McMorris Rodgers Leads Passage of Health Care, Broadband, and Energy Bills Through Full Committee

Washington, D.C. – Eastern Washington Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers (WA-05) today led the House Energy and Commerce Committee in marking up and passing nineteen bills to lower health care costs and increase transparency, bolster America’s energy supply, and lift barriers that are hindering deployment of broadband.

Click here or the image above to watch Cathy’s opening statement. 

INCREASING HEALTH CARE PRICE TRANSPARENCY

The committee advanced a package of six bills Cathy is leading on called The PATIENT Act that will lower health care costs and increase price transparency for patients, responsibly fund community health centers, prevent harmful cuts to hospitals that serve vulnerable patients, and train more doctors to serve in Eastern Washington. 

Cathy on lowering health care costs and increasing transparency:

“Patients are frustrated. The system must be more simple, transparent, and affordable.  

“We spend more on health care as a percentage of our economy than any other developed nation.  

“And for their money, Americans are rewarded with a bureaucratic and overly burdensome system. 

“They see the corporations responsible for providing and paying for care go to great lengths to hide costs, deny payment for care, and weigh patients down in complexity.  

“What we are doing here today won’t solve every problem in our health care system.  

“I have said this is just a first step towards addressing the problems we face.  

“But we can be proud of the meaningful, bipartisan policies included in this amendment that will lower costs and improve transparency for patients.”

CLOSING THE DIGITAL DIVIDE

The committee also marked up and advanced seven bills to deploy broadband faster, more efficiently, and with less government waste by targeting resources to rural and unserved areas, removing barriers to deployment, streamlining permitting processes, and unleashing private investment. These bills are critical to close the digital divide in areas like rural Eastern Washington that still lack internet access as a result of outdated maps and a failure to allocate resources to truly unserved areas.

Cathy on closing the digital divide: 

“High-speed broadband is an important part of our economy, yet many Americans, including in Eastern Washington, do not have access to reliable broadband.

“In order to deploy broadband, providers need to go through burdensome permitting processes at the federal, state, and local level and the time to receive approval on a permit can range from several months to several years.

“Congress provided an unprecedented amount of spending—more than 42 billion dollars—for broadband deployment.

“Without reforms to the permitting processes, this money could be wasted.

“Our legislation would cut the red tape and ensure that this money can reach rural, unserved Americans quickly.

“We’re moving forward on several of these bills in a bipartisan way but I am disappointed that my colleagues across the aisle are not joining us on our other solutions.

“Regardless, we are moving forward to deliver for the American people.”

BOLSTERING AMERICAN ENERGY

Finally, Cathy led the committee in advancing six pieces of legislation to protect consumer choice and strengthen American energy security. One of these bills, the Save Our Gas Stoves Act, will prohibit the U.S. Department of Energy from banning gas stoves and fight back against the extreme overreach of both the Biden administration and Governor Inslee, who have worked to take away consumer choice and an appliance that can serve as a lifeline for many Eastern Washington families during weather-related power outages. 

Additionally, the committee advanced the Prohibiting Russian Uranium Imports Act that Cathy introduced. This bill will strengthen and protect American energy by helping eliminate our reliance on Russian nuclear fuels and bolster our capacity to develop a supply on American soil by banning imports of Russian uranium.  

Cathy on bolstering America’s energy security and protecting appliance freedom: 

“Next, we’ll move to our Communications and Technology Subcommittee solutions to help close the digital divide and lift permitting burdens so we deploy broadband faster, with less government waste, and more efficiently.

“On the energy front, we are continuing our mission to make energy more affordable and strengthen American energy security.

“Nuclear is a key part of our energy mix and right now America is dangerously reliant upon Russia’s supply of nuclear fuels for our existing nuclear power plant fleet.

“My legislation—the Prohibiting Russian Uranium Imports Act—bans fuel imports from Russia and sends a strong signal to the market that will help restore American nuclear leadership and fuel infrastructure.

“We also will be considering two bills from Representatives Lesko and Armstrong that prevent DOE and the CPSC from universally banning gas stoves.

“The Biden administration is trying to use the federal government’s power to dictate every aspect of our lives from what kind of car we can drive to how Americans are allowed to cook food for our families.

“I’ll note, if a celebrity chef can be exempt from local Democrats from Palo Alto’s natural gas stove ban, surely we can all agree today to allow every hardworking person of this country to decide for themselves what stove is in their kitchen.”

NOTE: These nineteen pieces of legislation could now move to the House Floor for a vote. 

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