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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.  – Congressman Brett Guthrie (KY-02), Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, delivered the following opening statement at today’s full committee markup . Chairman Guthrie's opening statement as prepared for delivery: “Thank you all for being here for our first legislative markup of the 119th Congress. This Committee has a rich, bipartisan history, which we will continue in that spirit with the bills we are considering today. “Each of these bipartisan pieces of legislation was passed by the House last Congress, and I am proud that we will be moving these forward again today. “We must make sure that government stands ready to partner with innovators to continue promoting technological advancement.  “One bill proposed today will help improve wireless services for farmers utilizing precision agriculture. Another will work to improve American cybersecurity and protect our networks from bad actors. “Together, these bills can help to prepare our infrastructure to withstand cyber threats, while also ensuring our wireless infrastructure is calibrated to the needs of the 21st Century. “I thank the sponsors for their leadership and continued work getting these bills across the finish line. “We will also be continuing our work to shore up American supply chains and secure our critical infrastructure. Our adversaries are constantly launching threats to our supply chains, especially in critical industries, emphasizing the need for great resiliency. “Legislation like the Global Investment in American Jobs Act will help attract more investment in the United States, supporting our American workers. “Bolstering American manufacturing and reducing our reliance on China should be priorities for all of us, and I look forward to advancing legislation to do just that. “Next, we will consider legislation to protect Americans from potentially dangerous products and technologies.  “The Awning Safety Act of 2025 will instruct the CPSC to create a safety standard for fixed and freestanding awnings, in memory of Dr. Michael Hnat (NAT) who tragically lost his life in an awning accident. “I again want to thank all of the sponsors and advocates who helped us make this legislation the best it can be.  “I always say the work we do here in the House affects people in their homes, and I think that is on display with the bipartisan legislation we are considering today. “We have a lot more work to do this Congress, but I am proud that we are able to start with legislation that unites this Committee in securing American leadership and eliminating unnecessary risks to people’s safety. “I thank you all for your work, and I look forward to advancing these bills to the full House.”

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 marked up and sent ten pieces of legislation to the full House of Representatives. Chairman Guthrie issued the following statement after the conclusion of today’s markup.  “Each of these bipartisan pieces of legislation were passed by the House last Congress, and I am proud that we will be moving these forward again today,” said Chairman Guthrie. “I thank the sponsors for their leadership and continued work getting these bills across the finish line.”   Legislative Vote Summary:  H.R. 1618 , Precision Agriculture Satellite Connectivity Act, was reported to the full house, as amended, by voice vote.   H.R. 1455 , Institute for Telecommunication Sciences (ITS) Codification Act, was reported to the full house by voice vote.  H.R. 1766 , NTIA Policy and Cybersecurity Coordination Act, was reported to the full house by voice vote.  H.R. 1765 , Promoting United States Wireless Leadership Act of 2025, was reported to the full house by voice vote.  H.R. 1737 , To direct the Secretary of Commerce to submit to Congress a report containing an assessment of the value, cost, and feasibility of a trans-Atlantic submarine fiber optic cable connecting the contiguous United States, the United States Virgin Islands, Ghana, and Nigeria, was reported to the full house by voice vote.  H.R. 1709 , Understanding Cybersecurity of Mobile Networks Act, was reported to the full house by voice vote.  H.R. 1679 , Global Investment in American Jobs Act, was reported to the full house by voice vote.  H.R. 1770 , Consumer Safety Technology Act, was reported to the full house by voice vote.  H.R. 1721 , Critical Infrastructure Manufacturing Feasibility Act, was reported to the full house by voice vote.  H.R. 1767 , Awning Safety Act of 2025, was reported to the full house by voice vote.  CLICK HERE to watch the markup.   ###

WASHINGTON, D.C.  – Today, Congressman Brett Guthrie (KY-02), Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, announced a Full Committee Markup of 12 bills.  WHAT : A Full Committee Markup of 12 bills DATE : Tuesday, March 4, 2025 TIME : 2:00 PM ET LOCATION : 2123 Rayburn House Office Building Legislation to be considered: H.R. 1618 , Precision Agriculture Satellite Connectivity Act H.R. 1455 , Institute for Telecommunication Sciences (ITS) Codification Act H.R. ____ , NTIA Policy and Cybersecurity Coordination Act H.R. ____ , Advanced, Local Emergency Response Telecommunications Parity Act H.R. ____ , Promoting United States Wireless Leadership Act of 2025 H.R. 1737 , To direct the Secretary of Commerce to submit to Congress a report containing an assessment of the value, cost, and feasibility of a trans-Atlantic submarine fiber optic cable connecting the contiguous United States, the United States Virgin Islands, Ghana, and Nigeria. H.R. 1709 , Understanding Cybersecurity of Mobile Networks Act H.R. 1679 , Global Investment in American Jobs Act H.R. ____ , Securing and Enabling Commerce Using Remote and Electronic (SECURE) Notarization Act of 2025 H.R. ____ , Consumer Safety Technology Act H.R. 1721 , Critical Infrastructure Manufacturing Feasibility Act H.R. ____ , Awning Safety Act of 2025 ###

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Brett Guthrie (KY-02), Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, and Congressman Bob Latta (OH-05), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Energy, announced a hearing to explore the challenges facing utilities in delivering reliable, affordable electricity to meet the growing demand for power across the United States. “Affordable and reliable electricity is vital to both our economy and national security. Experts have been sounding the alarm about vulnerabilities in the reliability of our electric grid for a number of years. Now, with the growing demand for AI, it is even more essential that we shore up, and grow, the capacity to generate and deliver power to homes and businesses as well as new data centers,” said Chairmen Guthrie and Latta. “This hearing is an opportunity for us to address this important issue and work toward solutions in order to meet the demands of our electric grid.” Subcommittee on Energy hearing titled Scaling for Growth: Meeting the Demand for Reliable, Affordable Electricity . WHAT: Subcommittee on Energy hearing on energy demand and grid reliability  DATE: Wednesday, March 5, 2025      TIME: 10:00 AM ET LOCATION: 2123 Rayburn House Office Building This notice is at the direction of the Chairman. The hearing will be open to the public and press and will be livestreamed online at energycommerce.house.gov . If you have any questions concerning this hearing, please contact Calvin Huggins at Calvin.Huggins1@mail.house.gov . If you have any press-related questions, please contact Ben Mullany at Ben.Mullany@mail.house.gov .  ###

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Yesterday, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations held a hearing titled Examining the Biden Administration’s Energy and Environment Spending Push .  “This Oversight and Investigations hearing provided a critical opportunity for the Committee to examine the Biden-Harris Administration’s reckless spending spree under its energy and environment grants and loans programs during their final months in office,”   said Chairman Palmer.   “We will continue our work to scrutinize the potential misuse of federal funds to ensure American taxpayer dollars are well spent and not subjected to waste, fraud, or abuse.”   Watch the full hearing here . Below are key excerpts from yesterday’s hearing:  Subcommittee Chairman Gary Palmer (AL-6): Asked the DOE OIG witness about Interim Findings the IG released in December 2024, highlighting key takeaways from the report that “the DOE LPO is administering more than $385 billion in new loan authority without ensuring a regulatory and contractually compliant and effective system to manage the organizational conflicts of interests.” The Chairman continued, noting that “[i]n the Interim Findings report, the IG stated that the Loan Programs Office seems to be asserting that as long as it does not compile, track, update, or reconcile relationships it maintains a 100% compliance rate across the Loan Programs Office. Also referring to it as ‘trust but don’t verify.’”   Subcommittee Vice Chairman Troy Balderson (OH-12): “It’s clear that the Biden Administration was trying to get as much money out the door as possible before President Trump’s inauguration. For example, a senior Biden Administration official was quoted saying in early December 2024 that the Administration was on track to exceed its goal of obligating over 80% of available IRA grant funding by the end of Biden’s term. Moreover, former secretary Jennifer Granholm was quoted in October 2024, as saying that she is racing to commit funding and get contracts signed. Many of us are also familiar with the video in which a special advisor for implementation within the Biden Administration’s EPA was caught on camera saying that it’s truly like we’re on the Titanic, we’re throwing gold bars off the edge. The special advisor also said that they were trying to get this money out as fast as possible before they come in and stop at all. It is clear from the video that the individual was referring to the Trump Administration.” Congressman Rick Allen (GA-12): “This body has a duty to conduct oversight on all the money sent out through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and so-called Inflation Reduction Act. It’s imperative that we do our due diligence to see just where that money went. It’s also important to understand, what people, their job roles, what they’re doing, and actually what they’re producing which seems to get lost in all this. These laws added to our out-of-control government spending and as we have seen in prior hearings some of this funding went to special interest groups. With billions of dollars being given out rapidly it is critical that we see where American taxpayer dollars are going and that they are properly vetted.”  ###

WASHINGTON, D.C.  – Today, Congressman Brett Guthrie (KY-02), Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, and Congressman Bob Latta (OH-05), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Energy, issued the following statement after the House passed H.J. Res. 20, to rescind a Biden-Harris Administration rule that restricts the water heaters millions of Americans rely on and assures consumer choice and affordability are prioritized. “During President Biden’s final weeks in office, the DOE issued a final rule setting a new energy efficiency standard that would significantly increase the cost of gas-fired instantaneous water heaters. Allowing this misguided rule to continue would raise prices and limit choices for American families,”   said Chairmen Guthrie and Latta .  “We are grateful to Congressman Palmer for his leadership on this issue and his work to protect consumers.” “Today, House Republicans voted to end the Biden Administration’s radical ban on gas-fired water heaters. We refuse to allow this unnecessary, ridiculous last-minute rule to continue to raise prices, eliminate jobs, and restrict affordable, reliable choices for American households,”  said Speaker Johnson . “The American people made it clear they want lower costs and more choices, and we are keeping our promise to undo the damage of the last administration by cutting costs, protecting choice, and rejecting these damaging regulations.” “I applaud my House colleagues in passing my Congressional Review Act to reverse the previous administration’s egregious attempt to ban gas-fired water heaters,”  said Congressman Palmer .  “This is a major step towards prioritizing consumer choice, protecting natural gas appliances, keeping prices affordable, and undoing the damage inflicted on the American people by the Biden-Harris Administration for the past four years.”  Background: H.J. Res 20 ,  Providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Department of Energy relating to "Energy Conservation Program: Energy Conservation Standards for Consumer Gas-fired Instantaneous Water Heaters ,   led by Rep. Gary Palmer (AL-06), is yet another step toward keeping President Trump’s promise to the American people to undo the damage done by the failed policies of the Biden-Harris Administration. Forty percent of customers directly impacted by the rule would see a net cost increase from this rule. Those seeing cost savings would only be saving a mere $5.60 per year on a life-cycle cost basis of the appliance. ###

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Earl L. “Buddy” Carter (GA-01), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Health, led a hearing yesterday titled An Examination of How Reining in PBMs Will Drive Competition and Lower Costs for Patients . “Patients are counting on us to stop the abusive practices that drive up out-of-pocket costs on their prescription drugs,” said Chairman Carter. “This Committee has worked to identify bipartisan solutions that will meaningfully help patients access their medications. Yesterday’s hearing gave us a chance to further hear from medical professionals and policy experts on why reining in PBMs and increasing transparency in the system will improve our health care system for all Americans.” Watch the full hearing here . Below are key excerpts from yesterday’s hearing: Rep. Diana Harshbarger (TN-01) : “I say this in every PBM hearing, and I'm going to say it again today. PBMs don't treat a single patient. They don't cure a single disease, and they don't insure a single American. So, the bottom line is: it's all about the patients, isn't it, gentlemen? It certainly is and how they're losing access to pharmacy choice. It’s those pharmacies who, in most communities, are your independent pharmacies which are the most trusted and the most readily available healthcare provider in that community. So, PBM reform is a bipartisan issue, and you know what that means? That means that both sides agree on this issue. It's not an issue of contention. It's important that we get some PBM reform done.” Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (IA-01) : “It's no secret that PBM middlemen artificially inflate the cost of and limit access to prescription drugs. This occurs at the expense of patients who receive health insurance in public and private markets and impacts patients of all ages. PBMs claim they reduce prices by holding pharmaceutical companies accountable. This is done, they contend, by requiring rebates on drugs, which are then passed on to the beneficiary. While PBMs often do negotiate discounts for manufacturers, patients are not the ones who benefit from them. In Medicare Part D, for example, patient cost sharing is based off the list price of drugs, which are artificially inflated to extract a higher rebate. As a result, of these practices for 79 of the 100 most rebated drugs in Medicare Part D, beneficiaries pay more for their drug than their insurer. Again, demonstrating that beneficiaries, in this case, seniors are not benefiting from the rebates.” Rep. Troy Balderson (OH-12) : “As a result of PBM's indecent practices, independent pharmacies around the country are closing. I know that in my district we are not strangers to this issue. I hear from my friends, family, and constituents alike that their trusted pharmacies have closed after decades of serving their communities. Pharmacy deserts have continued to grow and patients no longer have access to patient pharmacist relationships that has helped them manage complex medication regimes and diseases. It's estimated that between 2018 and 2021 alone, the number of pharmacies has declined in 41 states. So, this is not just an Ohio problem. This is not a rural problem. This is a countrywide issue that needs addressed.” ###