Committee Work

Cathy is a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.  Serving on “E&C” enables Cathy to be an effective and powerful advocate for Eastern Washington families because the Committee covers a wide variety of issues, including broadband, health care, and energy – all of which are critical to Washington’s Fifth District.

In fact, E&C has one of the broadest jurisdictions in Congress.  It oversees five cabinet departments and seven independent agencies, including the Departments of Energy, Transportation, Health and Human Services, and the Environmental Protection Agency.  About half of all legislation pertaining to the economy must pass through E&C. 

Cathy serves on the very influential Subcommittee on Health.

What Does E&C Mean to You?

Small Business

Having Cathy on E&C is great for small businesses in Eastern Washington because E&C reviews critical legislation which impacts them – including health care, access to the internet, bringing broadband to businesses in rural parts of the District, energy policy, preventing burdensome regulations, trade (Washington is one of the most trade-dependent states), manufacturing, and compliance with the Clean Water and Clean Air Acts.

Agriculture

E&C is also great for farmers because it enables Cathy to have a greater role in the energy debate. One of the major concerns of our farming community is the rising cost of energy, which impacts irrigation, water, fertilizer, etc.   E&C has jurisdiction over policies that impact the use of renewable energy like biomass, hydro, biofuels, soybeans, conola, etc.  Further, E&C has oversight over the EPA, which will allow us to rein in their overreaching rule-making authority.

Seniors

E&C is great for our seniors, as well.   On E&C, Cathy is uniquely positioned to protect and strengthen Medicare and Medicaid, while ensuring that they are viable for future generations. 

Cathy’s E&C Agenda

Energy

Cathy is a strong advocate for a comprehensive energy independence strategy encompassing conservation and innovation while utilizing and expanding domestic energy sources. 

Eastern Washington is home to affordable, renewable, and clean energy, predominantly hydropower. 

In 2008, Cathy founded the Congressional Hydropower Caucus to increase awareness about hydropower’s important role and its potential to help meet our growing energy demands.  At the end of 2011, she introduced the Hydropower Regulatory Efficiency Act (H.R. 3680), which is bipartisan legislation aimed to facilitate the development of small hydropower projects.  To read more, click here.

Cathy is committed to making the Pacific Northwest a leader in domestic energy production – and she continues to use her membership in E&C to make that a reality.  Cathy has fought to protect against burdensome EPA regulations, reduce energy prices, and worked hard to ensure the passage of the Keystone XL Pipeline Project. 

Health Care

As a member of E&C’s Subcommittee on Health, Cathy has continued to advocate for quality, affordable health care.  She is committed to ensuring that those in Eastern Washington receive access to health care that is both high quality and affordable.   

In the 112th Congress, she has voted to repeal the government takeover of health care, implement effective Medicaid reform,  reduce regulatory burdens on the health care industry, promote graduate medical education, and more.  She has worked on bipartisan legislation to use health information technology to improve access and quality – especially in rural areas. To learn more, click here.

What Does E&C Mean for Fairchild, Military, &Veterans?

While House rules require that E&C be the only Committee Cathy sits on, she has continued to make Fairchild Air Force Base, the military, and our veterans a top priority.

Cathy has worked hard as Co-Chair of the Congressional Military Family Caucus and Chair of the Congressional Tanker Caucus.

She has used her elected leadership position as Chair of the House Republican Conference to advocate for Fairchild, our military, and our veterans.  She has worked across the aisle to bring the KC-46A tankers to Fairchild, promoted Eastern Washington’s veterans, and held two successful summits to highlight the importance of America’s military families.  She also maintains a solid relationship with the Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee (HASC), Buck McKeon (R-CA) and the Ranking Member of HASC, Adam Smith (D-WA).

Cathy is also married to a retired Navy pilot, Brian Rodgers.

And since energy is a top national security issue, the best Committee to deal with it is Energy and Commerce.

History

E&C is one of the oldest standing committees in Congress.  It was established in 1795 and has operated continuously – with various name changes and jurisdictional changes – for more than 200 years. The only other House standing committees with two centuries of continuous operation are Ways and Means and Rules.  For more information, please click here.