The House Energy and Commerce Committee will on Tuesday adopt its oversight plans for the new Congress — and Democrats might make it all about Medicaid.
Members of the minority party who sit on the powerful panel intend to force their Republican colleagues to take difficult votes on amendments to the majority’s 17-page document that outlines the types of hearings and legislative efforts it will prioritize in the coming months.
Some of those amendments could put Republicans on the record about their support for Medicaid on the very same day the full House is scheduled to vote on a budget resolution that would instruct the committee to slash $880 billion from programs under its purview. The spending cuts will be necessary to finance legislation to enact President Donald Trump’s domestic policy agenda — and the lion’s share will likely have to come from Medicaid, which is making many vulnerable Republican incumbents increasingly nervous.
“Democrats are going to offer amendments to address the glaring loopholes in Republicans’ proposed oversight plan, which is consistent with what we’ve seen from Republicans over the last month as they stick their heads in the sand,” said a spokesperson for Energy and Commerce Democrats in a statement.
Democrats could also force Republicans to vote on amendments to their oversight package taking aim at Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, which more GOP lawmakers are beginning to openly question for the speed and scale of its assault on the federal workforce.
The Energy and Commerce oversight plan is the closest thing to a comprehensive agenda for the committee that Rep. Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.) has shared since becoming chair in January.
It is similar thematically to the oversight roadmap adopted by the Energy and Commerce Committee in the previous Congress, which also included a focus on the solvency of Medicaid along with other health programs.
“Making sure taxpayer dollars are spent wisely is imperative to ensuring the long-term sustainability of each program so that [Medicaid] can continue to support the most vulnerable, especially pregnant mothers, children, seniors, and the disabled,” reads the proposed oversight plan.
One new feature of Guthrie’s plan, however, would be a focus on chronic diseases following the confirmation of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services.
“The Committee will examine the factors contributing to the rising prevalence of chronic disease in the U.S., as well as analyze efforts to treat and prevent chronic disease,” the blueprint reads. “Chronic diseases account for most illness, disability, and death in the U.S. and are significant contributors to health care costs.”
Guthrie’s plan would train a microscope on health care and energy costs, how to combat the opioid epidemic and how to address data privacy issues.
Under the oversight agenda, the committee would work to address issues related to indirect overhead costs for research at the National Institutes of Health. That scrutiny would now come after the Trump administration moved to unilaterally freeze NIH funding, which has drawn rebuke from some Republicans as a judge has temporarily blocked the action.
Guthrie’s plan also envisions oversight on provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act, signed by former President Joe Biden, allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices for the first time — pushing for more transparency on what the GOP and pharmaceutical industry see as price-setting.
It would aim, as well, to bolster domestic energy production and bolster consumer protections related to data privacy and security “without stifling beneficial innovations,” including artificial intelligence.
