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“Our measure aims to restore the internet’s intended purpose.” Washington D.C. — House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) and Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) today unveiled bipartisan draft legislation to sunset Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. As laid out in the Leaders’ opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal , the legislation seeks to encourage Congress and stakeholders to work together over the next 18 months to evaluate and enact a new legal framework that will allow for free speech and innovation while also incentivizing these companies to be good stewards of their platforms. Excerpts from The Wall Street Journal op-ed by Chair Rodgers and Ranking Member Pallone: The internet’s original promise was to help people and businesses connect, innovate and share information. Congress passed the Communications Decency Act in 1996 to realize those goals. It was an overwhelming success. Section 230 of the act helped shepherd the internet from the “you’ve got mail” era into today’s global nexus of communication and commerce. Unfortunately, Section 230 is now poisoning the healthy online ecosystem it once fostered. Big Tech companies are exploiting the law to shield them from any responsibility or accountability as their platforms inflict immense harm on Americans, especially children. Congress’s failure to revisit this law is irresponsible and untenable. That is why we’re taking bipartisan action. [...] Over the years lawmakers have tried to no avail to address these concerns, thanks in part to Big Tech’s refusal to engage in a meaningful way. Congress has made good-faith efforts to find a solution that preserves Big Tech’s ability to innovate and ensures safety and accountability for past and future harm. It’s time to make that a reality, which is why we are unveiling today bipartisan draft legislation to sunset Section 230. Our measure aims to restore the internet’s intended purpose—to be a force for free expression, prosperity and innovation. It would require Big Tech and others to work with Congress over 18 months to evaluate and enact a new legal framework that will allow for free speech and innovation while also encouraging these companies to be good stewards of their platforms. Our bill gives Big Tech a choice: Work with Congress to ensure the internet is a safe, healthy place for good, or lose Section 230 protections entirely. CLICK HERE to read the full op-ed. CLICK HERE to read the bipartisan discussion draft legislation.

Washington, D.C. — House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and Technology Vice Chair Randy Weber (R-TX) delivered the following opening remarks at today’s field hearing in Bakersfield, California, titled "Perspectives From the Fields: the State of Rural Broadband in America.”  Remarks as prepared for delivery:    IMPORTANCE OF CONNECTIVITY   “Welcome to Bakersfield, California, for today’s hearing to discuss the importance of rural broadband.  “We’ll be focusing mostly today on precision agriculture, but the transformative power of connectivity is much wider.  “I’d like to start by thanking our witnesses for being here today. They are all integral members of this community here to talk about the unique opportunities that internet connectivity provides the great people of Bakersfield and other communities across the country.  “I’d also like to thank Representative Valadao. His gracious invitation to engage with his district on this issue will let us all hear directly from Americans in their own hometown.”  CLOSING THE DIGITAL DIVIDE   “We are in the early stages of an unprecedented effort to close the digital divide, funded by the American taxpayer to the tune of $100 billion.   “The goal of each of those programs is to connect all Americans—especially those in rural America who have been disconnected for decades. The government has to stay out of the way to allow the private sector to give each unique community the tailored approach it deserves.   “Broadband connectivity enables some of the greatest technologies that we have today. Precision agriculture is increasing crop yield and decreasing the resources required for all sorts of farming. Access to broadband internet is providing new opportunities to rural communities for innovation: from drones used to monitor crop health to autonomous tractors.   “My worry is that short-sighted programmatic requirements, workforce shortages, and permitting delays could jeopardize the once-in-a-lifetime investment being made by the American taxpayer. We must find creative solutions to connect every acre of the United States, and there cannot be a one size fits all approach.   “Satellites have always played a key role in precision agriculture, originating with imagery and analysis of crop coverage or water research. Now, with low-earth orbit systems in the mix, satellite internet provides reliable, high-speed connectivity even in the most remote corners of farmland.”   E&C OVERSIGHT   “This committee is conducting the necessary oversight to ensure that the agencies administering this funding are coordinating, staying on task and focusing on the primary purpose of this funding: connecting the unserved.    “Next week we will have an oversight hearing with Alan Davidson, the Assistant Secretary of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration. But today, I want to hear from you about what we can do to help ensure that you are benefitting from the federal programs designed to help you.  “For far too long, rural America has borne the brunt of the digital divide. We now have the chance to change that. I look forward to hearing from members of this community about their stories, and about the impact of bringing broadband to rural communities.”  

Washington D.C. — The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and Technology has postponed its hearing with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) that was previously scheduled for May 7, 2024. WHAT: A subcommittee hearing to consider the FCC’s budget and hold the Biden administration accountable on behalf of the American people. STATUS: Postponed to a later date. This notice is at the direction of the Chair. The hearings will be open to the public and press and will be live streamed online at https://energycommerce.house.gov/ . If you have any questions concerning the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology hearings, please contact Noah Jackson at Noah.Jackson@mail.house.gov . If you have any press-related questions, please contact Sean Kelly at Sean.Kelly@mail.house.gov .

Washington D.C. — House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) and Communications and Technology Subcommittee Chair Bob Latta (R-OH) announced a hearing titled “Perspectives from the Fields: The State of Rural Broadband in America.”  “Fast, reliable internet has become a vital part of people’s every day lives. From education and accessing health care to cutting edge agriculture technology that is helping feed the world, more and more of these activities are utilizing the internet, making connectivity foundational to success. It continues to be our mission to ensure that every community across the country can access broadband, especially in rural areas,” said Chairs Rodgers and Latta. “We are looking forward to hearing from community leaders in Bakersfield, California, about how we can secure meaningful connectivity for every American and close the digital divide.” Communications and Technology Subcommittee hearing titled “Perspectives from the Fields: The State of Rural Broadband in America.”   WHAT: A subcommittee hearing to discuss rural broadband in America. DATE: Friday, May 10, 2024 TIME: 10:00 AM PT (1:00 PM ET) LOCATION: 1001 Truxtun Avenue, Bakersfield, CA 93301 This notice is at the direction of the Chair. The hearing will be open to the public and press and will be live streamed online at https://energycommerce.house.gov/ . If you have any questions concerning the hearing, please contact Noah Jackson at Noah.Jackson@mail.house.gov . If you have any press-related questions, please contact Sean Kelly at Sean.Kelly@mail.house.gov . 

At the direction of Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), Energy and Commerce Republicans are launching an investigation of allegations of rampant bias at NPR, which is funded by U.S. taxpayers. Check out this exclusive coverage in Fox News:  FIRST ON FOX : The House Energy & Commerce Committee is summoning the head of NPR before Congress to answer accusations the outlet has a left-wing bias despite receiving federal funds. Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., directed House Republican leaders to open the probe, he told Fox News Digital. "The Committee has concerns about the direction in which NPR may be headed under past and present leadership. As a taxpayer funded, public radio organization, NPR should focus on fair and objective news reporting that both considers and reflects the views of the larger U.S. population and not just a niche audience," Committee Chairwoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., wrote to NPR CEO Katherine Maher. She led Morgan Griffith, R-Va., chair of the subcommittee on oversight, and Bob Latta, R-Ohio, chair of the subcommittee on communications and technology, in asking Maher to publicly testify before Griffith’s panel next week.  [...]  Johnson told Fox News Digital of the probe, "In light of the recent, disturbing revelations about National Public Radio (NPR) and its leadership, I’ve directed Chair McMorris Rodgers and the Energy and Commerce Committee to conduct an investigation of NPR and determine what actions should be taken to hold the organization accountable for its ideological bias and contempt for facts. The American people support the free press but will not be made to fund a left-leaning political agenda with taxpayer funds."  Conservatives have long accused NPR of reporting with a left-wing bias while some of its funding is provided through federal grants and other government-backed dollars.  Those concerns were recently magnified when former NPR editor Uri Berliner asserted in an op-ed that the outlet mishandled critical stories that stemmed from Hunter Biden’s laptop hard drive and COVID-19 lab leak theories, among others, and that registered Democrats were vastly overrepresented in the newsroom, 87-0. "We also find it disconcerting that NPR’s coverage of major news in recent years has been so polarized as to preclude any need to uncover the truth. These have included news stories on matters of national security and importance, such as the Mueller report, the Hunter Biden laptop, and the COVID-19 origins investigation. On each of these issues, NPR has been accused of approaching its news reporting with an extreme left-leaning lens," the lawmakers wrote. They also took issue with Maher’s own past statements, including a 2021 TED Talk in which she said, according to the letter, "Our reverence for the truth might be a distraction that’s getting in the way of finding common ground and getting things done." "You yourself have stated that you view the First Amendment as ‘the number one challenge’ because speech protections make it ‘tricky’ to suppress ‘bad information’ and the ‘influence peddlers who have made a real market economy around it.’’ Ironically, both you and NPR have used the same First Amendment to protect your own views and statements," they wrote. CLICK HERE to read the full story on Foxnews.com. CLICK HERE to read the letter to Ms. Maher.

Washington, D.C. — House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), Subcommittee on Communications and Technology Chair Bob Latta (R-OH), and Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations Chair Morgan Griffith (R-VA) wrote to NPR CEO Katherine Maher regarding reports of political and ideological bias at the taxpayer-funded public radio organization. In addition to requesting answers to questions, the letter requests Ms. Maher appear before the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee for a hearing on May 8, 2024. "The Committee has concerns about the direction in which NPR may be headed under past and present leadership. As a taxpayer funded, public radio organization, NPR should focus on fair and objective news reporting that both considers and reflects the views of the larger U.S. population and not just a niche audience," the Chairs wrote.   They continued , "We also find it disconcerting that NPR’s coverage of major news in recent years has been so polarized as to preclude any need to uncover the truth. These have included news stories on matters of national security and importance, such as the Mueller report, the Hunter Biden laptop, and the COVID-19 origins investigation. On each of these issues, NPR has been accused of approaching its news reporting with an extreme left-leaning lens." “In light of the recent, disturbing revelations about National Public Radio (NPR) and its leadership, I’ve directed Chair McMorris Rodgers and the Energy and Commerce Committee to conduct an investigation of NPR and determine what actions should be taken to hold the organization accountable for its ideological bias and contempt for facts. The American people support the free press but will not be made to fund a left-leaning political agenda with taxpayer funds.” said Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) regarding the effort. CLICK HERE to read the letter.

How It Happened The days of our foreign adversaries using applications to target, surveil, and manipulate the American people are numbered. Yesterday, thanks to the bipartisan efforts of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, as well as many other Members of the House, H.R. 7521, the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act , was signed into law. TikTok now has a clear choice: Separate from its parent company ByteDance—which is beholden to the CCP—and remain operational in the United States, or side with the CCP and face the consequences. TikTok is on the clock. As Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) said last month, “Foreign adversaries, like the Chinese Communist Party, pose the greatest national security threat of our time. TikTok’s access to 177 million American users makes it a valuable propaganda tool for the CCP to exploit.” She also said, “Companies controlled by a foreign adversary, like the CCP, will NEVER embrace American values like freedom of speech, human rights, the rule of law, and a free press. If given the choice, they will always choose the path for more control, more surveillance, and more manipulation.” With this bill, the United States has sent a clear message to the Chinese Communist Party that we will no longer tolerate our adversaries weaponizing our freedoms against us. Here’s how we got here: MARCH 23, 2023 Chair Rodgers called TikTok CEO Shou Chew to appear before the committee to testify on TikTok’s consumer privacy and data security practices, the platforms’ impact on kids, and its relationship with the Chinese Communist Party. This was Chew’s first appearance before a congressional committee. At our hearing, it was clear that TikTok was beholden to the Chinese Communist Party and could not be trusted to safeguard American data. APRIL 14, 2023 Chair Rodgers, Subcommittee on Innovation, Data and Commerce Chair Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), Subcommittee on Communications and Technology Chair Bob Latta (R-OH), and Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations Chair Morgan Griffith (R-VA) sent a letter to the Assistant Secretary for Export Enforcement at the Department of Commerce imploring him to speak out against TikTok at the annual Global Ethics Summit. In the letter the leaders said, “You have an ethical responsibility to tell the audience of this summit and the American people of TikTok’s threats to our national security and privacy, and to further expose how Mr. Chew failed to be completely transparent to Congress.” MARCH 5, 2024 After nearly a year of bipartisan efforts, H.R. 7521 was formally introduced in the House with 20 cosponsors. Upon introduction of the bill, the Energy and Commerce Committee officially noticed a bipartisan Committee hearing, as well as a markup. MARCH 7, 2024 The Committee’s classified hearing with members of the intelligence community, including the Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigations, and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence made clear the dangers posed by applications that are controlled by foreign adversaries and the need to take action. Later that day, the Energy and Commerce Committee marked up and unanimously passed H.R. 7521 to stop foreign adversaries, like the Chinese Communist Party, from targeting, surveilling, and manipulating Americans. MARCH 13, 2024: The House of Representatives then passed H.R. 7521, the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act , with an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote of 352-65. April 20, 2024 This past weekend, the House of Representatives passed the 21st Century Peace Through Strength Act, which included H.R. 7521, the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act . April 23, 2024 Tuesday evening, just three days after the House of Representatives , the Senate passed the legislation as well, “delivering a historic rebuke of the video-sharing platform’s Chinese ownership after years of failed attempts to tackle the app’s alleged national security risks.” April 24, 2024 The bill was signed into law by President Biden on April 24, 2024, starting the clock on TikTok’s requirement to divest from CCP-controlled ByteDance.

Washington, D.C. — House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) and Communications and Technology Subcommittee Chair Bob Latta (R-OH) condemned the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) decision to reclassify broadband under Title II of the Communications Act of 1934, essentially reclassifying broadband as a public utility. “These efforts by President Biden’s FCC are just the latest attempt by Democrats to assert more federal government control over people’s lives. The last time we had this debate following the repeal of the FCC’s heavy-handed regulations in 2017, Democrats claimed that the Internet as we knew it would end and that we would get the Internet one-word-at-a-time. These outrageous claims proved false, and because we chose to ignore them then, the U.S. has benefited from more investment in broadband networks, faster internet speeds, and lower prices for millions of Americans. Energy and Commerce Republicans will take steps to hold the FCC accountable—including with the introduction of a CRA—as we work to stop the agency’s efforts to reimpose regulations that will hinder our ability to close the digital divide and lead the world in next-generation wireless technology.” ICYMI: On Wednesday, Chair Rodgers and Senate Commerce Committee Ranking Member Ted Cruz (R-TX) led a bicameral coalition of members in sending a letter in calling on the FCC to reverse course and abandon its so-called “net neutrality” draft order. CLICK HERE to read the recent letter to FCC Chair Rosenworcel, which was signed by every Republican on the Committee. CLICK HERE to read the statements from Chairs Rodgers and Latta urging the FCC to reconsider the agency’s revival of the net neutrality debate.

Letter argues agency lacks legal authority to reinstate burdensome rules that will hurt consumers Washington, D.C. – U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) and Senate Commerce Committee Ranking Member Ted Cruz (R-TX) led a bicameral coalition of their committee colleagues in calling on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to reverse course and abandon its so-called “net neutrality” draft order—an illegal power grab that would expose the broadband industry to an oppressive regulatory regime under Title II of the Communications Act. The FCC is set to vote on the draft order on Thursday. The members argue that the FCC’s draft order ignores the text of the Communications Act of 1934, which explicitly precludes the FCC from treating broadband as a public utility. Moreover, the Supreme Court’s recent jurisprudence on the major questions doctrine confirms that the only body that can authorize public utility regulation of broadband is Congress. Resurrecting this failed Obama-era policy, which will inevitably be struck down by the courts, is a waste of time and re sources and will punish American consumers by choking off investment, innovation, and competition. In a letter to Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, the members write: “Congress’s decision to treat broadband Internet access as an information service, rather than a telecommunications service, was a deliberate policy choice. Congress recognized that ‘[t]he Internet and other interactive computer services have flourished, to the benefit of all Americans, with a minimum of government regulation,’ and accordingly decreed that it ‘is the policy of the United States... to promote the continued development of the internet and other interactive computer services... [and] to preserve the vibrant and competitive free market that presently exists for the Internet and other interactive computer services, unfettered by Federal or State regulation.’   “Your proposal to reclassify broadband as a telecommunications service does the exact opposite. It would give the Commission largely unfettered power to impose (and allow states to impose) rate regulation, tariffing requirements, unbundling obligations, entry and exit regulation, and taxation of broadband—the antithesis of leaving broadband ‘unfettered’ by regulation as the law requires. Congress has had many opportunities to give the FCC such power, yet it has never done so in any of its ample legislative enactments regarding broadband over the past two decades. Rather, legislators have repeatedly considered but ultimately rejected efforts to replace the longstanding light-touch framework with common carrier regulation. And for good reason: Title II will inflict significant damage on consumers by chilling investment and innovation.   “Finally, recent jurisprudence from the Supreme Court confirms that the Commission has no power to impose Title II on the broadband industry. As the Commission’s record demonstrates, the question of whether broadband should be subject to public utility regulation is an issue of ‘vast economic and political significance,’ such that the Commission must identify ‘clear authorization from Congress’ to justify such a decision. Our review of the relevant statutory provisions leaves no doubt that, far from possessing the type of ‘clear’ statutory authority required under Supreme Court precedent, the Commission lacks any authority to subject broadband services to common-carrier regulation.” The full list of Senators joining Chair Rodgers and Ranking Member Cruz in sending the letter include: Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Deb Fischer (Re-Neb.), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Todd Young (R-Ind.), Ted Budd (R-N.C.), Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), and Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.). Also signing the letter were Reps. Bob Latta (OH-5), Michael Burgess (TX-26), Brett Guthrie (KY-2), Morgan Griffith (VA-9), Gus Bilirakis (FL-12), Larry Bucshon (IN-8), Richard Hudson (NC-9), Tim Walberg (MI-5), Buddy Carter (GA-1), Jeff Duncan (SC-3), Gary Palmer (AL-6), Neal Dunn (FL-2), John Curtis (UT-3), Debbie Lesko (AZ-8), Greg Pence (IN-6), Dan Crenshaw (TX-2), John Joyce (PA-13), Kelly Armstrong (ND-At-large), Randy Weber (TX-14), Rick Allen (GA-12), Troy Balderson (OH-12), Russ Fulcher (ID-1), August Pfluger (TX-11), Diana Harshbarger (TN-1), Mariannette Miller-Meeks (IA-1), Kat Cammack (FL-3), Jay Obernolte (CA-23), and John James (MI-10). The full text of the letter is available HERE .