Rep. Brett Guthrie

R

Kentucky – District 2
representative

Leadership

Chairman

119th Congress

News & Announcements

Jul 25, 2025
Oversight & Investigations

ICYMI: Fox News Feature: Chairman Guthrie Shares Personal Experience with Organ Procurement and Transplant System as Congress Investigates System Practices and Protocols

WASHINGTON, D.C.  –  In case you missed it, Fox News recently featured Congressman Brett Guthrie (KY-02), Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, who shared his personal experience relating to the importance of ensuring patient safety remains the top priority within the nation’s organ transplant and procurement system.  In Case You Missed It:   “House Energy and Commerce Chairman Rep. Brett Guthrie, R-Ky., spoke to Fox News Digital on Tuesday about how his personal experience with organ transplantation has shaped his view of the system, which he said must ensure families are confident in it so they will not be afraid to donate much-needed organs.    “On Tuesday, the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations held a hearing with Dr. Raymond Lynch, the Health Resources and Services Administration’s (HRSA) chief of the organ transplant branch. Current and former leaders of the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) and the Organ Procurement Organization (OPO), Network for Hope, which serves Kentucky, southwest Ohio and parts of Indiana and West Virginia, were also present.  “The investigation follows a shocking HRSA investigation that found hospitals and OPOs in Kentucky were allowing organ procurement processes to begin despite patients showing signs of life. The investigation ultimately found that, since December 2024, out of 351 cases involving patients who had been authorized for organ procurement, but the organs were ultimately not recovered, 29% showed ‘concerning features’ related to protocols and patient safety, while around 20% exhibited a ‘neurologic status’ not conducive to organ procurement. “My big concern is people will not – if they don’t have confidence in the system – won’t feel like they’ll register as an organ donor, Guthrie said between panels at Tuesday’s hearing.   “People need to have confidence in the system, or at least know the questions to ask if they’re in this end stage with their loved one, Guthrie continued. Because when you’re sitting there, and you’re getting prepped to go get your next – hopefully, chance at life – you also, as you sit there, know that there’s some other family in some other emergency room somewhere else having a different experience. And they are losing a loved one, but they’re willing – the loved one, either pre-designated or they’re willing to let their loved one live on by helping somebody else live. “Guthrie’s experience stems from his mother, who died waiting on a new liver. He recounted how she was, at one point, told they had found her a new liver, but when the surgeon went to go pick up the new organ, it was not in the adequate shape to be transplanted. “Despite assurances that she was high on the list, Guthrie’s mother never found an organ in time before declining so fast that neither the congressman nor any of his relatives could attempt a live-organ transplant procedure. The live procedure allows a living person to donate a part of their organ, which will later grow back but can help repair the damaged organ in the person receiving the partial transplant. “Guthrie said that despite the alarming evidence uncovered by HRSA’s investigation, he still intends to keep his donor status, adding we need more people to donate. Currently, around 100,000 people are waiting for an organ transplant. “While the HRSA investigation probed multiple cases, it highlighted one shocking case in particular where staff were so uncomfortable with commencing the organ procurement process as a result of visible signs of life that some refused to participate. At that point, after staff had witnessed tears rolling down the patient’s face, the process eventually stopped, but not after the patient sat in the operating room getting prepped for organ donation for around 45 minutes. “This should never have gotten to the point of them being in the operating room, Guthrie said of the case. There were a lot of indications this person was not going to die. “Guthrie added that the issue is a bipartisan one and said the work will be done when confidence in the system has been shored up.”   ###

Jul 24, 2025
Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade

Chairmen Guthrie, Walberg, and Jordan Applaud President Trump’s Executive Order on NIL

WASHINGTON, D.C.  – Today, Congressman Brett Guthrie (KY-02), Chairman of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, Congressman Tim Walberg (MI-05), Chairman of the Committee on Education and Workforce, and Congressman Jim Jordan (OH-04), Chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary, issued the following statement regarding President Trump’s executive order on the Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) landscape: “We thank President Trump for his commitment to supporting student-athletes and strengthening college athletics in the NIL era. The SCORE Act, led by our three committees, will complement the President’s executive order, and we look forward to working with all of our colleagues in Congress to build a stronger and more durable college sports environment.” ###

Jul 23, 2025
Press Release

Chairman Guthrie Delivers Opening Statement at Full Committee Markup of Two Bills

WASHINGTON, D.C.  – Congressman Brett Guthrie (KY-02), Chairman of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, delivered the following opening statement at today’s Full Committee Markup. Chairman Guthrie’s opening statement as prepared for delivery: “Thank you all for being here today as we consider two important, bipartisan bills. First, we will continue our work to strengthen college athletics and the NIL environment for our student-athletes through the SCORE Act. I especially want to thank Chairman Bilirakis and Congressman Fry for their hard work getting us to this full committee markup today. I also want to thank Representatives Bynum and Figures for working across the aisle with us to improve this bill and find common ground. “Complex legal, operational, and policy questions have left student-athletes—and the universities they represent—on unstable ground, and student-athletes, programs, and conferences have all told us that a clear, national standard would strengthen this uniquely American institution. “Following the critical House settlement last month, it’s clear this is the moment to act and support the new era of college athletics. But our work at three House Committees, culminating in the SCORE Act, didn’t start last month. Since the beginning of this Congress, we have worked in a bipartisan way to develop a framework that codifies new NIL, health, and academic protections for players and provides stability for universities. “In March, we held both a bipartisan roundtable and a subcommittee hearing with witnesses representing players, coaches, and athletic directors. “Over a month and a half ago, we shared draft bill text with my friends across the aisle in search of common ground and compromise, and in June, we publicly released a discussion draft while continuing good faith negotiations. “Earlier this month, we negotiated a bipartisan deal and introduced the SCORE Act, and over the past week we have continued to work to find a compromise that would garner support from Democrat Members of this Committee. “In response to these conversations, we made edits to improve student-athlete representation in decision-making processes, narrowed preemption, clarified and narrowed the antitrust language, and added additional enforcement mechanisms. “This has been a long and open process, which we have approached with an open mind, and I remain hopeful that we will be able to continue growing this coalition and building more support for this commonsense bill, but we cannot delay. “Without this bill, student-athletes will be left to fend for themselves against bad actors, non-revenue generating sports could face devastating cuts, and legal uncertainty will continue to hang over college sports. “The SCORE Act delivers exactly what is needed: student-athlete benefits, stability, and transparency. “Today, we are also considering H.R. 4273, the Over-the-Counter Monograph Drug User Fee Amendments, otherwise known as ‘OMUFA,’ led by Representatives Latta and DeGette. This is the first reauthorization of OMUFA, and I look forward to continuing our bipartisan work to get this bill across the finish line by the September 30th expiration.  “As our FDA witness stated last week, without a timely reauthorization, certain FDA actions could be delayed by a decade or longer. “I appreciate all the work that’s gone into this bill and will continue to engage with stakeholders and our Senate colleagues to work towards commonsense solutions that support innovation and ensure patients have access to safe and effective products.”  ###

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. ###

Jun 5, 2025
Press Release

Chairmen Guthrie and Hudson Ask President Trump to Remove Biden-era BEAD Regulations and Expedite Funds to Deploy Rural Broadband

WASHINGTON, D.C.  – Today, Congressman Brett Guthrie (KY-02), Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, Congressman Richard Hudson (NC-09), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, sent a letter to President Donald J. Trump urging the administration to quickly remove burdensome regulations that have stopped the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program from connecting any American to reliable broadband. KEY EXCERPT: “The Biden administration added unnecessary and burdensome requirements that made participation in the program more expensive and less attractive to broadband providers. These include labor and climate change requirements, as well as rate regulation of low-cost broadband plans that were unlawfully imposed.  “To address these issues, we introduced the Streamlining Program Efficiency and Expanding Deployment (SPEED) for BEAD Act, which outlines necessary reforms to BEAD. We appreciate that Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick is undertaking a review of the program and urge any reforms to be enacted as soon as possible.” BACKGROUND: On March 5, 2025,  Congressman Hudson introduced  the SPEED for BEAD Act to remove harmful regulations that have prevented the $42 billion program from laying even a single inch of fiber to support rural Americans. Also on March 5, 2025, the Committee on Energy and Commerce  held a hearing  to discuss the BEAD program titled  Fixing Biden’s Broadband Blunder. CLICK HERE to read the full letter. ###

Apr 17, 2025
Press Release

Chairmen Guthrie, Bilirakis, and Palmer Launch Investigation into 23andMe and its Handling of Americans’ Sensitive Medical and Genetic Information

WASHINGTON, D.C.  – Today, Congressman Brett Guthrie (KY-02), Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, Congressman Gus Bilirakis (FL-12), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade, and Congressman Gary Palmer (AL-06), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, sent a letter to 23andMe regarding the handling of Americans' sensitive data following the company's decision to file for bankruptcy. KEY EXCERPT: “According to 23andMe’s privacy statement, in a bankruptcy, customers’ ‘Personal Information may be accessed, sold or transferred as part of that transaction and this Privacy Statement will apply to [customer] Personal Information as transferred to the new entity.’ Additionally, a judge recently ruled 23andMe has the right to sell the sensitive medical and genetic information of its 15 million customers, which is considered to be the company’s most valuable asset. With the lack of a federal comprehensive data privacy and security law, we write to express our great concern about the safety of Americans’ most sensitive personal information.” Background: On March 23, 2025, 23andMe initiated Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings, which could have ramifications for the highly sensitive information of millions of Americans. While Americans’ personal health information is protected under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), these protections only apply if the information is collected by a HIPAA covered entity. Generally, direct-to-consumer companies, like 23andMe, are not covered by HIPAA. Customers have reported issues accessing and deleting their data from their 23andMe accounts. The Chairmen have requested answers to the following questions: If 23andMe were to sell the personal information of its customers either as a standalone asset or as part of a broader sale of the company, what post-sale data privacy and security protections would be in place for its customers’ personal information? Please describe how the representations made in 23andMe’s privacy statement will continue to apply—and be enforced—if the personal information of 23andMe’s customers is sold to a third party. Please include in this response information about what, if anything, would hold a third-party buyer to 23andMe’s privacy statement or prevent it from subsequently using, transferring, or otherwise selling, such information in the future. Does 23andMe plan to change its privacy statement at any time prior to selling any customers’ personal information? If so, please explain the change 23andMe plans to implement and when those changes will go into effect. Does 23andMe intend to vet prospective buyers to which it may sell its customers’ personal information? If so, please detail the vetting process and whether it will include the prospective buyer’s history of implementing data security protections and compliance with sectoral, state, or any other data privacy and security laws. If not, please explain why. Please detail the categories of customer information 23andMe has, and of that what 23andMe is considering selling. Has 23andMe notified its customers of the company’s bankruptcy announcement? If so, please attach the customer notification. If not, please explain why. Has 23andMe provided its customers with a guide for how to delete, or request to delete any information currently in 23andMe’s possession? If so, please provide a copy of that guide and specify when it was provided to customers. If not, please explain why, and explain whether 23andMe will contact each of its customers and provide an opportunity to delete their personal information prior to a potential sale of the company or personal information maintained by the company. Please detail the number of requests 23andMe received from its customers to delete their personal information between when 23andMe filed for bankruptcy and the date of the response to this letter. Of those requests, please provide a breakdown of how many requests were made by customers through their 23andMe online accounts and how many were made via customer service calls because customers were unable to successfully delete their information through their online accounts. Of those requests, please detail the number of fulfilled requests. Will 23andMe offer for sale any information in which a customer has requested the deletion of such information? If so, does 23andMe’s privacy policy consider selling information a legitimate purpose for retaining information past a customer's request to delete their information? Will 23andMe deidentify its customers’ personal information prior to selling it or the company? If so, please detail which information will be deidentified. If not, please explain why the company is electing not to deidentify information. CLICK HERE to read the full letter. CLICK HERE to read the story from CNBC. ###