Congressman Brett Guthrie, Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, opened a markup session in Washington, D.C., addressing fifteen bills focused on connectivity, regulatory reform, and cost reduction for Americans.
In his statement, Guthrie emphasized the ongoing challenge of affordability across the country. He outlined the committee’s priorities to improve consumer choice, secure the energy grid, and lower prices for communities.
Guthrie highlighted several pieces of legislation under consideration. The Homeowner Energy Freedom Act aims to make homes more affordable by repealing programs from the Inflation Reduction Act that he described as costly. He also criticized recent Department of Energy efficiency regulations for household appliances introduced under the Biden-Harris Administration. According to Guthrie, while energy efficiency is generally positive, regulations should not be based on arbitrary standards that yield limited benefits.
He referenced the Don't Mess With My Home Appliances Act as an example of efforts to require the Department of Energy to consider full life-cycle costs—including maintenance—when setting new standards. “We cannot allow ill-considered standards to hurt our ability to power federal facilities, like VA hospitals,” said Guthrie. He added that repealing requirements to phase out fossil fuel use in federal buildings through the Reliable Federal Infrastructure Act is essential for maintaining national security and ensuring reliable baseload power sources.
Guthrie also addressed broadband access issues. He noted progress in closing the digital divide through initiatives such as NTIA’s approval of nearly 30 states’ and territories’ broadband plans within the BEAD program. However, he pointed out that deployment continues to face challenges due to unpredictable timelines, high fees, duplicative reviews, and lack of transparency in permitting processes.
To address these obstacles, some bills propose establishing clear timelines for state and local permitting reviews; limiting application fees; exempting certain projects from redundant environmental and historic preservation reviews; encouraging federal agencies to prioritize broadband applications; and increasing transparency in federal permitting-review procedures.
“I want to thank each of the sponsors of these bills—both Republicans and Democrats—for their commitment to ensuring that every American has access to connectivity and we continue our technological leadership through AI and other exciting new technologies,” said Guthrie.
He concluded by stating: “As we address the need to lower housing costs, secure our grid, and streamline broadband permitting, today’s markup is a chance to work on the issues that matter most to the American people.”
