Full Committee Markup of Twenty Nine Pieces of Legislation

Uh, all of you for attending today's start to the full committee mark-up of twenty-nine bills focus on our work to strengthen our grid, protect American families from higher costs, and keep communities safe from illicit drugs and support patients across the country. Our communities are focused this Congress on winning the race to dom- to AI dominance, while securing our grid, but to help ensure that our communities are not paying for the associated electricity costs, I'm glad we could find bipartisan support for the Ratepayer Protection Act. The bill encourages states to consider establishing large load tariffs so that data centers are paying for the necessary grid upgrades in electricity, and consumers don't shelter the cost. Further, we will consider to legislation to modernize our grid infrastructure to ensure our communities have access to the power they need, three hundred and sixty-five days a year and to the foreseeable future. We know it takes energy to move commerce. So today we will consider reauthorizing a PHMSA's pipeline safety program to ensure the continued delivery of energy American families can depend on. We're also considering two bipartisan bills to strengthen our domestic critical mineral supply chains and break our dependence on foreign adversaries, like China. The United States is one hundred percent import reliant for thirteen critical minerals which is a vulnerability China has alway already shown it is willing to exploit the two bills direct the EPA to coordinate federal efforts to recover critical minerals from materials, that have been discarded and support technologies to recover critical minerals from contaminated materials. Demonstrating the breadth of the committee's jurisdiction, we also vote on bills in this mark-up that further our ongoing commitment to safeguarding American communities from the threats of dangerous substance and illicit pill presses. We are considering bills to appropriately schedule xylosine, while maintaining access for legitimate use and enact class-wide rescheduling of nidazines to protect against emerging threats. We will also consider Tyler's Law, named after Tyler Shemash, who was killed by fentanyl poisoning after being admitted to a hospital that did not test for fentanyl. Thank you to Tyler's mom, Julie, for being with us today. Too little sear. Maybe she'll be here tomorrow. Um, she was here last week, the week when we didn't have the hearing. I know I know she came by to see us all. So the legislation will help us study the utilization of fentanyl testing in hospitals and help save lives. A handful of bills will help crack down on the production of counterfeit substances and support the DEA in conducting oversight of a closed system of distribution for pill presses and their components and finally we will consider the bipartisan lower cost more transparency act. which seeks to address a wide uh wide array of challenges that exist with price transparency, in our American healthcare system. The legislation will require hospitals and insurance companies to publicly and clearly disclose actual benefits and procedure prices. As you can tell by the length of my opening statement today, we have a significant amount of work to do this week. And I strongly urge my colleagues to support these bills as we work towards a safer, more affordable and healthier America. And now you have five minutes to my friend and collaborator, the gentleman from New Jersey, Ranking Member Paul.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Uh, this week we will be marking up bills out of our energy and commerce, I mean out of our subcommittees on energy, our subcommittee on the environment, and our health subcommittee. And we'll begin with the energy bills, and I'm deeply concerned about the impact that unrestricted data center growth is having on our communities. We need to be putting real substantial guardrails in place to restrict their impacts on our air, our water, our power grid, and on our monthly power bills. And if Congress doesn't act to put sufficient guardrails in place, we may need a moratorium on data centers. The bills before us today are a good start in addressing the impact the data centers have on our power bills, but they don't go far enough to ensure that big tech and other data center owners fully pay for the energy use and demand that they create. And the bills finally put some meat on the bones of trump's empty promise through an executive order that big tech would, quote, pay their fair share. I'm pleased that we'll be marking up a pipeline safety bill and I thank the chairman and the staff for their willingness to work in a bipartisan manner on this legislation the compromise we reached is certainly not a perfect one but it represents a huge improvement from the initial bill and I look forward to conversations with our colleagues in this senate and on the transportation infrastructure committee and how to make the final bill even better. I'm disappointed uh that ranking member Castor's bill to speed up the process to ten to connect power plants to the grid was not included in this mark-up. Our nation's grid is in crisis and we need more power. And Republicans have made the crisis even worse in my opinion with their big ugly bill that eliminated incentives to build cleaner and cheaper power. The Republican majority should work with ranking member Castor so we can move her bill forward soon. We will also consider two bipartisan bills out of our environment subcommittee. They represent a shared commitment to finding creative and efficient ways to boost our domestic critical mineral supply and reduce our dependence on foreign adversaries namely China for the minerals we need to power the transition to cost cutting clean energy. And these bills are a win for our environment and a win for the domestic supply chain promoting resource efficiency and reducing the need to mine new materials. or new minerals. Turning to health, I'm pleased we're marking up H R nine three nine three, the lower cost more transparency act, which I introduced with the chairman. The bill brings greater transparency to the healthcare system by codifying and strengthening the requirements for both hospitals and insurers, to display price information in easy to understand formats for consumers. This is going to help both consumer and employers save money on healthcare services. I'm also pleased with the inclusion of several bills that will improve transparency of the Medicare Advantage program, by requiring insurance companies to report data on supplemental benefits and spending on medical services. We'll also consider several bills to help lower Americans' drug costs. This includes legislation to align the Food and Drug Administration's statute with the growing scientific knowledge about biologics to reduce costs and to enable more competition by bringing more products to market. This also includes efforts to prevent gaming that otherwise delays generic drugs from coming to market. I'm also pleased we're considering a bill that would require community health centers to offer behavior health and substance use disorder services and provide funding for centers, that don't already offer these services. I have some concerns about the measure targeting pill press machines. They share a common design, stricter sentences and harder enforcement hand, but this strategy of stricter sentences and harder enforcement has never really dismantled uh the illicit manufacturing trade. Instead it has swelled the incarcerated population and left the drug market free to reshape itself why fatalities continue to rise. I also have concerns about HR seven nine seven O, the stop uh NITESing act. When uh while I share my colleague's urgency about these dangerously potent synthetic opioids, But public health and research stakeholders have raised serious concerns about how placing the entire NIDIZine class permanently into schedule one would subject researchers to complex registration and compliance rules and this would slow the very work needed to develop better overdose treatments um and anecdotes. Um scheduling and and prosecution alone are are not gonna solve the problem of illicit drug use and communities need more prevention. education and treatment support. But with that, I yield back, Mr. Chairman. Overall, I'm uh pleased with the mark-up today and I yield back.

Thank you. Uh, the the gentleman yields back and the chair reminds members that pursuant to committee rules, all members' opening statements will be made part of the record. Are there further opening statements? Gentleman from Ohio is recognized for three minutes for an opening statement.

Well, thank you, Mr. Chairman, for holding this week's full committee mark-up, which includes seven bills we have advanced through the energy subcommittee. The legislation under consider continues our work to ensure energy affordability for families and energy resources to power next generation industries, like ai and domestic manufacturing. Through the bills we will help modernize our grid and deploy critical technologies on onto the system that can lower costs for households and fuel economic growth. The advanced transmission and reduced rates act, ai for the grid act and high capacity grid act, will help usher in a grid-build for the twenty-first century. Alongside these efforts, the Load Forecasting Enhancement Act and the Ratepayer Protection Act will ensure more effective planning practices and long-term certainty for necessary investments in appropriate state regulatory practices that protect residential ratepayers from the costs caused by new large data centers. Also under consideration is H. R. ninety-three thirty-eight, the Pipeline Safety Authorization Act, which reauthorizes PHMSA's pipeline safety program for five years. This streamlined bill will enable PHMSA to refocus on safety as its essential mission, while making common sense changes to ensure PHMSA can regulate efficiently while maintaining and improving safety. An amendment in the nature of a substitute to this bill reflects several months of bipartisan work. And I'm pleased that this committee was able to work across the aisle to come to a bipartisan solution, to ensure the safety deployment and oversight of our pipeline infrastructure. Lastly, I'd like to thank the energy subcommittee's ranking member, the General Lady from Florida's fourteenth congressional district, for her continued willingness to work with us on other legislation regarding the power sector. I continue to commit to working in good faith to identify uh to identify an agreeable approach to address her policy proposal. The legislation will consider uh these take these important steps to protect rate payers, improving planning and build the grid capacity we need for the future. When we I urge my colleagues to support these bills and uh under that we have under consideration and Mr. Chairman I yield back the balance of my time.

Gentleman yields back and the chair of the from California for three minutes for an opening statement.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I'm glad this committee is finally taking action to control rising electricity costs. Nobody should be paying higher energy bills because of data centers. Tech companies are making money hand over fist. They can afford to pay for the necessary upgrades to our electric grid to support their data centers. I support the Ratepayer Protection Act and the Protecting Families from AI Data Center Energy Costs Act. I think these are good starting points, but it's not enough. The American people expect our government to do more to protect the public from data center impacts. Data centers should be using clean power. We've seen some companies running dirty diesel and gas generators nonstop, polluting neighboring communities and threatening public health. We have to do something to protect these communities. It is not just about energy. Data centers shouldn't jeopardize local water supplies. And like the electric grid, tech companies need to pay for any necessary upgrades to local water infrastructure, ensuring families and small businesses aren't left covering the cost of higher water bills. We also need to be thoughtful about where these facilities are built. We shouldn't be cutting down healthy forests or filling in wetlands to build data centers. We should be building these facilities on brownfields or other disturbed lands. And most of all, nobody should be doing these deals in the dead of night. Tech companies need to be open and transparent with local communities. Tech companies must treat communities with respect and invest in the communities they want to build in. So I'm glad we're holding this mark-up to protect Americans from higher energy costs, but we need to think bigger. We need a comprehensive framework for how data centers should be sited, built, and operated. Because the American people are fed up. And it's our job to protect our constituents. And this committee, between the Communications and Technology subcommittee and the Energy and Environment subcommittees, has wide-ranging jurisdiction over data centers. So I hope we can work together on a broader framework that addresses the full scope of impacts that communities are facing across the country. Thank you, Mister Chairman, and I yield back.

Thank you. The gentlelady yields back and the chair recognize the gentleman from Georgia. Have an opening statement? Opening statement? Do you have a if That's the gentleman from Alabama. Anybody seek a r opening statement on the Republican side?

Seeing none, the gentlelady from uh gentleman from New York is recognized for Oh, Mister Palmer, so the gentleman from Alabama is recognized for three minutes for an opening statement.

Thank you, Mister Chairman. I'd like to speak in support of my bill HR ninety six seventeen, the coordinating and harnessing America's recovery of minerals or tarmac that's actually uh my uh cosponsor is the ranking member, Mister Taco from New York, very grateful for his Uh, demand for critical minerals and products utilizing them is increasing, but we continue to rely on foreign adversaries such as China for those materials and refining capacity. In twenty twenty five, China was the leading producer of thirty of forty-four critical minerals and processed ninety percent of the global rare earth element supply and sixty to seventy percent of the global lithium and cobalt su- supply. As the International Energy Agency stated in its annual Global Critical Minerals Outlook for twenty twenty six, twenty twenty five marked the year when the econo- economic risk of highly concentrated supply chains materialized at scale. Last year China imposed major export controls on seven heavy rare earth elements sending shock waves through downstream indices industries, such as auto production. However, the report noted that recycling could play an increasingly important role and easing supply chain strains, with secondary supply potentially doubling its contribution by twenty forty. Recovery of critical minerals from sources already in the country could contribute to securing domestic supply chains. Efforts are already underway to recycle electronic waste, identify rare elements in coal combustion residuals, and recover previously ignored minerals from legacy mine waste. However, these undertakings will require coordination across the federal government. That's why uh Representative Tonko and I have introduced the CHARMM Act. It requires the Environmental Protection Agency, or the EPA, to consult with other federal agencies in developing a national critical mineral mineral recovery strategy. In developing this strategy, EPA will identify its own programs and authorities that could increase recovery of critical minerals from discarded materials as well as those at other federal agencies. It will also identify legal and technological barriers expanding recovery opportunities for critical minerals. EPA will also consult with heads of other federal agencies to identify new nontraditional domestic sources of critical minerals. As I've explained, our vulnerable supply chains are an alarming threat to our health and safety, economic leadership and national security. So I'm proud that we could come together in a bipartisan manner to advance this legislation. I thank my colleague, Representative Tonko, ranking member of the subcommittee on environment, for leading the CHARM Act with me. I encourage my colleagues to support this bipartisan legislation. I appreciate it, Mr. Chairman. I yield back.

Chairman yields back and the chair recognizes the gentleman from New York for three minutes for an opening statement.

Thank you, Mister Chair, and let me begin by thanking subcommittee Chair Palmer, as well as the majority and minority staffs for working together on two bipartisan bills that were advanced out of the environmental subcommittee, just last week. The CHARM Act and the uh EMRATA act are good first steps to help meet our nation's growing critical mineral demands from untapped domestic sources. Far far too many valuable materials end up in landfills or other waste piles. It is clear we need a national strategy to enable better collection and recycling of these minerals, because despite being discarded, they represent tremendous opportunities. Many companies recognize this and are developing exciting and environmentally beneficial technologies that can be piloted to improve the recoverability of critical materials, including through innovative techniques like mineralization. So I do support EPA taking a more proactive role, as envisioned by these two bills, to support the dual goal of environmental remediation and responsible critical mineral re reuse. And so, again, my thanks to Chair Palmer on in regard to that effort. This can truly be a win-win, and I hope we will continue to work together to ensure that we unlock these supplies responsibly while maintaining high levels of environmental and worker protections. I would like to also briefly mention my support for several of the energy bills being considered today. But with that said, this committee has a responsibility to examine the many ways in which the explosive growth of data centers and artificial intelligence are impacting our constituents' lives and livelihoods. Simply put, we are not doing what this moment demands of us. A purple one eleven D amendment is a good first step, but it cannot be our only step. And I would encourage everyone to commit to working on meaningful federal standards that not only fully address electricity cost issues, but also these facilities' air emissions, water usage, and much more that can impact our communities and our people. So with that, I thank you, Mister Chair, and yield back.

Thank you. The gentleman yields back any opening statements from the Republican side. Seeing none, gentlelady from Florida is recognized for three minutes for an opening statement.

Well, thank you, Chairman Guthrie. Uh, this mark-up comes at a time when Americans are grappling with skyrocketing electricity bills. And now hyper-scaled data centers could send costs soaring even further unless we act. We've got to ensure that our neighbors back home are not forced to pay more. That's why I'm leading the bipartisan rate payer protection act with Congressman Evans. And it says that if a company wants to build a data center, they should pay for the power and the grid upgrades that they need. Not families, not farmers, not small businesses and communities. Uh, when a data center or other large load comes online, it can trigger massive upgrades, like new power plants, transmission lines, local transformers. And typically those costs are passed on to all rate payers. But that's not fair. Our neighbors should not be stuck paying for the energy infrastructure for the wealthiest companies in the entire world. The Rate Payer Protection Act says that the data center pays for its own upgrades, not the rest of us. It's about fairness. It's about making sure that when a da- when data center corporations demand more electricity, they don't pass the cost on to people who are already struggling with high electric bills. Uh, it's about protecting our communities from hidden rate hikes and ensuring that the benefits of AI and innovation are shared by all, not just the corporations and big tech companies. Yes, we are r racing to lead the world in AI, but that race shouldn't come on the backs of families and small businesses. Instead, the benefits of AI and more affordable energy should reach everyone. That's that's what the Repair Protection Act does, make sure that our grid serves everyone and that the companies who benefit from it pay their fair share. And I believe that the majority should be doing more at this time to lower household electric bills that have risen eighteen percent since January, twenty twenty five, adding and adding to the pain recently of the president's war in Iran. that's now costing us hundreds and hundreds of dollars more on gasoline, and prices are spiking again this week. One way we can lower energy prices is by unlocking the over two thousand gigawatts of energy waiting to connect to the US grid, the interconnection uh process, it is broken. It often takes years to conduct the necessary studies to connect new energy generation resources. Most projects that apply for interconnection are ultimately withdrawn due to delay. Sometimes they have to start over from scratch. This results in higher costs for everyone. Uh, that's why business as usual is not enough and I I regret that my Expediting Generator Interconnection Procedures Act would, was not incorporated into this mark-up. I did hear the comments of uh the ranking member and I appreciate that, but it's This would have been some low hanging fruit for us to work together in a bipartisan way to lower electric bills at a time when they are just sky high. Um, other than that, Mister Chairman, the bipartisan bills are good first steps, uh, yet they do fall short at this time of energy inflation and higher electric bills. I think we can move forward, but let's let's pledge to work together to lower cost and upgrade our grid and energy system so we can deliver more affordable and reliable energy. Thank you and I yield back.

Thank you. Young lady yields back. Is there any further opening statements on the Republican side? Seeing none. On the Democrat side? S- seeing no opening statements. So now with see no further opening statements, we will recess for the evening and resume ten AM tomorrow, Tuesday the July the twenty first. The committee will stand in recess.

Let me