Organizational Meeting

Committee Organizing for 119th CongressHouse Energy and Commerce · 2025-01-15 · 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 at0:00:06

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 epidemic0:01:060:03:08; introduced 12 new Republican members0:04:09; walked through committee rules changes including markup and subpoena protocols0:19:48; committed to reasonable steps before issuing subpoenas and to 72-hour consultation with the minority0:24:410:25:11; committed to working with Pallone on approving minority-selected remote witnesses0:29:24; 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 tradition0:08:12; warned Republicans may seek to cut Medicare price negotiation, the ACA, and Medicaid to fund tax cuts0:09:44; cited Medicare drug price negotiation savings of $1.5 billion for seniors and 24 million ACA marketplace enrollees for 20250:10:14; introduced seven new Democratic members0:12:15; raised subpoena authority and remote witness colloquy, noting past chairs' subpoena use and objecting to House rules letting majority leadership veto remote witnesses0:22:500:27:53; announced recommended subcommittee ranking members including Schakowsky, Matsui, Castor, Tonko, DeGette, and Clarke0:34:28.

Rep. David Joyce (R-PA), Vice Chairman0:17:48: Welcomed new members and outlined priorities of energy dominance, closing the digital divide, and lowering medication costs0:17:48.

A committee member (identified by Pallone as Lizzie Fletcher, D-TX), Vice Ranking Member0:19:18: Confirmed she is vice ranking member of the committee0:19:18.

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 reform0:16:17.

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 American0:02:37.

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 year0:10:14, and that nearly 24 million Americans signed up for 2025 ACA marketplace coverage0:10:44.

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 Congress0:16:17; Guthrie called them "still alive" and a priority0:16:47.

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 both0:24:410:25:11.

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"0:27:530:28:24; Guthrie committed to working with him to secure approval for minority-selected remote witnesses0:29:24.

The committee rules resolution for the 119th Congress passed on a voice vote0:30:25.

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 subcommittee0:30:550:31:56.

Pallone disclosed that under House Democratic caucus rules, the vice ranking member must have served fewer than five terms0:34:28.

Metadata

CommitteeHouse Energy and Commerce
Chamber / CongressHouse · 119th Congress
Date2025-01-15
TypeMeeting
Witnesses
(none listed in event metadata)
Videoyoutube
Transcript73 caption blocks · 6,459 words · 0:37:01 runtime
EventCongress.gov 117777