Welcome to the Committee on Energy and Commerce.

Washington, D.C. — House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) and Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations Chair Morgan Griffith (R-VA) today announced a hearing titled “Unmasking Challenges CDC Faces in Rebuilding Public Trust Amid Respiratory Illness Season.” “The CDC’s public trust has been damaged as a result of its confusing messaging and other failures during the COVID-19 Pandemic. This lack of trust could lead to complications as America heads into respiratory illness season,” said Chairs Rodgers and Griffith. “We look forward to hearing from Director Cohen about how the agency is applying lessons learned during the pandemic to its public guidance regarding common seasonal illnesses, like influenza and RSV, so that the American people are equipped to make the best decisions for themselves and their families.”   Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations hearing titled “Unmasking Challenges CDC Faces in Rebuilding Public Trust Amid Respiratory Illness Season.” DATE: Thursday, November 30, 2023   TIME: 10:00 AM ET  LOCATION: 2322 Rayburn House Office Building   WITNESSES:   The Honorable Mandy Cohen, M.D. , Director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention   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 Lauren Eriksen with the Committee staff at Lauren.Eriksen@mail.house.gov . If you have any press-related questions, please contact Christopher Krepich at Christopher.Krepich@mail.house.gov . 

Washington, D.C. — House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) and Subcommittee on Health Chair Brett Guthrie (R-KY) today announced a hearing titled “Understanding How AI is Changing Health Care.” “The explosion of AI offers great promise for improving efficiency in the health care system. This technology has the potential to directly help patients, including by allowing doctors and hospitals to spend less time doing paperwork and more time providing care. It also offers hope to those battling deadly diseases that this technology may improve research and development into new treatments and cures,” said Chairs Rodgers and Guthrie. “That said, this level of AI utilization is a new frontier in health care, and this committee has a vested interest in ensuring that it is improving patient care and driving innovation—not being used to supplant the clinical judgement of physicians or indiscriminately limit access to care. It’s also critical that the data that feeds AI is not collected, used, or shared without one’s consent when it may be personally identifiable—which is often not protected under current law. This hearing will give our members a chance to hear from experts and those in the field about how AI is currently being used, as well as what guardrails, like a national data privacy standard, are needed to protect people’s privacy.”  Subcommittee on Health hearing titled “Understanding How AI is Changing Health Care.”   DATE: Wednesday, November 29, 2023   TIME: 10:30 AM ET  LOCATION: 2322 Rayburn House Office Building   WITNESSES: Witnesses will be announced and are by invitation only.  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 Jolie Brochin with the Committee staff at Jolie.Brochin@mail.house.gov . If you have any press-related questions, please contact Christopher Krepich at Christopher.Krepich@mail.house.gov .   NOTE : This hearing is part of an ongoing Energy and Commerce Subcommittee hearing series to explore the role of artificial intelligence across every sector of the economy, including health care, telecommunications, emerging technologies, and energy.

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 subcommittee hearing titled “Oversight of President Biden’s Broadband Takeover.”  The Chairs released the following statement:  “The Energy and Commerce Committee has a responsibility to the American people to ensure the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is being a good steward of taxpayer dollars, faithfully following Congressional intent, and fostering a regulatory environment that allows our communications networks to offer faster speeds and lower costs. Unfortunately, President Biden’s FCC is attempting a government takeover of broadband by imposing burdensome new regulations that will harm people’s access to broadband, increase costs, and slow deployment," said Chair Rodgers and Chair Latta . “We will hold Chair Rosenworcel and the other FCC commissioners accountable for their partisan efforts to micro-manage Americans’ broadband services. The FCC must return to its mission of strengthening U.S. leadership in next-generation technologies.”  Subcommittee on Communications and Technology hearing titled: “Oversight of President Biden’s Broadband Takeover.”   WHAT: Communications and Technology Subcommittee hearing on oversight of the Federal Communications Commission.  DATE: Thursday, November 30, 2023  TIME: 10:30 AM ET  LOCATION: 2123 Rayburn House Office Building  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 . 

Washington D.C. — House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), Communications and Technology Subcommittee Vice Chair Buddy Carter (R-GA), and 23 other Republican Committee members sent a letter to TikTok demanding answers regarding how the Chinese Communist Party is using the app as a tool to surveil and manipulate Americans.  From the letter: “ Disturbingly, millions of TikTok users have recently viewed videos glorifying Osama Bin Laden’s ‘Letter to America,’ which attempts to justify his horrific murder of 3,000 Americans in the September 11, 2001, attacks while also perpetuating ‘the antisemitic trope claiming the Jews ‘control your policies, media and economy.’” Key excerpts from exclusive reporting by FOX NEWS : “ A group of House Republicans is demanding more transparency from TikTok about how content is amplified and how much insight China has into those processes as accusations mount against the social platform that it’s boosting antisemitic videos. “‘On October 7, the Palestinian terrorist organization, Hamas, brutally attacked Israel and killed more than 1,400 people. Since this terrorist attack, disinformation related to the conflict has run rampant on your platform, stoking antisemitism, support, and sympathy for Hamas,’ they wrote to TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew. “The letter is being led by Rep. Buddy Carter, R-Ga. It comes just days after TikTok was under fire for facilitating a surge in viral videos expressing support for Usama bin Laden’s 2002 'Letter to America' written in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks.” […] “National security hawks have been wary of TikTok’s connection to China, with its parent company ByteDance being based in Beijing.” […] “The lawmakers are demanding to know how many employees at TikTok have connections to ByteDance, how the platform screens for misinformation and anti-Israel content amid the conflict with Hamas, and how its algorithms are curated, among other queries. “‘Given that roughly half of TikTok’s U.S. user base is under 25 years old, American youth are being exposed to extremely violent and disturbing images and videos," they wrote. "This deluge of pro-Hamas content is driving hateful antisemitic rhetoric and violent protests on campuses across the country. The CCP has already co-opted your platform, and it seems TikTok and TikTok’s employees are resigned to becoming a mouthpiece for antisemites, terrorists, and propaganda.’” ICYMI: In October, Chair Rodgers called on multiple tech companies, including TikTok, to brief the Energy and Commerce Committee on their moderation policies regarding the spread of illegal content posted by Hamas. CLICK HERE to read the full letter. CLICK HERE to read the Fox News story on the letter.

Washington D.C.— House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), along with Committee Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party Chair Mike Gallagher (R-WI), and Select Committee Ranking Member Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) led a bipartisan letter signed by 14 members of Congress to 10 People’s Republic of China-related automotive companies raising concerns over their handling of data collected while testing their autonomous vehicles in the United States.   The letters were signed by Reps. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Frank Pallone, Jr., Mike Gallagher, Raja Krishnamoorthi, Bob Latta, John Moolenaar, Gus Bilirakis, Kathy Castor, Jan Schakowsky, Neal Dunn, Tim Walberg, Haley Stevens, Marc Veasey, and Debbie Dingell.   Members asked companies to respond to the following inquiries by November 29, 2023: Detail all the categories of information collected by your vehicles while they are deployed in the U.S. Please detail the purposes for which you use each subset of information your company collects in the U.S. Please detail all the categories of information collected by vehicles that you retain, how long you retain it, for what purposes you retain such information, and the process, if any, for deleting such information when it is no longer needed. Do you license, share, or sell data collected in the U.S.?  If so, please detail your policies and practices for licensing, selling, or sharing data collected in the U.S.  Please provide the number of and a description of the entities for which you have licensed, shared, or sold such data in the last three years. Does your company de-identify data?  If no, why not?  If yes, please detail the process by which you de-identify data and describe your policies and procedures for ensuring such data is not reidentified. Are the algorithms used to power any of your self-driving systems subject to CCP export controls requiring the algorithms to be located and trained only in China? Please provide a detailed description of the categories of information, if any, your vehicles collect about infrastructure in the U.S. Do you offer any services to Americans, such as ride hailing services, or delivery services? If yes, please detail such services and the categories of information you collect from Americans who use such services. Do you process or store in China or any other place outside the U.S. any information that is collected in the U.S.? Please identify all specific location(s) where U.S. data is processed or stored, including whether such data is stored within on-premise servers or a cloud infrastructure. Please describe the contracts, leases, and any other arrangements in place with third parties pertaining to the storage of U.S. user data. Please describe how U.S. user data is secured, including any encryption used in transit and at rest and the specific categories of data that are encrypted. List all individuals with the ability to decrypt U.S. data, where those individuals are located and their positions, and where encryption keys are generated and maintained. Has your company ever experienced a breach of its data? If yes, please describe the dates and circumstances of such breaches, nature of the data breached, the categories of data affected, whether that data was collected in the U.S., government authorities that were informed, and any remedial actions taken. Have you shared any of the information collected in the U.S. with the People’s Republic of China (PRC), the CCP, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), any entity that could be reasonably thought to be acting at the direction of one of the above, or any members or officials in such bodies? Have you coordinated with the PRC, CCP, or PLA on your company’s strategy for testing in the U.S.?  If yes, please detail the nature and frequency of such coordination. How many data records were shared?  Do you currently engage in such coordination? Do you coordinate with other Chinese AV companies on your company’s strategy for testing in the U.S.? If yes, please detail the nature and frequency of such coordination. Do you receive any funding from the PRC, CCP, PLA, or Chinese state-owned entities or private equity backed by the PRC, CCP, or PLA, to test your vehicles in the U.S.? If yes, please detail the amount and the purposes for such funding. Do entities supported by or affiliated with the Chinese government or the CCP have access to your company’s network or data depositories? Have these entities used your company to spy, surveil, or observe individuals or groups? If yes, please explain the nature of the access and use. Please outline the steps you would take if you learned that actors supported by or affiliated with the Chinese government or the CCP are or have accessed your company’s network or data depositories, used or are using your company to disseminate disinformation, or are using your company to spy on, surveil, or observe individuals or groups. Please document all meetings, communications, or interactions you - or any other senior company executives - have had with members of the Chinese government or the CCP while serving as officers of the company relating to your operations in the United States. Has your company, or any companies you work with, been accused of stealing any trade secrets from American AV companies? Like ByteDance, does your company have an internal CCP Committee? Please provide an organizational chart detailing your current corporate ownership structure, as well as noting any material changes in that structure that has occurred within the last seven years. CLICK HERE to read the full letter to Baidu.   CLICK HERE to read the full letter to AutoX.   CLICK HERE to read the full letter to Deeproute.ai.   CLICK HERE to reach the full letter to Didi Chuxing.   CLICK HERE to read the full letter to Inceptio.   CLICK HERE to reach the full letter to NIO.   CLICK HERE to read the full letter to Pony.ai.   CLICK HERE to read the full letter to Qcraft.   CLICK HERE to read the full letter to WeRide.   CLICK HERE to read the full letter to XPeng.   DIVE DEEPER : Energy and Commerce is leading on a national data privacy and security standard to put people in control of their personal information. Emerging technologies like AI and self-driving cars rely on massive amounts of data, and it is vital that we prevent the Chinese Communist Party from using these technologies to surveil and manipulate Americans. As part of this effort, the Energy and Commerce Committee is holding hearings to guarantee that the U.S. is leading in the development and deployment of artificial intelligence, while also ensuring robust protections for Americans’ personal data. CLICK HERE to read more.

Washington D.C. — House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Chair Morgan Griffith (R-VA), and Environment, Manufacturing, and Critical Materials Subcommittee Chair Bill Johnson (R-OH) today sent a letter to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael Regan calling on the EPA to withdraw the overreaching and unworkable Clean Power Plan 2.0 proposal, which would make electricity less reliable and more expensive for Americans. The letter, sent on behalf of the Republicans on the Oversight and Environment subcommittees, also requests additional information regarding the EPA’s rule development process, which appeared to be riddled with misleading and defective analyses. EXCERPTS FROM THE LETTER: "Like its predecessor, the Clean Power Plan, the CPP2.0 Proposal aims to transform the nation’s electric generation, causing Americans’ utility service to be less reliable and more expensive. In this way, both the Clean Power Plan, which was stayed and later vacated by the Supreme Court, and this CPP2.0 Proposal, vastly exceed the limited authority Congress granted EPA under Clean Air Act Section 111, thereby violating the “major questions” doctrine." […] “ In addition to our concerns with the legality of the EPA’s CPP2.0 Proposal, the EPA’s promulgation of proposals with misleading and defective analyses undermines public trust and creates costly regulatory and legal uncertainty that harms the orderly planning for power generation that is essential to public welfare. The plainly inaccurate discussion about CO2 pipelines adds to serious questions about the analytical quality of the proposed rule. There are myriad other defects. For example, there are widespread concerns about the accuracy of the EPA’s claim that Boundary Dam, the coal fired EGU in Saskatchewan, Canada, has been adequately demonstrated to capture 90 percent of CO2. Even though the plant’s owner filed comments that the EPA was wrong about this assertion.”   BACKGROUND: Under the Clean Power Plan 2.0, the EPA has introduced policy proposals to set strict, costly, and untested standards on both new and existing natural gas and remaining coal generators.  These changes will have a chilling effect on American natural gas and coal—which account for about 60 percent of U.S. electricity generation—making life unaffordable for Americans and increasing risks for blackouts. The EPA’s proposals are legally dubious, scientifically questionable, and pragmatically unworkable.  The letter was sent ahead of an Energy and Commerce Committee hearing today, where members will hear from state officials on how the EPA’s efforts are affecting their ability to provide affordable, reliable energy to power local economies, keep people safe, and preserve livelihoods in their communities. The Chairs requested Administrator Regan provide the following information by November 28, 2023: Describe in detail your Action Development Process (ADP) for developing the regulatory proposals for GHG standards and guidelines for fossil fuel EGUs, including, but not limited to: The date you or your staff initiated the process and the timeline for each step of the process including the options selection briefing package, draft actions, and final drafts at the conclusion of the process; How you developed your regulatory options, including assessment of alternative approaches, the entities with which you consulted, including federal agencies and non-governmental entities, such as utilities, electric generators, pipeline operators, electric grid operators, and electric reliability entities, etc.; Your evaluation of the full costs of infrastructure development and deployment necessary to support your proposed emissions controls technologies and systems, and if you did not conduct such as evaluation, explain why not; How you validate the accuracy of the information in the proposals; How you determined that CCUS for the power sector has been adequately demonstrated based upon the limited performance of cited power plants; Whether any element of your proposal was not subject to the ADP and identify the element; The role of the Executive Office of the President, including the Office of Management and Budget, National Climate Advisors, and any other member of the White House staff, in developing the CPP2.0 Proposal, including after completion of the ADP. Provide all documents the EPA prepared to initiate this regulatory development process, including all preliminary and final Analytic Blueprints and any other planning or guidance documents covering the approach, scope, underlying technical criteria, legal criteria, and review mechanisms the EPA would follow for developing these GHG regulatory proposals, regulatory impact analyses, and Technical Support Documents. Describe why information supplied in the rulemaking docket was not complete at the time of the initial release of the CPP2.0 Proposal. CLICK HERE to read the full letter to Administrator Regan. CLICK HERE to read the statement from Chairs Rodgers and Johnson following the CPP2.0 Proposal announcement. CLICK HERE for information from the June 6th hearing about the Clean Power Plan 2.0. CLICK HERE to read about a recent letter to FERC regarding the risks posed to the grid by CPP 2.0.