18, 2025

Press Release

Chairman Guthrie Requests More Information on Improperly Shared User Data by California’s Health Insurance Marketplace Website

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Brett Guthrie (KY-02), Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, along with Reps. Palmer (AL-06), Carter (GA-01), Bilirakis (FL-12), and Obernolte (CA-23), penned a letter to the Executive Director of Covered California (CoveredCA), Jessica Altman, to request further information related to the potentially unauthorized transmission of sensitive personal health information involving Covered California’s website. Key Letter Excerpt: “According to public reports and agency statements, tracking technology was embedded on Covered California's website beginning in February 2024, as part of a broader digital advertising effort, and in direct contravention of the tracking platform’s user agreement, which prohibits the use of such tools on pages that collect sensitive health information. Although the tags were reportedly removed in April 2025, following external scrutiny and a vendor transition, the extended period of data exposure raises serious questions about the adequacy of safeguards that Covered California had in place. Forensic testing by investigative reporters identified the trackers in operation and confirmed that user-entered health information was being transmitted to third parties without consent. These circumstances warrant examination of Covered California’s actions under federal privacy standards.” “Ensuring the confidentiality of health information is a foundational obligation for entities operating within the health insurance ecosystem. Federal privacy protections, particularly the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), establish expectations for how covered organizations handle sensitive data. Recent reports and public filings raised questions about whether those expectations were met in this case, and whether existing oversight mechanisms are sufficient to detect and prevent improper disclosures.” Background: Forensic testing shows Covered California —the State of California’s official health insurance marketplace—has been sending sensitive user health data to third-party websites through several online data trackers. Prior to removal of the trackers, CoveredCA had more than 60 trackers active on its website; the average number of trackers on a government website is three. Some types of information sent to such websites include: Searches for doctors in network with specific plans/specializations Demographic information, including gender, ethnicity, and marital status Length of treatment a patent received by a provider Frequency of doctor visits If the user indicated they were blind, pregnant, a victim of domestic abuse, or used prescription medications. The State of California independently operates CoveredCA. As the state’s official ACA marketplace, CoveredCA falls under the purview of Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). The disclosure of information such as pregnancy or prescription drug use without proper consent—even for “marketing purposes”—may violate HIPAA. This Congress, the Committee has sent letters to 23andMe and DeepSeek over potential data privacy concerns: The Committee also held a hearing last Congress on the Change Healthcare hack, where personal health information was also jeopardized. CLICK HERE to read Fox News coverage of the letter. CLICK HERE to view the full letter. ###

Dec 19, 2024

Press Release

E&C Republicans Request HHS Watchdog Investigate Promotion of Gender Transition Procedures for Children

Washington, D.C. — In a new letter to Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Inspector General Christi Grimm, House Energy and Commerce Committee Republicans requested an investigation into the strength, quality, and types of evidence-based scientific and pediatric medical literature relied on by the department to promote gender transition procedures for children. KEY LETTER EXCERPT: “As the agency responsible for safeguarding the health and well-being of Americans, all of HHS’s medical treatment recommendations, especially medical treatment recommendations for children, should be based on rigorous and well-established research, such as randomized controlled trials, that have definitively illustrated the long-term benefits of gender affirming care treatments.” BACKGROUND: Under the Biden administration, HHS has advocated for sex reassignment procedures on minors, including the use of serum puberty blockers, which have historically been used to treat children with precocious puberty (i.e., early onset puberty affecting about one percent of U.S. children) and sex offenders. Puberty blockers, however, are known to stunt normal childhood development in children unaffected by precocious puberty. HHS officials contend that sex reassignment procedures on minors are an unanimously accepted medical practice. HHS Secretary Becerra testified before Congress that “every major medical association,” “medical journals,” and “scientific and medical evidence” has demonstrated the benefits of transitioning children’s biological sex. When asked, via a Freedom of Information Act request, for the underlying scientific or medical basis for its position, HHS was only able to produce a two-page brochure that was already publicly available. In contrast to HHS, a growing body of literature from medical experts and authorities around the world, including those in Europe, caution against performing such procedures on minors. Courts and government health agencies responsible for determining child welfare have sought to limit child sex reassignment procedures. Other countries have banned these interventions and surgeries on minors altogether. An article published in the British Journal of Medicine found “there is great uncertainty about the effects of puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and surgeries in young people.” A court in the United Kingdom noted the obvious about administering puberty blocking chemicals onto children: “[i]t is highly unlikely that a child aged 13 or under would be competent to give consent to the administration of puberty blockers. It is doubtful that a child aged 14 or 15 could understand and weigh the long-term risks and consequences of the administration of puberty blockers.” In April 2024, the Cass Review , an independent review of gender identity services for children and young people, commissioned by the National Health Service England, found “[w]hile a considerable amount of research has been published in this field, systematic evidence reviews demonstrated the poor quality of the published studies, meaning there is not a reliable evidence base upon which to make clinical decisions, or for children and their families to make informed choices.” The Cass Review also found that “[t]he rationale for early puberty suppression remains unclear, with weak evidence regarding the impact on gender dysphoria, mental or psychosocial health,” as well as unknown effects on cognitive and psychosexual development. In August 2024, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) became the first major U.S. medical association to express caution on the use of gender surgery for gender dysphoria in adolescents. In its formal statement, the association stated: “ASPS currently understands that there is considerable uncertainty as to the long-term efficacy for the use of chest and genital surgical interventions for the treatment of adolescents with gender dysphoria, and the existing evidence base is viewed as low quality/low certainty. This patient population requires specific considerations.” The letter was signed by Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), Subcommittee on Health Chair Brett Guthrie (R-KY), Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations Chair Morgan Griffith (R-VA), Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX), Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), Rep. Buddy Carter (R-GA), Rep. Gary Palmer (R-AL), Rep. Neal Dunn (R-FL), Rep. Randy Weber (R-TX), Rep. Troy Balderson (R-OH), Rep. August Pfluger (R-TX), Rep. Diana Harshbarger (R-TN), and Rep. Kat Cammack (R-FL). CLICK HERE to read the letter.

Oct 7, 2024

Letter

Chair Rodgers Leads House GOP in Demanding Answers Over FCC Fast-Tracking Democrat Mega-Donor’s Media Takeover Weeks Before Election

Soros-linked fund to acquire more than 200 local radio stations weeks before election Washington, D.C. — House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) led 40 of her Republican colleagues in demanding answers from the Chairwoman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding her recent decision to fast-track a media deal allowing the Fund for Policy Reform, a group aligned with Democratic mega-donor George Soros, to buy over 200 radio stations just weeks before the 2024 election. With a party line vote of 3-2, the decision at the Commission level by the Democratic members of the FCC to temporarily waive the required national security review and allow excessive foreign ownership of American radio stations is deeply disturbing. KEY LETTER EXCERPT: “It is highly concerning that the FCC did not follow regular order for a transaction of this magnitude. Licensees and investors need certainty that the FCC will follow its rules and procedures when approving transactions so that the broadcast industry can have the resources it needs to continue serving the public.” BACKGROUND: Audacy, Inc., a radio broadcasting group, which owns more than 200 radio-station licenses, filed for bankruptcy earlier this year. Audacy’s filings revealed that a George Soros-backed group known as the Fund for Policy Reform had acquired at least 40 percent of Audacy’s debt. Audacy estimated that, upon emerging from bankruptcy, 25 percent or more of its stock would be indirectly foreign owned, which triggers FCC review. This review process requires national security agencies to review the transaction and offer any policy or national security concerns. On September 30, 2024, the FCC released an Order granting a temporary waiver of this review process, delaying a national security review until after the bankruptcy process is complete and allowing foreign control of a significant number of radio stations across the entire United States, weeks before a national election. CLICK HERE to read Breitbart's exclusive coverage. CLICK HERE to read the full letter.