Innovation, Data, and Commerce

Washington, D.C. — House Energy and Commerce Committee Vice Chair Kelly Armstrong (R-ND) and Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Vice Chair Debbie Lesko (R-AZ) introduced several bills to protect Americans’ rights and prevent the Biden administration bureaucrats from banning natural gas stoves nationwide:  “President Biden and the radical left want to use the federal government’s power to dictate what kind of car you can drive, how you can heat your home and business, and now how you’re allowed to cook food for your family. Forcing people to switch to expensive alternatives will only further increase costs on hardworking families and disproportionately harm the most vulnerable communities. Natural gas is a safe, reliable and affordable energy source for millions of Americans. I commend the efforts of my colleagues Reps. Armstrong and Lesko to end President Biden’s efforts to ban gas stoves in American households and ensure people have access to affordable and reliable energy," said Chair Rodgers   “Inflation is hurting everyone. We have a crisis at our Southern Border. North Dakotans are worried about being able to provide for their families. What is the Biden administration focused on? Controlling the kind of stove Americans use. This is further incompetence from an administration that seems more interested in dictating every aspect of our lives than solving real problems. Our bill makes it clear that Americans should decide if a gas stove is right for their families, not the federal government,” said Congressman Armstrong.   “The Biden Administration’s extreme proposed regulation that will ban nearly every gas stove on the market is just another example of out-of-touch bureaucrats trying to control Americans’ everyday lives,” said Congresswoman Lesko. “I am proud to join Congressman Armstrong in introducing these important bills to protect Americans’ consumer choice and stop this egregious power-grab.”  CLICK HERE to read H.R. 1640, the Save Our Gas Stoves Act.  CLICK HERE to read H.R. 1615, the Gas Stove Protection and Freedom Act. 

Washington, D.C. — House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) and Innovation, Data, and Commerce Subcommittee Chair Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) today announced a subcommittee hearing  on Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) titled “Taking the Buzzer Beater to the Bank: Protecting College Athletes’ NIL Dealmaking Rights.”  “Athletes and students should have every opportunity to succeed in life and in the sport they’re passionate about,” said Rodgers and Bilirakis . “E&C is working to ensure a clear set of rules for male and female athletes of every sport to benefit from their name, image, and likeness—at both large and small schools in every state—to preserve the future of college athletics. Given that March Madness is upon us, we look forward to holding this timely hearing and reigniting discussions on how we can protect the rights of young athletes across the country.”  Subcommittee on Innovation, Data, and Commerce hearing title: “ Taking the Buzzer Beater to the Bank: Protecting College Athletes’ NIL Dealmaking Rights .”  WHAT: Innovation, Data, and Commerce Subcommittee hearing on protecting the name, image, and likeness rights of college athletes.   DATE: Wednesday, March 29, 2023  TIME: 10:30 AM ET  LOCATION: 2322 Rayburn House Office Building  This announcement 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 Jessica Herron at Jessica.Herron@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) delivered the following opening remarks at today’s Full Committee markup of 20 bills. Excerpts and highlights below: PROSPERITY OVER ENERGY POVERTY “We will consider twenty bills from three of our subcommittees—to help secure our energy future and global competitive edge. “In 15 of the bills, we are leading to ensure reliable, secure, clean, and affordable delivery of energy. “Energy is foundational to everything. “For centuries it has driven human progress and development and it is why America has done more to lift people out of poverty and raise the standard of living than anywhere else. “According to data from 2017, 3.7 billion people are living in energy poverty. That is half the world. “They have a 10-year lower life expectancy—35 percent fewer years of education—and many don’t have electricity at all. “Our goal today is to celebrate how our abundant energy resources have unleashed prosperity and invited people from across the globe to come to America to achieve their hopes and dreams. “We’ve accomplished this as a leader in reducing emissions and with the highest environmental and labor standards in the world. “We cannot afford to move backwards with a reckless command-and-control so-called climate agenda that forces people to pay more and go without reliable energy.” HIGH ENERGY COSTS HURT AMERICANS “Unfortunately, that is what we see right now and what President Biden has pursued since his first day in office. “From the gas station to the grocery store, his war on American energy is making life harder and more expensive for the hardworking people of this country. “Families on average have been forced to pay $10,000 more over the last two years for everyda y goods and services. “More than a third of households say they have forgone food and medicine in order to pay their energy bills. “It shouldn’t be this way.” BECOMING DANGEROUSLY RELIANT ON CHINA “President Biden is also weakening our security and making us dangerously reliant on China’s supply chains that are more harmful to the environment and use slave labor. “China’s overall share of energy minerals processing surpasses OPEC’s share of oil markets in many key areas—from 40% to 100% of key materials and processing. “DOE has noted, that China’s control of key materials in renewable energy is quote ‘across the board.’ “To win the future, we cannot allow our energy security to be surrendered the CCP.” REPUBLICAN SOLUTIONS TO AFFORDABLE, RELIABLE AND SECURE ENERGY “Our energy and climate solutions before us today are just the beginning of our work to unleash American energy, lower costs, and secure our supply chains. “We want to lift barriers to expanding our energy supplies, remove red tape over exportation and importation of LNG, and build more pipelines with our North American allies and across the states. “We also want to repeal taxes that will harm communities, shut down production, and raise prices across the entire economy. “We are leading to prevent bans on key energy technologies and stop the administration from closing off markets that would increase prices even more. “All of this will help open critical markets for energy to boost production and help drive down costs.” STRENGTHENING CRITICAL MATERIAL SUPPLY CHAINS “Other bills focus on securing the critical energy materials to be less reliant on Chinese supply chains. “That includes bolstering the Department of Energy’s responsibilities to assess, identify, and address supply chain vulnerabilities. “Further, several bills today reduce regulatory red tape for onshoring critical minerals processing and refining facilities without compromising environmental protections. “That’s how we beat China and advance prosperity for America.” PROMOTING AMERICAN LEADERSHIP AND BEATING CHINA “In addition to these energy and environment bills, we are also taking action today on several solutions from our Innovation, Data, and Commerce subcommittee. “We know the CCP wants to replace us as a global economic and technological leader. “We must protect American data from CCP's malicious behaviors and make sure the technologies of tomorrow are developed with our values. “That is why we are leading on five solutions that will bolster our competitive edge and help secure people’s personal information from the CCP. “Overall, I look forward to our mark up today and I thank all my colleagues for their hard work. “We have a long list of bills to work through that I know will improve the lives of those we serve and secure a better future here at home.”

Washington, D.C. — House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy Rodgers (R-WA), Subcommittee on Communications and Technology Chair Bob Latta (R-OH), Subcommittee on Health Chair Brett Guthrie (R-KY), Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations Chair Morgan Griffith (R-VA), Subcommittee on Innovation, Data, and Commerce Chair Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), Subcommittee on Environment, Manufacturing, and Critical Materials Chair Bill Johnson (R-OH), and Subcommittee on Energy, Climate, and Grid Security Jeff Duncan (R-SC) wrote to the heads of the Department of Energy, Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and Department of Commerce laying out expectations for intergovernmental cooperation regarding oversight. As Chair Rodgers said in the full committee markup of Energy and Commerce’s Authorization and Oversight Plan for the 118th Congress, “We have a responsibility to conduct oversight to get answers on behalf of those we serve and to ensure accountability so the government is responsive to the American people.” The members outline the below seven principles for each agency or department to comply with Congressional requests and provide answers the American people deserve. 1. For all requests or questions, please reproduce the requests or questions presented in a written letter with the department or agency response. 2. In the spirit of comity and inter-branch accommodation, your department or agency should endeavor to cooperate as much as possible with committee oversight requests. If your department or agency has determined it will not voluntarily cooperate with the requests, please provide electronic written notice within two business days specifying which requests you are declining to cooperate with and the stated reasons for voluntary noncooperation. 3. Your department or agency should make a determination on whether certain requests cannot be fulfilled as presented. Provide electronic written notice within one business week of receipt of the request about such determinations, stating the reasons why. If there is an alternative approach that could address the Committee’s request, then such an alternative approach should be suggested in the interests of comity and inter-branch accommodation. 4. If the department or agency needs clarification about a Committee request, your staff should make good faith efforts to contact Committee staff for assistance as soon as possible. 5. We expect your department or agency to provide a written response to our oversight requests within two weeks of receipt of the letter. If the department or agency needs additional time to respond to Committee requests, your staff should make good faith efforts to contact Committee staff for assistance as soon as possible. 6. If your department or agency has determined that certain requested documents cannot be produced pursuant to a privilege or other legal basis, your department or agency should submit an index of the withheld documents and the privilege asserted within two business weeks of receipt of the request letter. 7. If your department has determined that a requested witness cannot be made available pursuant to a privilege or other legal basis, your department or agency should submit in writing an explanation of the privilege or other legal basis asserted within two business weeks of receipt of the request letter. CLICK HERE to view the letter to Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm. CLICK HERE to view the letter to HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra. CLICK HERE to view the letter to EPA Administrator Michael Regan. CLICK HERE to view the letter to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.

Washington, D.C. — House Energy and Commerce Committee Republican Leader Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), Oversight and Investigation Subcommittee Republican Leader Morgan Griffith (R-VA), Communications and Technology Subcommittee Republican Leader Bob Latta (R-OH), and Consumer Protection and Commerce Subcommittee Republican Leader Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) sent a letter to TikTok this week following reports over how the company has failed to address the sexual exploitation of kids on its platform. Excerpts and highlights from the  exclusive coverage  by Forbes: “‘TikTok has been incapable of rooting out the spate of TikTok accounts that are trading illegal child sexual content,’ four House lawmakers wrote Wednesday to TikTok’s chief, citing a November Forbes investigation that revealed how illicit private handles on the platform are hiding child abuse material in plain sight—posted using a setting that makes it visible only to the person logged in. “‘Equally troubling are the livestreams your company hosts that allow adult TikTok users to monetarily persuade children to perform sexually suggestive acts,’ the letter continued, citing a separate Forbes investigation, from April, into how adults use TikTok Live to exploit underage girls—by paying them to engage in provocative, potentially illegal behavior. “‘Considering that about half of all U.S. children use TikTok every day, our concerns enumerated above are paramount. … Therefore, we ask you [to] provide the Committee with a briefing as soon as possible, but no later than December 21,’ the memo concluded. It was led by Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington, the top Republican on the powerful Energy and Commerce Committee who, along with her counterpart on House Oversight, opened an investigation into TikTok in July over China’s ability to access U.S. user data. Reps. Gus Bilirakis of Florida, Morgan Griffith of Virginia and Bob Latta of Ohio also signed onto the letter fired off Wednesday and shared exclusively with Forbes.” CLICK HERE  to read the full Forbes story. CLICK HERE  to read the full letter to TikTok.

Washington, D.C. —  Bipartisan Energy and Commerce Committee leaders wrote to the CEO of Ticketmaster’s parent company Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. today raising concerns about potentially unfair or deceptive practices in the live ticketing industry and the chaotic ticket pre-sale for Taylor Swift’s upcoming concert tour. The Committee leaders requested a staff briefing from the company on the key areas of concern. The letter was signed by Energy and Commerce Republican Leader Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Republican Leader Morgan Griffith (R-VA) and Chair Diana DeGette (D-CO), and Consumer Protection and Commerce Subcommittee Republican Leader Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) and Chair Jan Schakowsky (D-IL). “The Energy and Commerce Committee has previously raised concerns about business practices in the live ticketing industry,”  the Committee leaders wrote.  “The recent pre-sale ticketing process for Taylor Swift’s upcoming Eras tour—in which millions of fans endured delays, lockouts, and competition with aggressive scammers, scalpers, and bots—raises concerns over the potential unfair and deceptive practices that face consumers and eventgoers.” In 2019, the Energy and Commerce Committee  launched a bipartisan investigation into allegations of unfair and deceptive practices in the live event ticketing industry. In February 2020, the Committee  held a hearing  with industry leaders including then Ticketmaster North America President Amy Howe, where she testified, “[Ticketmaster] is thoroughly committed to business practices that promote transparency, deter deceptive practices, and provide customers with the ability to enjoy a concert, show, or game.” The Committee leaders noted that the circumstances surrounding ticket sales for Swift’s upcoming tour as well as other recent major tour ticket sales cast serious doubt on those commitments. “To better understand the obstacles consumers have recently faced and to hear an update on actions the company has taken to maximize the experiences of average consumers, we request a Committee staff briefing with your company,”  the bipartisan Committee leaders continued.  “This should include a discussion on additional fees, insider reserves, dynamic pricing, restrictions on transferability, limited ticket availability, speculative ticketing, verified fan program requirements, and scalping by bots and other scammers.” Full text of the letter is available  HERE .