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Washington, D.C. — House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) and Communications and Technology Subcommittee Chair Bob Latta (R-OH) today announced a hearing titled “Preserving Free Speech and Reining in Big Tech Censorship.” “Big Tech is shutting down free speech. In many cases, this has included colluding with the Biden administration and corrupt government bureaucrats to silence voices who dare to question the Left's narrative—we have the receipts. Big Tech's authoritarian actions violate America's most fundamental rights to engage in the battle of ideas and hold the politically powerful accountable. House Energy and Commerce Republicans have repeatedly condemned these censorship actions. Next week, several people who’ve been silenced by Big Tech will have a voice before our subcommittee. We look forward to hearing from them and discussing how to protect the spirit of the First Amendment and the American people's right to free speech online.” Subcommittee on Communications and Technology hearing titled “Preserving Free Speech and Reining in Big Tech Censorship.” WHAT: Communications and Technology Subcommittee hearing on protecting Americans from Big Tech censorship. DATE: Tuesday, March 28, 2023 TIME: 10:30 AM ET LOCATION: 2322 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) today announced a Full Committee markup on 19 pieces of legislation. “The Energy and Commerce Committee is leading on solutions to keep America at the forefront of next-generation communications technology, protect the health and wellbeing of our citizens, and unleash domestic energy production to its full potential. On Thursday, our committee will consider legislation that bring our satellite laws and regulations into the 21st century, combat the fentanyl crisis, ban discrimination against individuals with chronic illnesses and disabilities, and repeal parts of President Joe Biden’s agenda to control how Americans power their homes.”  WHAT:  A   Full Committee markup of 19 pieces of legislation. DATE:  Thursday, March 23, 2023       TIME:  3:00 PM ET or 30 minutes after the  Full Committee hearing  titled “TikTok: How Congress Can Safeguard American Data Privacy and Protect Children from Online Harms,” whichever is later. LOCATION:  2123 Rayburn House Office Building This notice is at the direction of the Chair. The markup 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 markup, please contact Jolie Brochin at  Jolie.Brochin@mail.house.gov . For press related quotes regarding the Subcommittee on Health legislation, please contact Christopher Krepich at  Christopher.Krepich@mail.house.gov . For press related questions regarding the subcommittees on Communications & Technology and Energy, Climate Change, and Grid Security, please contact Sean Kelly at  Sean.Kelly@mail.house.gov .  Legislation to be considered:  H.R. 1338 , the “Satellite and Telecommunications Streamlining Act”  H.R. 675 ,  the “Secure Space Act”  H.R. 1339 ,  the “Precision Agriculture Satellite Connectivity Act”  H.R. 682 ,  the “Launch Communications Act”  H.R. 1353 ,  the “Advanced, Local Emergency Response Telecommunications Parity Act”  H.R. 1345 ,  the “NTIA Policy and Cybersecurity Coordination Act”  H.R. 1354 ,  the “Information and Communication Technology Strategy Act”  H.R. 1370 ,  the “Communications Security Act”  H.R. 1360 ,  the “American Cybersecurity Literacy Act”  H.R. 1340 ,  the “Open RAN Outreach Act”  H.R. 1343 ,  the “ITS Codification Act”  H.R. 1377 ,  the “Promoting U.S. Wireless Leadership Act”  H.R. 1341 ,  the “Spectrum Coordination Act”  H.R. 501 , the “Block, Report, and Suspend Suspicious Shipments Act”  H.R. 498 , the “9-8-8 Lifeline Cybersecurity Responsibility Act”  H.R. 485 , the “Protecting Health Care for All Patients Act of 2023”  H.R. 467 , the “Halt All Lethal Trafficking of Fentanyl Act”  H.R. 801 , the “Securing the Border for Public Health Act of 2023”  H.R. 1603 , the “Homeowner Energy Freedom Act” 

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 Committee on Energy and Commerce Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) and House Committee on Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer (R-KY) today wrote to Centers for Medicare & Medicare Services (CMS) Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, requesting documents and communications to assist in investigating CMS’s response to a data breach impacting personally identifiable information of approximately 254,000 Medicare beneficiaries.  “On October 8, 2022, [Healthcare Management Solutions, LLC (HMS)] ‘was subject to a ransomware attack on its corporate network.’ CMS was notified about the data breach a day later, and on October 18, 2022, CMS ‘determined with high confidence that the incident potentially included personally identifiable information and protected health information for some Medicare enrollees.’ However, it was not until December 1, 2022, that CMS made the determination that the data breach constituted a ‘major incident,’ as defined in the Federal Information Security Modernization Act of 2014,” wrote Rodgers and Comer.   After becoming aware of a major data breach and potential exposure of Medicare beneficiaries’ personal information, it took CMS two months to determine that the data breach constituted a “major incident” as defined in the Federal Information Security Modernization Act.  “In other words, bad actors had access to Medicare beneficiaries’ information for two months before CMS determined this ransomware attack was a ‘major incident,’ triggering a legal obligation to inform Congress of such incident. [...] The compromised information potentially includes the following personally identifiable information (PII) and protected health information (PHI): name, address, date of birth, phone number, Social Security Number, Medicare beneficiary identifier, banking information, including routing and account numbers, and Medicare entitlement, enrollment, and premium information,”  continued Chairs Rodgers and Comer.   CLICK HERE to read the letter to Administrator Brooks-LaSure. 

Washington, D.C. — House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health Chair Brett Guthrie (R-KY) published an opinion piece in the Washington Examination ahead of a March 28th hearing where Members will explore how transparency and competition can lower health care costs for Americans.  Key Excerpts Below from the Washington Examiner piece titled “ Empowering patients through price transparency ”: “Our country’s most formidable healthcare challenges are rooted in ever-rising healthcare costs and a lack of basic transparency. Despite our country spending more than $4 trillion a year on healthcare, or about $13,000 per person, patients are not able to make informed decisions about how and where to spend their money as they can in virtually every other industry.”  […]  “Thankfully, there are bipartisan solutions to make healthcare pricing more transparent and the healthcare system easier to navigate for patients. These include the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services hospital price transparency rule and the multidepartment transparency in coverage rule, which were initially issued under then-President Donald Trump and continued by the Biden administration. These rules require hospitals to post publicly the prices of hundreds of common procedures on their website in a user-friendly format and require private health plans to disclose information about pricing and what patients are obligated to pay.”  […]  “Price transparency can also provide insight on why the costs of care are rapidly increasing. Exposing prices would help show whether healthcare services are priced correctly and give policymakers a clearer look at the value, or lack thereof, of some of the many steps in the healthcare supply chain.  “At the end of March, the Health Subcommittee will hold a hearing on healthcare affordability to examine these price transparency rules and other policies that promote more choices and drive down the costs of care for patients.  “Congress should also consider solutions to ensure the public and its employers are getting the best possible deal on their prescription drug benefits. We should build on our bipartisan   work to save our healthcare system billions of dollars and make pharmacy benefit managers be more transparent. Shining a light on these middlemen who are making prescriptions more expensive is one important step to bolster competition and allow for affordable new drugs, such as generics and biosimilars, to be made available for patients.”  CLICK HERE to read the full piece. 

Washington, D.C. — House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) and Energy, Climate, & Grid Security Subcommittee Chair Jeff Duncan (R-SC) sent a letter yesterday to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Acting Chairman and Commissioners demanding to know how they plan to incorporate guidance from the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) in a way that does not jeopardize American energy security.   Excerpts and highlights from the letter:  “On January 9, 2023, the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) issued interim guidance entitled ‘National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Guidance on Consideration of Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Climate Change.’  “The stated goal of this guidance is to ‘assist Federal agencies in their consideration of the effects of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and climate change when evaluating proposed major Federal actions in accordance with NEPA...’ CEQ’s interim guidance took effect immediately for relevant agencies, including the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or ‘Commission’). This vague guidance raises many concerns regarding how the Commission will follow its authorizing statutes in the issuance of permits for both natural gas and electric transmission infrastructure.   “While we understand this interim guidance is subject to change until the rule is finalized, we write to reiterate that NEPA, and especially the CEQ guidance, does not supplant the Commission’s core statutes for siting or permitting natural gas or electric transmission projects. Commissioner Christie pointed out in his dissent to the interim policy statement, entitled ‘Consideration of Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Natural Gas Infrastructure Project Reviews,’ that the Commission’s own regulations implementing NEPA reflect that very fact, ‘the Commission will comply with the regulations of the CEQ except where those regulations are inconsistent with the statutory requirements of the Commission.’ As such, we request that each of you answer the below questions no later than March 30, 2023.  Is it your opinion that the CEQ guidance requires the Commission to quantify upstream and downstream emissions from natural gas projects? If so, how will the Commission apply this in its regulations?  Is the CEQ guidance consistent with facilitating the orderly development of plentiful supplies of natural gas at reasonable prices, as is the intent of the Natural Gas Act? If so, please elaborate. If not, how can the Commission legally implement the guidance?  Does the Commission intend to revise and reissue its natural gas policy statements (Docket Nos. PL21-3-000 and PL18-1-000) in order to incorporate this CEQ guidance? Please explain.  Does the Commission plan to undertake an analysis or solicit public feedback on how implementing this CEQ guidance could affect the price or availability of natural gas and electricity, or the effect on the economy as a whole?”  CLICK HERE to read the full letter.  NOTE: Chairs Rodgers and Duncan sent a letter to FERC on March 3, 2023, demanding they explain why the commission has abandoned its core mission to help deliver abundant, reliable, and affordable energy for Americans. The letter specifically referenced examples when FERC has appeared to make decisions beyond its statutory authority in order to advance President Joe Biden and the Democrats’ rush-to-green agenda. CLICK HERE to read more. 

Washington, D.C. — House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) today announced the details of a full committee hearing with TikTok CEO Shou Chew, who will 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. It will be Chew’s first appearance before a congressional committee. The hearing is titled "TikTok: How Congress Can Safeguard American Data Privacy and Protect Children from Online Harms.”  “Americans deserve to know the extent to which their privacy is jeopardized and their data is manipulated by ByteDance-owned TikTok’s relationship with China. What’s worse, we know Big Tech companies, like TikTok, use harmful algorithms to exploit children for profit and expose them to dangerous content online. We need to know what actions the company is taking to keep our kids safe from online and offline harms. We look forward to hearing from Mr. Chew directly and continuing Energy and Commerce’s efforts to bring Big Tech CEOs before the committee to answer for their companies’ destructive actions.”   This full committee hearing is titled " TikTok: How Congress Can Safeguard American Data Privacy and Protect Children from Online Harms .”   WHAT: A full committee hearing on TikTok’s consumer privacy and data security practices, how the platform affects children, and its relationship with the Chinese Communist Party.  DATE: Thursday, March 23, 2023  TIME: 10:00 AM ET  LOCATION: 2123 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 .   Members of the media who wish to attend in person should RSVP to their respective press gallery no later than 3 p.m. on Wednesday, March 22.  House Radio/TV Gallery:   radiotv@mail.house.gov   202-225-5214  House Periodical Gallery:   periodical.press@mail.house.gov   202-225-2941  House Daily Press Gallery:   dailypressgallery@mail.house.gov  202-225-3945  Photographer Gallery:   press_photo@saa.senate.gov  202-224-6548  Please direct any press-related questions for Chair Rodgers and the Energy and Commerce Committee to Sean Kelly at Sean.Kelly@mail.house.gov . 

Biden’s Partisan and Unrealistic Budget Request is Wrong for Americans 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 that U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra will testify at a hearing to discuss President Biden’s Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24) Budget Request.  “President Biden’s reckless spending is forcing Americans to deal with record levels of inflation. It has made it more difficult to purchase healthy foods, caused greater stresses on families, and driven up health care costs across the board. His budget request doubles down on massive inflationary spending, would crush medical innovation for new cures, attacks states’ rights to manage their Medicaid needs, forces taxpayers to fund abortion, and fails to restore trust in our public health agencies. Secretary Becerra owes it to the American people to explain why the Biden administration is placing these priorities over lowering health care costs, combating the fentanyl crisis, and protecting the dignity of all human life.”  WHAT : A hearing to discuss President Biden’s FY24 Budget Request  DATE : Wednesday, March 29, 2023    TIME : 10:00 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 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 . 

Washington, D.C. — House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) issued the following statement after the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announcing its “Good Neighbor” final rule, which compromises our grid reliability and threatens American energy security.  “The EPA’s so called ‘Good Neighbor’ plan is nothing more than the next phase in its effort to force power plants to shutter, leaving Americans without a viable energy supply to replace it. People across the country are being forced to give up basic necessities, like food and medicine, in order to afford skyrocketing energy bills. The last thing they need is a federal agency taking steps that drive reliable, affordable energy suppliers out of business. This will further increase costs and heighten the risk of blackouts. It is time for the EPA to reverse its expensive, dangerous effort to force an energy transition on Americans, jeopardize the reliability of our power grid, and shut down American energy.”  Note: To lower costs and ensure reliable energy, Chair Rodgers and Energy and Commerce Republicans are leading on H.R. 1 . It boosts energy production, lifts regulatory burdens for the construction of more energy infrastructure, cuts China out of our critical materials supply chains, and lowers costs across the board.