Press Releases
Committee Cliff Notes: Weekly Recap – Week of December 2, 2024
Washington,
December 6, 2024
Here’s a recap of key moments from House Republican committees during the week:
Education and the Workforce On Wednesday, December 4, the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education held a hearing called "Back to Basics: America’s Founding, Civics, and Self-Government in K-12 Curricula." Students are falling behind. The latest Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) confirmed it this week: American students had the lowest test scores in two decades. Why then, are so many students being forced to spend their valuable time in the classroom focused on things like “slavocracy” and radical sexual ideology instead of the basics in reading, math, and civics? This hearing tackled that question highlighting the harmful curriculum being embraced by many school districts. While federal law prohibits the federal government from dictating curriculum to schools, as is consistent with the Constitution and the principles of federalism, Republican witnesses showed that there are curricula and professional development opportunities that accurately teach the history of America, the importance of understanding America’s founding, and the necessity of civic virtue in a self-governing society.    Financial Services On Tuesday, November 26, ahead of a hearing to examine how technology is shaping the future of finance, the Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, Patrick McHenry (NC-10), and Ranking Member Maxine Waters (CA-43) introduced two bipartisan measures highlighting the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on the financial services and housing industries. Chairman McHenry introduced a resolution, cosponsored by Ranking Member Waters, acknowledging the growing use of AI in the financial services and housing industries. In addition, Ranking Member Waters introduced a bill, cosponsored by Chairman McHenry, directing the federal financial regulators to study the present and potential benefits and risks of AI as it relates to the financial and housing markets. These measures build upon the efforts of the Committee’s Bipartisan AI Working Group to identify the advantages and risks of the technology, as well as the impacts of existing laws and regulations on its adoption.  On Wednesday, December 4, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a slate of four bipartisan financial services bills. These include measures to cut red-tape preventing veterans from accessing housing assistance, mint a commemorative coin in honor of Roberto Clemente, and award the Congressional Gold Medal to Shirley Chisholm and forgotten heroes of the Holocaust. The bills passed by the house include:
 On Wednesday, December 4, the Financial Services Committee, led by Chairman Patrick McHenry (NC-10), held a full committee hearing to explore how technology and innovation are shaping the future of finance. Ahead of the hearing, Chairman McHenry and Ranking Member Maxine Waters (CA-43) introduced two bipartisan measures highlighting the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on the financial services and housing industries.  Homeland Security On Thursday, December 5, the Subcommittee on Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection held a hearing entitled “Design vs. Default: Analyzing Shifts in Cybersecurity.” In this hearing, members heard from private sector witnesses about how the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s “Secure-By-Design” initiative has influenced the cybersecurity posture of businesses that have adopted its principles.   Judiciary On Wednesday, December 4, the Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement held a hearing called "Oversight of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services," to examine the agency's failures to reduce and prevent fraud and abuse in the adjudication of immigration benefits applications and petitions.   Natural Resources This week, the House passed nine committee bills to support critical mineral development, reauthorize successful conservation programs, recognize important sites of American history and more. The House also passed the America’s Conservation Enhancement Reauthorization Act, introduced by U.S. Rep. Rob Wittman (R-Va.) and cosponsored by U.S. Rep. Jen Kiggans (R-Va.) that will will protect waterfowl, fish, wildlife resources and wetland habitats while supporting local economies dependent on outdoor recreation, tourism and agriculture.    Oversight and Accountability On Wednesday, December 4, the Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Energy Policy, and Regulatory Affairs held a hearing called "Exposing the Truth on LNG: How the Administration Played Politics with America’s Energy Future." Members discussed how the Biden-Harris Administration’s effective ban on LNG exports has harmed the U.S. domestic energy industry and has cost American workers job opportunities. The members also criticized the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for failing to produce documents to the Committee’s and pressed the DOE witness to deliver the information requested as quickly as possible.  On Wednesday, December 4, the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic held a markup on the following: On Thursday, December 5, the Committee on Oversight and Accountability held a full committee hearing called "Oversight of the U.S. Census Bureau." Members raised serious concerns over the Census Bureau’s Post-Enumeration Survey which found that statistically significant miscounts occurred in the 2020 Census. Members pressed U.S. Census Bureau Director Robert Santos on these serious data flaws that predominantly benefited Democratic-leaning states and emphasized that the Committee will continue to conduct oversight to ensure future censuses are accurate. In addition, members stressed that only citizens of the United States should be considered for purposes of apportionment and the Equal Representation Act is a commonsense legislative solution that would add a simple citizenship question to future censuses.   Rules On Tuesday, December 3, the Committee on Rules met on the following measures:
   Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party On Tuesday, December 3, the House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed the Protecting American Industry from International Trade Crimes Act, a bill introduced by Select Committee member Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-IA) alongside Chairman John Moolenaar (R-MI) and Ranking Member Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL). On Thursday, December 5, the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party held a hearing called "Rebuilding the Arsenal of Democracy: The Imperative to Strengthen America’s Defense Industrial Base and Workforce." Small Business On Thursday, December 5, Chairman Roger Williams along with members of the House Committee on Small Business spoke in support of H.R. 7198, the Prove It Act of 2024, which would give small businesses a greater say in the regulatory process and protect them from bureaucratic overreach.    Task Force on the Attempted Assassination of Donald J. Trump On Thursday, December 5, the Task Force on the Attempted Assassination of Donald J. Trump held its final hearing ahead of its final report, which is due December 13, 2024. U.S. Secret Service Acting Director Ronald Rowe was the witness during the hearing. He spoke to the agency’s failures during the July 13 rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, in which one person was killed and three others, including President-elect Donald Trump, were injured, and Task Force members challenged Rowe to utilize their final report as a roadmap to make critical reforms.    Veterans Affairs On Thursday, December 5, the Committee on Veterans' Affairs held a full committee oversight hearing titled “Fact and Fiction: Getting to the Bottom of the VA Budget Shortfall.” Chairman Bost and committee members demanded explanations after revelations from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) that no benefits budget shortfall ever existed in fiscal year (FY) 2024, and the purported health care budget shortfall in FY 2025 is $6.6 billion, rather than $12 billion. Chairman Bost pressed Under Secretary for Benefits Joshua Jacobs as to when he knew that $2.88 billion in supplemental benefits appropriations that Congress provided at his urging were unnecessary, and why he waited weeks to inform Congress. Rep. Rosendale admonished the VA witnesses for presenting a defective FY 2025 budget request, creating a health care budget shortfall, and then attempting to blame Republicans after the Republican House repeatedly, fully funded VA’s requests. Rep. Luttrell and Rep. Van Orden questioned Mr. Jacobs and Under Secretary for Health Shereef Elnahal as to why VA is unable to account for its funding and expenditures day-to-day, and why the Department’s information technology projects that would purportedly provide this capability are severely mismanaged. Other committee members attempted to unpack the revised $6.6 billion health care shortfall. Veterans Health Administration Chief Financial Officer Laura Duke explained that it largely consists of medical equipment purchases and increased pharmaceutical costs, including $2 billion for injectable weight loss drugs and a new liver disease medication. Finally, Chairman Bost questioned Dr. Elnahal about why faster, more decisive action has not been taken to discipline employees at the Mountain Home, Tennessee VA medical center months after a sprawling sexual misconduct scandal was revealed.   Ways and Means In a new video, Ways and Means Republicans outline how the 2017 Trump tax cuts maximized growth and sparked a massive economic recovery that benefitted American workers and small businesses. With roughly $4.6 trillion of expiring provisions next year, a failure to extend the current tax relief would have disastrous consequences for working families and job creators, warned Committee members in the video. In an effort to build on the success of the Trump tax cuts, Ways and Means Chairman Jason Smith (MO-08) and Tax Subcommittee Chair Mike Kelly (PA-16) created 10 tax teams earlier this year to analyze the key tax policies Congress must address to maximize relief for American families, farmers, workers, and small businesses in the wake of the Biden-Harris Administration’s inflation crisis. Ways and Means Tax Teams have traveled to 20 states to hold over 120 listening sessions, site visits, and roundtables to partner with the American people to stop a tax hike on every single American.  Click here or on the image above to watch.
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