The House Energy and Commerce Committee has settled on the themes for its first hearings of the new Congress, focusing on bolstering U.S. innovations and advancements in domestic wireless technology and chemical production.
The topics send a signal about the panel’s priorities in the new Republican governing trifecta — and what political message it wants to send through the policies it plans to highlight.
On Wednesday, Jan. 22, the Environment Subcommittee will hold a hearing to assess whether the EPA has interpreted a decade-old, landmark chemical safety law in contradiction with statute.
“The domestic production of chemicals is critical to the growth of our economy and vital to the success of American manufacturers,” full committee chair Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.) and Environment Subcommittee chair Morgan Griffith (R-Va.) said in a statement. “The Subcommittee … will get to the root of those policies that have inhibited American innovation and our ability to compete in the global market.”
They added, “The new administration offers a chance to address these issues and ensure American leadership in safely producing the chemicals vital to manufacturing in the years ahead.”
The following day, on Jan. 23, the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology will meet to explore avenues for “Strengthening American Leadership in Wireless Technology.”
In a statement, Guthrie and communications subcommittee chair Richard Hudson (R-N.C.), said, “the United States needs a strategic spectrum policy that empowers our innovators to fully compete on the global stage.”
Guthrie is assuming the gavel of the committee with among the broadest jurisdictions in Congress from former Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.), who did not seek reelection. The panel has authority over health care, tech and energy policy.
He has vowed to “unleash” American energy, lower health care costs and help America stay ahead of the curve on technology innovation. He is also set to play a major role in the reconciliation bill, which is expected to be central to President-elect Donald Trump’s agenda, and could include significant energy, border, tax and health care provisions.
GOP lawmakers are considering rolling back Biden administration climate policies and making significant changes to the safety-net program Medicaid to help pay for other priorities like extending Trump-era tax cuts.
“While the task before us is significant, the committee will champion a bold vision to deliver the change demanded by the American people,” Guthrie said in the committee’s organizing meeting Wednesday.
