Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade

WASHINGTON, D.C.  – Congressman Gus Bilirakis (FL-12), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade, delivered the following opening statement at today’s hearing titled  Moving the Goalposts: How NIL is Reshaping College Athletics. Subcommittee Chairman Bilirakis' opening statement as prepared for delivery: “Good morning and thank you to our witnesses for being here. I’m really excited to hold this hearing today on the evolving landscape of Name, Image, and Likeness—commonly known as NIL—and its impact on college athletics.   “In just a few years, college athletics has fundamentally reshaped the lives of student-athletes who can now benefit from their NIL. Before 2021, athletes were barred from profiting off of their own NIL, but in response to legal challenges and a Supreme Court decision, the NCAA ended those restrictions, finally giving our student-athletes their much-deserved ability to earn compensation for their brand and God given talent. “However, the absence of a preemptive uniform standard has led to a 'Wild West' environment where, sadly, our student athletes are put in vulnerable positions where they can easily be exploited by those who do not have their best interests in mind. I’ve heard awful stories of student athletes signing deals without having been given full explanations for how their deal would impact their long-term finances and livelihood.   “This lack of structure has also allowed NIL collectives, who are often affiliated with universities but operating independently, to turn NIL into a pay-for-play system. Instead of being used for legitimate business opportunities, NIL deals are frequently given out as recruiting inducements, with little transparency or oversight. “I’m also concerned about the transfer portal. All of us want to make sure student athletes have the freedom to make the best collegiate and educational decisions for themselves and for their future. “But this current system is not workable as athletes are entering the portal at an unprecedented rate, sometimes multiple times in their careers with a hope, but not a guarantee, for something better. “I’m sure we have all heard the stories of student athletes being encouraged to transfer schools based on promises of NIL money that never materializes. Others transfer expecting better playing time, only to find themselves in a worse situation. This revolving-door system has created instability for both athletes and the programs they leave behind, with many student-athletes ending up without a clear academic or athletic path. “We often focus on NIL and the business side of college athletics, but we must remember that these are still student athletes—young men and women who are supposed to be receiving an education that prepares them for a life beyond sports. Yet, too many are making life-altering financial and academic decisions without the proper guidance. “Some are signing NIL deals without understanding tax and legal implications. Others are transferring from school to school without receiving the academic support they need to graduate.  “If we are serious about protecting student-athletes, we need to ensure they have the resources and education necessary to navigate this new era successfully.  That’s why I’m so glad to have Emily and Anthony with us today. Thank you for sharing your stories as student athletes and how you were able to traverse this complex environment. It gives all student athletes the chance to learn and better themselves.  “That brings me to a point I really want to drive home. We are working on this issue, not to put one school over another, even though, and cover your ears, Coach Beamer, I would love to see my Florida Gators hoist that championship trophy again soon. “No, we are doing this for the student athletes, for the young men and women who advance to college so that they can continue playing the sports they love and use that experience to help them succeed throughout their lives. “So, it is crucial we establish a preemptive standard that protects student-athletes but also doesn’t endanger the many sports programs that we don’t see on ESPN or that bring in billions of dollars. “This is too important of an issue to get wrong, so I look forward to a thoughtful discussion and working toward solutions that support both student-athletes and the long-term future of college sports. “With that, I yield back.” ###

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade led a hearing titled Moving the Goalposts: How NIL is Reshaping College Athletics . “Student athletes have the right to benefit from use of their name, image and likeness (NIL) but the rapid evolution of NIL has created a chaotic and unpredictable system,” said Chairman Bilirakis. “During today’s Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade Subcommittee hearing, we discussed ways to stabilize the NIL environment and ensure the well-being of student athletes while preserving the integrity of college sports. We look forward to advancing this important priority.” Watch the full hearing here . Below are key excerpts from today’s hearing: Representative Jay Obernolte (CA-23): “When I was in college, I played on the Caltech football team. Go Beavers! But then later in my life, I got into video game development, and my company did the development of NCAA College Football for EA Sports in 1998 and 1999. I remember vividly having the argument of ‘why can't we use the student athletes' names in the game?’ They told us that we could use your number. We could use your stats. We could make a player that looked vaguely like you, but not too much like you. And I remember saying, ‘this is completely stupid because everybody loses!’ The student athletes lose because they're not allowed to get compensated. We as game designers lose because we're not allowed to design a game around the athletes as we wanted to. The players of the game lose because they're not allowed to see the players that they love and recognize in the games that they bought. So, we have an opportunity here to create a system where everybody wins. And if we create a system where someone loses, then we’re not doing our jobs right.” Representative Diana Harshbarger (TN-01): “I got a lot of worries about this NIL. I have two grandsons coming up. They love football, basketball, the whole nine yards. I worry about the number of times they can go through the portal. I worry about the agents and the collectives. Is there standardization? Do they need to have some type of accreditation? I worry about no limit on outside money.” Representative Tom Kean (NJ-07): “As the landscape of college athletics continues to evolve, NIL has created new opportunities for student athletes, also raising concerns about fairness, recruitment, and the role of higher education in sports. As we consider federal legislation, it is critical that we strike the right balance, ensuring that athletes can benefit from their name, image, and likeness (NIL), preserving the integrity of college athletics and keeping competition fair for all schools, including those in New Jersey.” ###

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Brett Guthrie (KY-02), Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, and Congressman Gus Bilirakis (FL-12), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade, announced a hearing titled Moving the Goalposts: How NIL is Reshaping College Athletics . “Student-athletes have the right to benefit from the use of their name, image, and likeness (NIL), but the rapid evolution of NIL has created a chaotic and unpredictable system. While universities must maintain their educational mission, the lack of clear, consistent rules has left athletes, schools, and conferences navigating an unsustainable landscape,” said Chairmen Guthrie and Bilirakis. “This hearing is an important opportunity to discuss ways to stabilize the NIL environment and ensure the well being of the student-athletes while preserving the integrity of college sports.” Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade hearing titled Moving the Goalposts: How NIL is Reshaping College Athletics . WHAT: Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade hearing addressing the landscape of name, image, and likeness issues in college athletics. DATE: Tuesday, March 4, 2025 TIME: 10:15 AM ET LOCATION: 2123 Rayburn House Office Building This notice is at the direction of the Chairmen. The hearing will be open to the public and press and will be live streamed online at energycommerce.house.gov . If you have any questions concerning the hearing, please contact Alex Khlopin with the Committee staff at Alex.Khlopin@mail.house.gov . If you have any press-related questions, please contact Daniel Kelly at Daniel.Kelly@mail.house.gov . ###

Washington, D.C. — House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) today sent letters to five independent federal agencies urging the Biden-Harris administration appointees to abandon partisan efforts and instead focus remaining efforts on bipartisan, consensus items.   The letters state, “The results of the 2024 presidential election are now apparent and leadership of the [agency] will soon change. As a traditional part of the peaceful transfer of power, the [agency] should immediately stop work on any partisan or controversial item under consideration, consistent with applicable law and regulation.”    Click below to read each agency’s letter:   Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) Federal Communications Commission (FCC)   Federal Trade Commission (FTC)   Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)   Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Note: In the letter, Chair Rodgers urges NRC to continue timely implementation of the ADVANCE Act. 

Letter comes on the eve of athletes competing in the Paris Olympics and after WADA’s President refused to attend an Energy and Commerce Committee oversight hearing Washington, D.C. — In a new letter to World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) President Witold Banka, bipartisan House Energy and Commerce Committee leaders pressed for answers regarding WADA’s handling of positive doping cases within China’s national swimming team ahead of the Tokyo Olympics. The letter contains questions that bipartisan Committee Members would have asked during a recent Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations hearing , which Mr. Banka was invited to attend but refused to appear. Witnesses that did testify at the hearing included: Michael Phelps, American swimmer and Olympic gold medalist   Allison Schmitt, American swimmer and Olympic gold medalist   Travis Tygart , Chief Executive Officer, United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) KEY EXCERPTS:   “We write today to express our sincere disappointment at your refusal to accept our invitation to attend and provide testimony at our recent Subcommittee hearing. Members of Congress have important questions for the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and are especially concerned about recent reports of your handling of dozens of cases of doping within the Chinese swimming team.  “WADA purports to maintain the integrity of sports by creating a fair and competitive sporting environment free from doping. As a U.S. taxpayer supported entity, WADA has a responsibility to the American people to ensure this integrity by enforcing international testing requirements. We believe WADA has fallen short of this important mission. ”  [...]   “ We are particularly concerned with the excessive deference being extended toward CHINADA—a state-funded operation with leadership deeply intertwined with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), as current [Chinese Anti-Doping Agency] CHINADA director Li Zhiquan also serves as a Committee Secretary for the CCP. At a meeting in 2023, Zhiquan called on CHINADA employees to be 'loyal to the party' and to 'hold high the great banner of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era.' Furthermore, WADA’s reported sponsorship arrangement with ANTA Sports—the Chinese athletic company sponsoring the Chinese Olympic Committee and China’s national swimming federation—could be perceived as a conflict of interest. Since WADA is expected to uphold and maintain international anti-doping standards, WADA’s apparent lack of skepticism and failure to enforce the rules against CHINADA is troubling. While we are aware that WADA has opened an investigation, we are concerned that international scrutiny was necessary to force due diligence that should be routine .”  [...]  “This incident unfortunately reinforces our concern that WADA appears to be reverting to its previous poor management practices.”  [...]  “With the Paris Summer Olympic Games Opening Ceremony just a day away , the Committee seeks to better understand the circumstances surrounding WADA’s decision not to appeal the decision to clear the twenty-three swimmers who tested positive for trimetazidine.”   BACKGROUND :  In January 2021, 23 Chinese swimmers (“23 swimmers”) tested positive for trimetazidine, or TMZ, a banned substance improperly used to increase stamina and hasten recovery times.  Three months after the positive tests, CHINADA initiated an investigation into the source of the TMZ and by June 2021 claimed the athletes ingested the banned substance through food tainted in a hotel kitchen.  According to reporting, Chinese investigators “offered no explanation […] for how a prescription drug available only in pill form had contaminated an entire kitchen.”  In reliance on “external legal advice” and its science department, WADA determined that CHINADA’s claims were “plausible” and chose not to appeal the decision or further investigate the matter.  Three of these Chinese swimmers went on to win gold medals at the Tokyo Olympic Games in July of 2021.  China has selected 11 swimmers that tested positive for TMZ before the Tokyo Games to compete in the upcoming Paris Games.  In a strikingly similar case, Kamila Valieva, a Russian figure skater, also tested positive for the banned substance TMZ during the 2022 Beijing Olympics.  The Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) issued a provisional suspension but was quickly cleared by RUSADA’s discipline board, since Valieva claimed she ingested the substance by mistake through a contaminated source.  Rather than simply accept RUSADA’s contamination explanation, WADA appealed the decision and ultimately, Valieva received a four-year ban from competition and was retroactively stripped of her gold medal. The letter was signed by Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) and Committee Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr., (D-NJ), Subcommittee on Innovation, Data, and Commerce Chair Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) and Ranking Member Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), and Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations Chair Morgan Griffith (R-VA) and Ranking Member Kathy Castor (D-FL). CLICK HERE to read the full letter.

Washington, D.C. — House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) and Oversight and Acoountability Committee Chair James Comer (R-KY) sent letters to eight federal agencies today following the recent Supreme Court decision on Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo , in which the court overruled Chevron deference. Science, Space, and Technology Committee Chair Frank Lucas (R-OK) and House Agriculture Committee Chair GT Thompson (R-PA) joined Chairs Rodgers and Comer on an additional letter sent to the Environmental Protection Agency. KEY LETTER EXCERPT: “We write to call to your attention Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, a recent Supreme Court decision that precludes courts from deferring to agency interpretations when the statutes are ambiguous. In its decision, the Court explicitly overruled Chevron U.S.A. Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc., 467 U.S. 837 (1984), which required deference to agency interpretations of ambiguous statutes. By allowing such deference, the Court in Chevron enabled the ‘Administrative State’ to usurp the legislative authority that the Constitution grants exclusively to Congress in Article I. The Chevron decision led to broader, more costly and more invasive agency regulation of Americans’ lives, liberty, and property.   “Perhaps no administration has gone as far as President Biden’s in issuing sweeping Executive edicts based on questionable assertions of agency authority. The Biden administration has promulgated far more major rules, imposing vast costs and paperwork burdens, than either its most recent predecessors. Many of these rules...have been based on overreaching interpretations of statutes enacted by Congress years ago, before the issues now regulated were even imagined.   “The expansive Chevron deference has undermined our system of government, creating an unaccountable Administrative State. Thankfully, the Court has now corrected this pattern, reaffirming that ‘[i]t is emphatically the province and duty of the judicial department to say what the law is.’ Given the Biden administration’s record of agency overreach, we are compelled to underscore the implications of Loper Bright and remind you of the limitations it has set on your authority.”   CLICK HERE to read the letter to the Environmental Protection Agency. CLICK HERE to read the letter to the Federal Communications Commission.  CLICK HERE to read the letter to the Consumer Product Safety Commission.  CLICK HERE to read the letter to the Federal Trade Commission.  CLICK HERE to read the letter to Department of Commerce.   CLICK HERE to read the letter to the Department of Energy.  CLICK HERE to read the letter to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.  CLICK HERE to read the letter to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.  CLICK HERE to read the letter to the National Highway Transportation and Safety Administration.