Washington, D.C. - Energy and Commerce Committee Republican Leader Greg Walden (R-OR) released a document detailing E&C Republicans’ legislative achievements in the 116th Congress. Walden released the following statement.
“Energy and Commerce Committee Republicans continued their work on behalf of the American people throughout the 116th Congress. Despite not controlling the House agenda, and the fact much of 2020 was focused on the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, we had dozens of bills signed into law. These measures will help expand broadband access by investing in broadband infrastructure, make crucial midband spectrum available for 5G, and secure our telecommunications networks; promote national strategies and frameworks for emerging technologies; protect American consumers on and offline; promote clean and abundant domestic energy; preserve the environment and address climate change; and foster public health by expanding access to resources like telehealth, affordable medicines, and ending the practice of surprise medical billing.
“In addition to their regular and aggressive oversight, Republicans on the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee worked tirelessly to oversee and improve response efforts to COVID-19. They also released the Second Wave Preparedness Project, a series of detailed reports that included over 100 recommendations to help streamline and better coordinate the pandemic response.
“As my time in Congress comes to a close, I’d like to thank Consumer Protection and Commerce Subcommittee Republican Leader and incoming full committee Republican Leader Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Communications and Technology Subcommittee Republican Leader Bob Latta, Health Subcommittee Republican Leader Dr. Michael Burgess, Energy Subcommittee Republican Leader Fred Upton, Environment and Climate Change Subcommittee Republican Leader John Shimkus, and Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Republican Leader Brett Guthrie for their leadership over the last two years. I’d also like to extend my thanks to Chairman Frank Pallone and his subcommittee chairs, as well as the staff on both sides of the aisle. I know - thanks to their work and the work of all my colleagues on the Energy and Commerce Committee - we moved forward policies that will have a lasting positive impact on American communities for years to come," said Walden.
Read Republicans’ activity report here.
The Second Wave Preparedness Project reports can be found here, here, and here. In addition to the Second Wave Project, among the O&I highlights for the 116th Congress are: relaunched an investigation into opioid manufacturers, conducted oversight into FDA opioid labeling, continued investigative work into sexual assault medical examinations, examined DEA opioid production quotas, requested briefings about foreign influence on biomedical research, requested information about HHS contracting, and pursued up-to-date information on U.S. lab capacity needed for COVID-19 preclinical research.
