Organizational Meeting

Committee Organizing for 119th CongressHouse Energy and Commerce · January 15, 2025 · 119th Congress
This organizational meeting of the House Energy and Commerce Committee opened the 119th Congress, with Chairman Brett Guthrie and Ranking Member Frank Pallone introducing new members, outlining committee priorities, and adopting the committee's governing rules and subcommittee structure. Begins at ▶ 0:00:06
Transcript
Highlights

Title

House Energy and Commerce Committee organizes for the 119th Congress

Purpose

This organizational meeting of the House Energy and Commerce Committee opened the 119th Congress, with Chairman Brett Guthrie and Ranking Member Frank Pallone introducing new members, outlining committee priorities, and adopting the committee's governing rules and subcommittee structure. The session included a colloquy on subpoena authority and remote witness rules before the committee approved its rules resolution and subcommittee resolution and announced subcommittee chairs and ranking members. Begins at▶ 0:00:06

Who spoke

• Chairman Brett Guthrie (R-KY)▶ 0:00:06: Opened the meeting, outlined committee priorities including energy production, lowering health care costs, closing the digital divide, and addressing the opioid epidemic▶ 0:01:06▶ 0:03:08; introduced 12 new Republican members▶ 0:04:09; walked through committee rules changes including markup and subpoena protocols▶ 0:19:48; committed to reasonable steps before issuing subpoenas and to 72-hour consultation with the minority▶ 0:24:41▶ 0:25:11; committed to working with Pallone on approving minority-selected remote witnesses▶ 0:29:24; announced subcommittee chairs including Bilirakis (Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade), Hudson (Communications and Technology), Latta (Energy), Griffith (Environment), Palmer (Health), and Carter (Oversight and Investigations)▶ 0:35:29.

• Ranking Member Frank Pallone (D-NJ)▶ 0:08:12: Congratulated Guthrie and emphasized the committee's bipartisan tradition▶ 0:08:12; warned Republicans may seek to cut Medicare price negotiation, the ACA, and Medicaid to fund tax cuts▶ 0:09:44; cited Medicare drug price negotiation savings of $1.5 billion for seniors and 24 million ACA marketplace enrollees for 2025▶ 0:10:14; introduced seven new Democratic members▶ 0:12:15; raised subpoena authority and remote witness colloquy, noting past chairs' subpoena use and objecting to House rules letting majority leadership veto remote witnesses▶ 0:22:50▶ 0:27:53; announced recommended subcommittee ranking members including Schakowsky, Matsui, Castor, Tonko, DeGette, and Clarke▶ 0:34:28.

• Rep. David Joyce (R-PA), Vice Chairman▶ 0:17:48: Welcomed new members and outlined priorities of energy dominance, closing the digital divide, and lowering medication costs▶ 0:17:48.

• A committee member (identified by Pallone as Lizzie Fletcher, D-TX), Vice Ranking Member▶ 0:19:18: Confirmed she is vice ranking member of the committee▶ 0:19:18.

• Rep. Robert (Bob) Latta (R-OH)▶ 0:15:16: Recalled meeting Guthrie years earlier and asked about the chairman's plans to revive bipartisan bills that stalled at the end of the last Congress, including community health center funding, maternal mortality prevention, and PBM reform▶ 0:16:17.

Key moments

• Guthrie noted the committee's expanded broadband push follows what he called the failure of the $42 billion Broadband Equity and Access Deployment program to connect a single American▶ 0:02:37.

• Pallone stated Medicare's negotiation of its first 10 drugs is projected to save seniors $1.5 billion in out-of-pocket costs, with 15 more drugs to be negotiated this year▶ 0:10:14, and that nearly 24 million Americans signed up for 2025 ACA marketplace coverage▶ 0:10:44.

• Latta pressed Guthrie on reviving stalled bipartisan bills — including the Mission Zero pediatric cancer act, the Hidden Fees Act, the TICKET Act, and children's online privacy/safety legislation — that did not pass at the end of the last Congress▶ 0:16:17; Guthrie called them "still alive" and a priority▶ 0:16:47.

• In a formal colloquy, Pallone asked Guthrie to commit to reasonable steps (voluntary briefings, negotiation) before issuing subpoenas and to 72-hour advance consultation; Guthrie agreed to both▶ 0:24:41▶ 0:25:11.

• Pallone criticized House Resolution 5's Section 3(i) rule requiring majority-leader approval for remote witnesses, warning it could let leadership block Democrat-selected witnesses and favor "the wealthy and well-connected"▶ 0:27:53▶ 0:28:24; Guthrie committed to working with him to secure approval for minority-selected remote witnesses▶ 0:29:24.

• The committee rules resolution for the 119th Congress passed on a voice vote▶ 0:30:25.

• The subcommittee structure resolution passed on a voice vote, with jurisdictional additions of "streaming" and the Telecommunications Act of 1934 to the Communications and Technology subcommittee▶ 0:30:55▶ 0:31:56.

• Pallone disclosed that under House Democratic caucus rules, the vice ranking member must have served fewer than five terms▶ 0:34:28.

Metadata

CommitteeHouse Energy and Commerce
Chamber / CongressHouse · 119th Congress
DateJanuary 15, 2025
TypeMeeting
Witnesses
(none listed in event metadata)
Videoyoutube
Transcript73 caption blocks · 6,459 words · 0:37:01 runtime
EventCongress.gov 117777