Rep. Richard Hudson

R

North Carolina – District 9
representative

Leadership

Chairman Communications and Technology

119th Congress

News & Announcements

Jun 27, 2025
Press Release

Chairmen Guthrie and Hudson Issue Statement After the Supreme Court Upheld the Constitutionality of the Universal Service Fund

WASHINGTON, D.C.  – Today, Congressman Brett Guthrie (KY-02), Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, and Congressman Richard Hudson (NC-09), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, issued the following statement after the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the Universal Service Fund (USF):  "We are glad to see the Supreme Court uphold the constitutionality of the Universal Service Fund, which is critical for expanding reliable internet access to rural and low-income Americans, schools, libraries, and rural health centers,” said Chairmen Guthrie and Hudson. “The Committee on Energy and Commerce can now turn its attention to reforming the USF so it can continue to provide every American with access to the connectivity they need to participate in the 21st century economy.”   Background:   Chairman Hudson is a member of the Universal Service Fund Working Group .

Jun 25, 2025
Markups

Full Committee on Energy and Commerce Advances 13 Bills to Unleash American Energy

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Brett Guthrie (KY-02), Chairman of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, led a markup of 13 bills focused on securing our grid and unleashing American energy. “American families and businesses rely on the abundant and affordable power we produce here at home,” said Chairman Guthrie. “The legislation advanced today will help us meet our energy goals of securing our grid, bringing more baseload power online, and powering the data centers we need to win the race for AI. Thank you to Chairman Latta, and all the members who have worked on these bills that will help provide the energy we need.” Legislative Vote Summary: H.R. 3616 , Reliable Power Act, was reported to the full House by a roll call vote of 28 yeas – 23 nays.     H.R. 1047 , Guaranteeing Reliability through the Interconnection of Dispatchable Power (GRID Power) Act, was reported to the full House by a roll call vote of 28 yeas – 23 nays. H.R. 3632 , Power Plant Reliability Act of 2025, was reported to the full House by a roll call vote of 25 yeas – 21 nays.      H.R. 3638 , Electric Supply Chain Act, was reported to the full House by a roll call vote of 33 yeas – 16 nays. H.R. 3157 , State Energy Accountability Act, was reported to the full House by a roll call vote of 26 yeas – 20 nays. H.R. 3628 , State Planning for Reliability and Affordability Act, was reported to the full House by a roll call vote of 25 yeas – 23 nays.     H.R. 3657 , Hydropower Relicensing Transparency Act, was reported to the full House as amended by a roll call vote of 47 yeas – 0 nays. H.R. 3015 , National Coal Council Reestablishment Act, was reported to the full House by a roll call vote of 25 yeas – 20 nays.     H.R. 3617 , Securing America’s Critical Minerals Supply Act, was reported to the full House as amended by a roll call vote of 23 yeas – 21 nays.     H.R. 3109 , Researching Efficient Federal Improvements for Necessary Energy Refining (REFINER) Act, was reported to the full House by a roll call vote of 28 yeas – 20 nays.     H.R. 3062 , Promoting Cross-border Energy Infrastructure Act, was reported to the full House by a roll call vote of 28 yeas – 23 nays.     H.R. 1949 , Unlocking our Domestic LNG Potential Act of 2025, was reported to the full House by a roll call vote of 26 yeas - 23 nays. H.R. 3668 , Improving Interagency Coordination for Pipeline Reviews Act was reported to the full House by a roll call vote of 27 yeas – 23 nays. Watch the full markup here . Below are key excerpts from today’s markup: Congressman August Pfluger (TX-11) : “My legislation, the Unlocking our Domestic Energy Potential Act, would ensure that a ban is never again placed on LNG exports. LNG exports unequivocally benefit our economy and domestic prices, and Congress must act to remove the politics from energy exports just as this committee did in 2015 when it lifted the crude oil export ban. The IEA expects global gas demand to reach record highs in the coming years, underscoring the need for new LNG supply, and it must be the United States, not Iran, not Russia, nor any other adversarial country that, that meets that demand and supplies affordable, clean, and abundant energy to the world.” Congressman Richard Hudson (NC-13): “If we want to fuel our nation forward, lower costs for consumers, win the AI race against China, and strengthen our position as an energy superpower. It is critical we have regulatory and statutory processes in place to build infrastructure in this country. This is a race we cannot lose. I urge my colleagues to vote yes on the Improving Interagency Coordination for Pipeline Reviews Act.” Congressman Gabe Evans (CO-08) : “ The State Planning for Reliability and Affordability Act is a common sense measure that will help incentivize better energy policy in Colorado and across the nation. The bill will help states lower the financial burden that constituents like mine are facing by encouraging states to consider implementing policy that focuses on long term energy reliability, which of course encourages affordability for working class families. Countless folks in my district are working tirelessly, tirelessly to put food on the table and achieve the American dream. But one of the biggest hurdles that my constituents are facing right now is skyrocketing utility costs.” ###

Jun 19, 2025
Communications & Technology

Chairmen Guthrie, Bilirakis, and Hudson Issue Statement on Extension of TikTok’s Divestiture Deadline

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 Richard Hudson (NC-09), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, issued the following statement after President Trump delayed enforcement of the TikTok divestiture requirement: “We remain committed to seeing TikTok divested from the Chinese Communist Party-affiliated ByteDance. Our enemies will use any tool at their disposal to surveil and potentially manipulate the American people,”   said Chairmen Guthrie, Bilirakis, and Hudson.   “We remain committed to protecting the privacy and security of the American public and are hopeful the Administration will continue working to facilitate a deal that brings TikTok into compliance with the law soon.” ###

Letters

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 30, 2024
Press Release

E&C Republicans Press NIH to Confirm Agency Isn’t Funding Russian Research

Washington, D.C. — House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), Subcommittee on Health Chair Brett Guthrie (R-KY), and Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations Chair Morgan Griffith (R-VA), on behalf of the Health and Oversight Subcommittee Republicans, wrote to National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director Monica Bertagnolli. In the letter, the Chairs ask the NIH to confirm by May 14, 2024, whether the agency has complied with White House guidance to stop funding projects led by researchers and entities in Russia.  BACKGROUND :  On June 11, 2022, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) issued guidance stating such projects and programs that commenced and/or were funded prior to Russia’s further invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 may be concluded, but new projects in affected subject areas will not be initiated.   The OSTP advised applicable departments and agencies to curtail interaction with the leadership of Russian government-affiliated universities and research institutions, as well as those who have publicly expressed support for the invasion of Ukraine.  In a statement in an April 9, 2023, article in The Washington Times , the NIH’s Office of Extramural Research claimed that “NIH currently does not fund any research in Russia.”  However, the Data Abyss tracker for the OSTP Russia guidance on federal funding agencies indicates that, as of April 5, 2024, the NIH has potentially 240 instances of problematic research collaborations since June 2022 that do not comply with the guidance. CLICK HERE to read the letter.

Apr 17, 2024
Press Release

E&C Republicans Expand Investigation into Sexual Harassment at NIH to now Include Review of HHS Office of Civil Rights Compliance Role

Washington, D.C. — House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), Subcommittee on Health Chair Brett Guthrie (R-KY), and Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations Chair Morgan Griffith (R-VA), on behalf of the Health and Oversight Subcommittee Republicans, wrote to Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra.  The letter outlines concerns with the role HHS Office of Civil Rights (OCR) plays—or fails to play—in investigating instances of sexual harassment that occurs at research institutions which receive grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).  KEY EXCERPTS :  “There have been several public reports of sexual harassment occurring on NIH-funded research or NIH-supported activities over the last decade, and it raises concerns about what, if any, actions the NIH has taken to resolve these issues. The NIH’s own statistics show a significant problem with more than 300 cases related to sexual or gender harassment since 2018—with about a third of those allegations being substantiated. This also represents hundreds of men and women who may be forced to operate in a hostile or unsafe research environment.”  [...]  “According to the HHS website, OCR does investigate and resolve complaints of sexual harassment in the education and health programs of recipients of grants or other federal financial assistance from HHS—including the NIH. Moreover, HHS OCR is required to conduct periodic compliance reviews of institutional Title IX programs to ensure compliance with the law—including examining the way in which complaints are handled by the institution.”  The Chairs have requested answers to questions about HHS OCR’s role by April 30, 2024.  BACKGROUND :  Based on a recommendation from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), HHS OCR and the NIH adopted a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to facilitate communication between the two components of HHS as it relates to sexual harassment.   This MOU was intended to clarify procedures on how the enforcement arm of HHS and the grant-making arm share valuable information with one another in an effort to respond appropriately to complaints of sexual harassment and prevent federal grant money from going to those with a history of sexual misconduct.   TIMELINE OF INVESTIGATION :  August 10, 2021 : E&C Republican Leaders Question NIH’s Handling of Sexual Harassment Complaints  August 11, 2022 : E&C Republican Leaders follow up with NIH on Insufficient Response to its Letter on the NIH’s handling of Sexual Harassment  November 30, 2022 : E&C Republicans to NIH: Turn Over Previously Requested Information Ahead of New Congress  March 14, 2023 : E&C Republicans Press NIH for Information on Handling of Sexual Harassment Complaints  October 6, 2023 : E&C Republicans Signal Intent to Issue Subpoenas to Obtain Information on NIH’s Handling of Sexual Harassment if Questions Go Unanswered  January 26, 2024 : Chair Rogers notifies NIH of Imminent Subpoena  February 5, 2024 : Chair Rodgers Subpoenas NIH for Documents Related to Investigation into Sexual Harassment at NIH and NIH Grantee Institutions February 20, 2024: HHS Responds on behalf of NIH to offer a rolling in camera document review to the Committee. Documents produced in the review have been highly redacted, including the redaction of the names of individuals convicted of criminal offenses, public news articles about individuals who have been found guilty of harassment, and redaction of the names of the institutions where the abuse occurred—effectively preventing the Committee from understanding if NIH continues to fund work performed by substantiated abusers at other institutions—a practice known as “pass the harasser.”