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Committee Cliff Notes: Weekly Recap – Week of February 28, 2023

Washington, March 3, 2023
Here’s a recap of key moments from House Republican committees during the week:   Agriculture     On Tuesday, February 28, the Agriculture Committee held a full committee hearing called “Uncertainty, Inflation, Regulations: Challenges for American Agriculture.” Since the enactment of the 2018 Farm Bill, the agriculture sector has experienced disruptions due to the coronavirus pandemic, regulatory uncertainty, record high inflation, over politicization of critical crop protection tools, supply chain disruptions, and more – much of which has been exacerbated by the Biden Administration. This hearing examined the causes and impacts of these as well as other challenges facing producers and the entire farm and food sector to identify areas where federal policy may be worsening these effects or where policy may be needed to prevent future disruptions.  
Appropriations     On Tuesday, February 28, the Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies held an oversight hearing called “Quality of Life in the Military.” Senior enlisted leaders from the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Space Force joined the Committee on Tuesday to discuss the quality of life for our servicemembers and their families. It is essential that our men and women in uniform have the resources they need – especially concerning their well-being – to protect the American people.
On Tuesday, February 28, the Subcommittee on Defense held a hearing called “Ukraine Oversight,” to ensure previously provided resources to Ukraine are being used responsibly and consistent with the intent of Congress. On Wednesday, March 1, the Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs held an oversight hearing called “United Nations.” To ensure strict oversight of funding, the State and Foreign Operations Subcommittee was joined by U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield to discuss the UN. Republicans will not turn a blind eye to anti-Israel bias and glaring hypocrisy at the Human Rights Council and will work to ensure Taiwan’s participation in international organizations.  
Armed Services     On Tuesday, February 28, the House Armed Services Committee held a hearing on oversight of U.S. military support to Ukraine. The Committee received testimony from Department of Defense Inspector General Robert Storch, Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Dr. Colin Kahl, and Director of Operations, Joint Staff, Lt. Gen. Douglas A. Simms II. The hearing is the latest oversight activity by the House Armed Services Committee of U.S. lethal aid for Ukraine. The Committee has continued to hold monthly briefings with DoD officials on oversight of Ukraine aid and remains engaged on a weekly basis with DoD on the status of U.S. lethal to Ukraine. The Committee has also led several CODELS to Ukraine and surrounding NATO countries to conduct in-person oversight over the past year.
On Tuesday, February 28, the Subcommittee on Military Personnel held a hearing on COVID-19’s impact on DoD and servicemembers. The Subcommittee received testimony from Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness Gilbert R. Cisneros Jr., Under Secretary of the Army Gabe Camarillo, Under Secretary of the Navy Erik Raven, and Under Secretary of the Air Force Gina Jones. This is the first hearing the subcommittee has held with defense officials since HASC Republicans successfully repealed the Biden administration’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate in the FY23 NDAA. The members pressed the officials for answers on how the COVID-19 vaccine mandate affected readiness and recruitment. The subcommittee also sought answers on whether the DoD is studying the effectiveness of natural immunity. The Department of Defense has delayed giving the House Armed Services Committee answers on the improper release of servicemember records to a Democrat-aligned firm. Chairman Mike Rogers (R-AL) told Fox News, "It’s unacceptable that the Department of Defense continues to delay answering our committee on the egregious mishandling of private service member records. Our service members deserve better. We will continue to press DOD until we get answers."
On Tuesday, February 28, the Subcommittee on Readiness held a hearing on military construction, environmental and energy programs, as well as base and facility accounts. The subcommittee received testimony from the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Energy, Installations, and Environment Brenden Owens; Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Energy, Installations, and Environment Meredith Berger; Assistant Secretary of the Army for Energy, Installations, and Environment Rachel Jacobson; and Acting Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Energy, Installations and Environment Edwin Oshiba. The subcommittee sought answers from the officials on the lack of investment in aging and failing infrastructure, reducing the U.S.’s reliance on China for critical minerals, eliminating the U.S.’s reliance on Russian energy for European bases, and the Biden administration’s worrisome focus on climate change over national security threats.
Education and Workforce On Wednesday, March 1, Congresswoman Julia Letlow  introduced H.R. 5, the Parents Bill of Rights Act. With 73 Republican co-sponsors, Rep. Letlow’s bill delivers on a key promise of the Commitment to America and puts in place concrete legal protections that will ensure parents always have a seat at the table when it comes to their child’s education. To view the text of the bill, click here.
On Tuesday, February 28, the House passed Rep. Andy Barr's legislation, H.J. Res. 30, to block the U.S. Department of Labor rule greenlighting environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing in employer-sponsored retirement plans. Congressman Barr’s Congressional Review Act (CRA) measure would prevent this rule and any other similar rule from taking effect.
 Energy and Commerce   On Tuesday, February 28, the Subcommittee on Energy, Climate, and Grid Security held an open markup session to consider the following legislation: 
  • H.R. 1068, Securing America’s Critical Minerals Supply Act (Buschon)
  • H.R. 1121, Protecting American Energy Production Act (Duncan)
  • H.R. 1085, Researching Efficient Federal Improvements for Necessary Energy Refining (REFINER) Act (Latta)
  • H.R. 1058, Promoting Cross-border Energy Infrastructure Act (Armstrong)
  • H.Con.Res. 14, a resolution expressing disapproval of the revocation by President Biden of the Presidential permit for the Keystone XL pipeline (Lesko)
  • H.Con.Res. 17, a resolution expressing the sense of Congress that the Federal Government should not impose any restrictions on the export of crude oil or other petroleum products (Guthrie)
  • H.R. 1130, Unlocking Our Domestic LNG Potential Act (Johnson)
  • H.R. 1115, Promoting Interagency Coordination for Review of Natural Gas Pipelines Act (Burgess)
  • H.R. 1160, Critical Electric Infrastructure Cybersecurity Incident Reporting Act (Walberg)
On Tuesday, February 28, the Subcommittee on Environment, Manufacturing, and Critical Materials held an open markup session to consider the following legislation:
  • H.R. 1070, a bill to amend the Solid Waste Disposal Act (SWDA) to treat the owner or operator of a critical energy resource facility as having been issued an interim permit for the treatment, storage, and disposal, of hazardous waste, and for other purposes (Carter)
  • H.R. 1131, a bill to require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to authorize the use of flexible air permitting with respect to certain critical energy resource facilities, and for other purposes (Joyce)
  • H.R. 1140, a bill to authorize the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to waive application of certain requirements with respect to processing and refining of a critical energy resource at a critical energy resource facility, and for other purposes (Pence)
  • H.R. 1158, the Elimination of Future Technology Delays Act (Curtis)
  • H.R. 1141, Natural Gas Tax Repeal Act (Pfluger)
  • H.R. 1023, a bill to repeal section 134 of the Clean Air Act, relating to the greenhouse gas reduction fund (Palmer)
  • H.R. 1155, Keeping America’s Refineries Act (Crenshaw)
These two markups worked to advance solutions to unleash American energy, lower prices, and secure our supply chains. It’s just the beginning of the Committee on Energy and Commerce's work on energy and climate solutions that reverse the damage done by President Biden’s agenda from day one to shut down our energy production and make us reliant on China.  
On Wednesday, March 1, the Subcommittee on Innovation, Data, and Commerce held a hearing called “Promoting U.S. Innovation and Individual Liberty through a National Standard for Data Privacy.” In the hearing, Chair Rodgers said, “Data brokers and Big Tech’s days of operating in the dark should be over. People should trust their data is being protected.”  
Financial Services   On Tuesday, February 28, the Financial Services Committee held a markup where the Committee advanced several proposals to combat the economic threat posed by the Chinese Communist Party, the bipartisan Bank Service Company Examination Coordination Act of 2023, and Chairman Patrick McHenry’s (NC-10) Data Privacy Act of 2023. List of legislation considered:
  • H.R. 1165, the Data Privacy Act of 2023 (McHenry)
  • H.R. 554, the Taiwan Conflict Deterrence Act of 2023 (Hill)
  • H.R. 1076, the Preventing the Financing of Illegal Synthetic Drugs Act (De La Cruz)
  • H.R. 540, the Taiwan Non-Discrimination Act of 2023 (Kim)
  • H.R. 510, the Chinese Currency Accountability Act of 2023 (Davidson)
  • H.R. 839, the China Exchange Rate Transparency Act of 2023 (Meuser)
  • H.R. 803, the PROTECT Taiwan Act (Lucas)
  • H.R. 555, the Securing America’s Vaccines for Emergencies (SAVE) Act of 2023 (Hill)
  • H.R. 1109, the Bank Service Company Examination Coordination Act of 2023 (Williams)
  • H.R. 1156, the China Financial Threat Mitigation Act of 2023 (Spanberger)
  • H.R. 1166, the Public Health Emergency Medical Supplies Enhancement Act of 2023 (Vargas)
  • H.R. 1161, the Aligning SEC Regulations for the World Bank’s International Development Association Act (Waters)
View the Committee’s releases on the bills to combat the CCP here and Chairman McHenry’s Data Privacy Act here.
 
Foreign Affairs     On Tuesday, February 28, the Committee on Foreign Affairs held a full committee hearing called "Combatting the Generational Challenge of CCP Aggression," on the generational challenge the Chinese Communist Party poses to the United States. The Committee pressed Administration witnesses on the need to move beyond the false belief the CCP will ever deal in good faith and take firm line in defense of American interests.  
On Tuesday, February 28, the Committee on Foreign Affairs held an open markup session to consider the following:
  • H.R. 1093, To direct the Secretary of State to submit to Congress a report on implementation of the advanced capabilities pillar of the trilateral security partnership between Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States (McCaul)
  • H.R. 1159, To amend the Taiwan Assurance Act of 2020 to require periodic reviews and updated reports relating to the Department of State’s Taiwan Guidelines (Wagner)
  • H.R. 1189, Undersea Cable Control Act (Mast)
  • H.Res. 90, Demanding that the Government of the People’s Republic of China and the Communist Party of China immediately release Mark Swidan (Cloud)
  • H.R. 406, Providing Appropriate Recognition and Treatment Needed to Enhance Relations with ASEAN Act (Castro)
  • H.R. 1149, Countering Untrusted Telecommunications Abroad Act (Wild)
  • H.R. 1157, Countering the PRC Malign Influence Fund Authorization Act of (Barr) 
  • H.R. 1107, PRC is Not a Developing Country Act (Kim) 
  • H.R. 1154, Stop Forced Organ Harvesting Act of 2023 (Smith) 
  • H.R. 1153, Deterring America’s Technological Adversaries Act (McCaul)
   
Chairman McCaul also appeared on Newsmax to discuss Biden’s foreign policy failures and how the Biden administration should respond to our greatest foreign adversaries.
 
Click here or on the image above to view the interview.
Homeland Security   On February 28, the Committee on Homeland Security held a full committee hearing entitled “Every State is a Border State: Examining Secretary Mayorkas’ Border Crisis.” Witnesses included Ms. Rebecca Kiessling from Rochester Hills, Michigan, who lost her two sons to fentanyl poisoning from drugs traced back to the southern border, and Sheriff Mark Lamb from Pinal County, Arizona, who has witnessed the impacts of Biden’s border crisis on local law enforcement firsthand. The Committee discussed how every state in the U.S. has been impacted by Biden’s open border crisis, including the drastic increase in fentanyl deaths in the U.S, which has resulted from Biden repealing 89 Trump-era border policies within his first 100 days in office.  In response to the illogical Democrat talking points during the hearing, the Homeland Security Committee released a Charge and Response document debunking the lies of the Left.   
House Administration   On Tuesday, February 28, the Committee on House Administration held a full committee hearing called “Part 1: Committee Funding for the 118th Congress.” Chairman Steil delivered opening remarks, highlighting the Committee’s commitment to transparency for the American taxpayer.
Click here or on the image above to view Chairman Steil's remarks.
On Wednesday, March 1, the Committee on House Administration held a full committee hearing called “Part 2: Committee Funding for the 118th Congress.” This two-part hearing series returned to regular order for the first time since the 115th Congress. Each committee chair and ranking member testified in front of the House Administration Committee, presenting their budget requests and explaining their goals for the 118th Congress. At the close of Part 2, taxpayers had more transparency on where Congress is spending their hard-earned money.
On Tuesday, February 28, the Committee on House Administration held a full committee business meeting and adopted their oversight and authorization plan for the 118th Congress. Chairman Steil delivered opening remarks at the meeting, highlighting the House Administration Committee’s oversight plan to make the House more open, accessible, transparent, modern, professional, and resilient.
 Click here or on the image above to view Chairman Steil's remarks.
 
Judiciary   On Tuesday, February 28, the Judiciary Committee held a full committee markup of the Committee on the Judiciary Authorization and Oversight Plan for the 118th Congress. On Wednesday, March 1, the Subcommittee on Crime and Federal Government Surveillance held a hearing called “The Fentanyl Crisis in America: Inaction is No Longer an Option,” to examine the devastating impact of fentanyl in our communities. Witnesses included:
  • Mr. Derek Maltz, Special Agent in Charge, DEA’s Special Operations Division, Retired - testimony
  • Ms. Erin Rachwal, Founder, Love, Logan Foundation - testimony
  • Dr. Timothy Westlake, Emergency Physician - testimony
  • Dr. Jeffrey A. Singer, Senior Fellow in Health Policy Studies, CATO Institute - testimony
  Natural Resources   On Tuesday, February 28, the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources held a legislative hearing on the following legislation:
  • H.R. __, the Transparency and Production of American Energy (TAP American Energy) Act (Westerman)
  • H.R. 209, the Permitting for Mining Needs Act (Stauber)
The TAP American Energy Act would provide a much-needed jumpstart to American energy production by preventing both this administration and future administrations from slowing production, ultimately helping U.S. industries by eliminating bureaucratic hurdles, empowering the energy sector to innovate, expanding access to federal lands and waters for responsible energy development and more.
On Tuesday, February 28, the Natural Resources Committee held a full committee legislative hearing on H.R. __, Building United States Infrastructure through Limited Delays and Efficient Reviews Act of 2023 (G.Graves). The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) remains a significant barrier for transportation and infrastructure, energy development and transmission, and wildfire prevention and drought resilience projects. The current permitting process is filled with repetitive, duplicative assessments and prolonged processing, making it difficult for developers to plan, finance and build projects efficiently. The BUILDER Act would modernize the outdated NEPA statutes to make project reviews more efficient, reduce project costs, spur economic recovery and rebuild America.
On Wednesday, March 1, the Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs held an oversight hearing titled “Unlocking Indian Country’s Economic Potential.” The United States has a unique legal relationship with Indian tribes and their members that has been established in the U.S. Constitution, treaties, federal statutes and Supreme Court decisions. The hearing explored solutions to modernize and streamline Indian Country land use requirements that support tribal self-determination so tribes and individual American Indians and Alaska Natives can use their land in a way which best benefits their people. The Committee on Natural Resources also joined a bipartisan, bicameral coalition in sending a letter to the Secretary of Defense regarding the hundreds of inaccuracies on the Korean War Memorial's recently-unveiled Wall of Remembrance.
Oversight and Accountability   On Tuesday, February 28, the Committee on Oversight and Accountability held a full committee markup of legislation to protect speech from government censorship.  During a February 8th hearing on “Protecting Speech from Government Interference and Social Media Bias,” the Oversight Committee learned just how easy it was for the federal government to influence a private company to accomplish what it constitutionally cannot: limit the free exercise of speech. The bills that passed through committee during markup prevent the federal government from deciding what speech is allowed on a private sector platform. List of legislation marked up:
  • H.R. 140, the Protecting Speech from Government Interference Act (Comer)
  • H.R. 1162, the Accountability for Government Censorship Act (Perry)
The Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic held its first roundtable this week, “Preparing for the Future by Learning From the Past: Examining COVID Policy Decisions," because the American people deserve to know the reasoning, motives, and science behind the decisions made during the pandemic. Lawmakers discussed COVID-19 policy decisions with renowned doctors to thoroughly examine the federal government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.  
 
Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence On Tuesday, February 28th, HPSCI hosted an Open Panel with the leaders of some of the nation’s prominent Think Tanks, including the Atlantic Council, Hudson Institute, Council on Foreign Relations, RAND Corporation, and the Hoover Institution. This was the second installment in a series of public forums designed to inform the Committee’s agenda for the new Congress, and the conversation covered a wide variety of topics critical to national security, ranging from cybersecurity to drug trafficking to threats from Russia and China. The full panel can be viewed here.  House Intelligence Committee Chairman Turner & Ranking Member Himes Respond to “Havana Syndrome” Report by Intelligence Community.
 
Science, Space, and Technology     On Tuesday, February 28, the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology held a full committee hearing called “The United States, China, and the Fight for Global Leadership: Building a U.S. National Science and Technology Strategy,” to examine the current state of the United States’ science and technology enterprise and how it is impacting our global leadership, as well as threats to that leadership from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). At the hearing, Chairman Frank Lucas called for action to be taken to address threats posed by the CCP.
 Click here or on the image above to watch Chairman Lucas' opening statement.
Small Business     On Tuesday, February 28, the Committee on Small Business will hold a full committee hearing called “From Nothing to Something: The Story of the American Dream.” As the voice for Main Street America in Washington, the Committee on Small Business hearing highlighted both the story and importance of the American Dream by hearing directly from entrepreneurs. The witnesses discussed the current state of their small businesses amid the historic headwinds they’ve had to face over the last few years. The hearing also marked the beginning of the committee’s work to advocate for free market principles and pro-growth policies to help these working families and job creators thrive again.  
Transportation and Infrastructure   On February 28, 2023, the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee approved a joint resolution to overturn the Biden Administration’s burdensome, overreaching waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule, a bill to promote the development of energy infrastructure and ensure water quality under Clean Water Act Section 401, and several other measures. The full markup can be viewed here.   A full list of the approved measures can be found below:
  • H.J. Res. 27, Providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers, Department of Defense and the Environmental Protection Agency relating to "Revised Definition of 'Waters of the United States'" (Graves)
  • H.R. 1152, Water Quality Certification and Energy Project Improvement Act of 2023 (Rouzer)
  • The Authorization and Oversight Plan for the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure - 118th Congress | View Text
  • The Fiscal Year 2024 Views and Estimates of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure | View Text
  • H. Res. 152, Supporting the goals and ideals of “move over” laws (McGovern)
  • H. Con. Res. 15, Authorizing the use of the Capitol Grounds for the National Peace Officers Memorial Service and the National Honor Guard and Pipe Band Exhibition (Perry)
  • H.R. 783, To designate the Department of Energy Integrated Engineering Research Center Federal Building located at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in Batavia, Illinois, as the “Helen Edwards Engineering Research Center” (Foster)
  • General Services Administration Capital Investment and Leasing Program Resolutions | View Text
Veterans' Affairs Committee   On Tuesday, February 28, the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs held a full committee oversight hearing entitled "Building an Accountable VA: Applying Lessons Learned to Drive Future Success," to hold the Biden Administration accountable to veterans on why problems persist in the delivery of services when we have made an incredible investment in the Department of Veterans Affairs over the past few years through mostly bipartisan legislation. The hearing also served as a preview for the Veterans Affairs budget hearing when the Biden Administration will inevitably ask for a large budget increase.
On Tuesday, February 28, the House and Senate Veteran Affairs Committees held a joint House and Senate VSO hearing called "Legislative Presentation of Disabled American Veterans." On Wednesday, March 1, the House and Senate Veteran Affairs Committees held a joint House and Senate VSO hearing called "Legislative Presentation of The American Legion & Multi VSOs."  
Chairman Bost and Rep. Issa also sent a letter to Veterans Affairs regarding a recent Merit System Protection Board (MSPB) decision impacting the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) removal of hybrid employees.  
Ways and Means
On Tuesday, February 28, the Ways and Means Committee held a markup of the following measures: 
  • H.R. 1163, Protecting Taxpayers and Victims of Unemployment Fraud Act (Smith)
  • Views and Estimates Letter to the Committee on the Budget | View Text
  • Oversight Plan for the 118th Congress | View Text
The Ways and Means Committee approved legislation to jumpstart recovery efforts on hundreds of billions of dollars of COVID unemployment insurance payments stolen by fraud. The bill would give states incentives to recover stolen benefits, to ensure fraud of this scale never happens again, and to make it easier for prosecutors to bring criminals to justice. The Department of Labor Inspector General estimated that improper payments in pandemic unemployment programs have left taxpayers on the hook for at least $191 billion. Outside experts put the number much higher at $400 billion. Yet, so far only $5 billion has been recovered.