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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 . 

Dangerous Dependence on China for Critical Materials is No Longer a Hypothetical Washington D.C. — House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), Energy, Climate, and Grid Security Subcommittee Chair Jeff Duncan (R-SC), and Environment, Climate, and Grid Security Subcommittee Chair Bill Johnson (R-OH) wrote to Department of Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm regarding recent reports that China was cutting off American access to critical minerals that play a significant role in our national security, economy, and as a critical energy resource. KEY LETTER EXCERPTS:   “According to reports, on August 1, 2023, China began cutting off all access to gallium and germanium, a key mineral used for military and energy technologies. On October 20, 2023, China announced that it would limit the export of raw and synthetic graphite, which is essential to manufacture electric motors and batteries. These adversarial actions by China pose a direct threat to our national security and to our energy security.      “ China controls over eighty percent of the world’s gallium. Gallium is vital in our production of semiconductor chips, next-generation missile defense, and radar systems. The use of gallium in the United States has increased and is expected to continue to increase due to its use in light-emitting diodes, which are used in many technologies. Similar to gallium, germanium is vital to the development of radiation detectors, fiber optic cables, and infrared sensors. Both gallium and germanium are listed as critical, of high importance, and at risk of supply disruption.   “ China controls over sixty percent of the world’s graphite and accounts for over thirty percent of graphite imports for the United States. Graphite is the largest component of the lithium-ion battery and is essential in electric vehicle (EV) battery anodes.”   BACKGROUND:   China controls the vast majority of the world’s processing and refining capabilities for critical minerals.  These materials are vital components for technologies of the future, like semiconductors. Access to them is key to ensuring America’s competitive edge and military dominance, as well as securing our energy and manufacturing supply chains.  With the passage of the Energy Act of 2020, Congress recognized the importance of critical minerals to the energy sector and provided the Department of Energy (DOE) with expanded authorities and responsibilities to address supply chain challenges and import dependencies.  To assist with Energy and Commerce’s review of DOE’s statutory authorities and responsibilities—and to ensure the department is addressing the risks associated with reliance upon China for critical minerals—Members asked Secretary Granholm to respond to the following questions by December 6, 2023. Please describe any actions that DOE has already taken or plans to take to address China’s export restrictions of graphite, gallium, and germanium. Please describe the energy sector uses for graphite, gallium, and germanium. Does DOE believe that the China’s export restrictions on critical minerals will negatively impact the domestic manufacturing of batteries, EVs, or other energy technologies? What actions will DOE take to mitigate potential domestic supply shortages of these minerals? What actions has DOE taken to encourage the diversification and expansion of the supply of critical minerals? What actions has DOE taken to reduce U.S. reliance on China for critical minerals, including graphite, gallium, and germanium? What actions has DOE taken to increase the domestic production, processing, and refining of critical minerals, including graphite, gallium, and germanium? Please describe the status and implementation of Title VII of the Energy Act of 2020. CLICK HERE to read the full letter to Secretary Granholm.

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), 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) issued the following statement regarding the passing of former Chairman Tom Bliley (R-VA): “Former Chairman Tom Bliley served our nation with distinction throughout his life—in the Navy and in local, state, and federal elected offices. Many of his legislative accomplishments still stand today, including in the telecommunications, food safety, and technology sectors. The Telecommunications Act of 1996 served as the foundation for decades of growth for new technologies and Internet connectivity for Americans. Financial services modernization, which bears his name in the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, served to knock down competitive barriers and reduce costs to Americans and established data privacy protections for them at the same time. As our committee continues working to improve the lives of Americans, we build upon the foundations of his hard work and legacy.”

Washington, D.C. — House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) and Communications and Technology Subcommittee Chair Bob Latta (R-OH) released a statement following the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) vote to approve digital discrimination rules:   "The digital discrimination rules approved by the FCC are just another step toward Biden's broadband take over. This move puts onerous requirements on our nation's broadband providers and will lead to government bureaucrats micromanaging Americans' Internet access. It’s time for the Biden administration to end this effort to enact more government controls, which will ultimately lead to higher costs and worse services for Americans." 

Washington D.C. — House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee Chair Brett Guthrie (R-KY) delivered the following opening remarks at today’s subcommittee markup of 21 legislative proposals. “Today’s markup hearing builds off the months long work this subcommittee has done to improve patient access to care by addressing costs, Medicare coverage policies, and provider sustainability.   “In July, we held our first provider focused hearing and recently held another legislative hearing building off what we learned in July. Separately, we held hearings on driving innovation in Medicare.   “Our markup today includes bipartisan legislation that is designed to highlight these three key areas of focus: lowering costs of medicines for patients in Medicare Part D, improving access to innovation through policies focused on improving Medicare coverage processes, and preserving and improving access to care through policies dealing with lab and physician reimbursement issues.   “Many of the bills we’re marking up today will come with a price tag. Some will be small, and others will be substantial. Some will even save the taxpayer and Medicare program money.    “In order to advance legislation through the full committee, and ultimately the House and Senate, it will need to be fully offset. We are actively working to identify bipartisan offsets, and, we will fully offset each of these bills that are considered at the full committee.”  LOWERING COSTS FOR MEDICARE PART D PATIENTS   “Now turning to the bills at hand, in the Part D space we have a number of policies that address high drug costs in a market-driven manner, opposed to other policies moving forward.   “This includes bipartisan legislation from Dr. Joyce and Mr. Peters to help drive biosimilar access and legislation from Mr. Carter to delink PBM compensation from the list price of a drug.   “Additionally, we have legislation to reduce the fees pharmacists pay to PBMs for drugs, long after a sale is made, and to increase transparency and predictability for pharmacists with respect to the quality measures which they are evaluated.    LOWERING DRUG COSTS FOR SENIORS AND MEDICARE PART D RECIPIENTS   “Finally, there’s legislation that will ensure patients aren’t paying more for a drug out of pocket than what their prescription drug plan paid for the drug. This is critical in light of the work GAO did several weeks ago to highlight the high out-of-pocket costs paid by Medicare beneficiaries for highly-rebated drugs under Part D.”  IMPROVING ACCESS TO CARE THROUGH REIMBURSEMENT ISSUES   “Beyond lowering drug costs for seniors, we’re also working to enhance their access to services and providers, by making sure that payments to doctors can sustain the independent practice of medicine, and that the rules that determine coverage enhance, not restrict, patient access to the most up-to-date, best technology our health care ecosystem has to offer.    “Fortunately, we have a number of physicians on both sides of the dais in this subcommittee who can attest to these challenges.   “I want to thank everyone who has shown thought leadership on these issue, like Drs. Buschon, Burgess, Joyce, Dunn, and Miller-Meeks to name a few. And that’s to say nothing of our resident pharmacists, Reps. Carter and Harshbarger, who have helped bring important pharmacy issues to the forefront of this Committee.   “Among the bills being considered today are H.R. 6364 from Representative Balderson that ensures health care providers don’t have to disclose home address as their office address if they are delivering telehealth care from their home, H.R.1352 from Representative Hudson that will test policies on increasing access to biosimilars, H.R. 1691, which would codify the Trump-era MCIT rule and provide automatic Medicare coverage for four years for FDA approved breakthrough technologies, which I know is important to the Ranking Member as well as myself.  “And, we have a number of bills, including my bill, H.R. 5389 the National Coverage Determination Transparency Act.   “In closing, the bills before us today represent reasonable, bipartisan reforms to the Medicare program that will ensure Medicare can meet the evolving needs of beneficiaries and providers.” 

Washington D.C. — House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) delivered the following opening remarks at today’s Health Subcommittee markup of 21 legislative proposals. “I’d like to take a moment to thank Dr. Burgess for his two decades of service to the American people and on this Committee. He has been a staple of this subcommittee in particular, and an invaluable voice for patients and doctors alike.    “I know we still have plenty of work to accomplish in the next year and look forward to our continued work together as you run through the tape.   “Today, this Committee is plowing the hard ground on issues critical to the American people.   “We will advance 21 piece of legislation that will make a difference for millions of Americans.  “First, to lower drug costs for seniors and the Medicare program, we will consider legislation that takes a free market approach to sharpen the incentives for Medicare Part D plans and their pharmacy benefit managers.”   INNOVATION FOR SENIORS   “Next, we’ll work to address one of the most pressing issues facing the Medicare program today—how the program covers new and innovative technology.   “We saw this play out with respect to Alzheimer’s-related treatments.   “We want Medicare to be able to support our loved ones’ access to the best treatment available, whether that be an FDA-approved curative medicine or a cutting-edge technology.   “I talked at our last hearing about how central planners will ultimately fail to pick the most efficient price possible to pay health care providers.     “They will also fail us if we leave coverage decisions to them.     “I appreciate the bipartisan work to improve this coverage process and ensure that more seniors have greater access to care.”  PRESERVING PATIENT ACCESS TO PHYSICIANS    “Finally, we will take the next step in the process of addressing how Medicare pays physicians.    “Congress once again finds itself considering how to address Medicare payments to physicians.    “We have spent a lot of time this year talking about ensuring physicians can remain in private practice. A stable and predictable policy environment would give them the certainty to plan financially and make the investments needed to do so.   “That is my goal. To preserve patient access to independent physicians.     “We will consider a short-term extension of a payment policy that prevents cuts to rural physicians while also considering legislation that takes a thoughtful, serious approach to reforming the Medicare physician fee schedule.”  “It has always been the custom of this Committee to use the regular order process to finalize offsets for bills and to iron out technical assistance from federal agencies.   “This Congress has been no exception, and we’ve frequently used hearings and subcommittee markups to advance legislation while identifying areas for further refinement.   “While some bills being considered today still have a way to go, I believe that they’ll be ready by the time they’re included in Full Committee markups.   “I look forward to advancing today’s bills and to reviewing them further in the Full Committee.”