Press Releases
Committee Cliff Notes: Weekly Recap – Week of March 10, 2025
Washington,
March 12, 2025
Here’s a recap of key moments from House Republican committees during the week:
Appropriations On Tuesday, March 11, the Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies held a hearing called "Innovative Techniques in Military Construction." Military construction is vital to the safety and security of our service members. In this hearing, led by Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Subcommittee Chairman Judge Carter, lawmakers examined how military leaders leverage technology—such as 3D printing and advanced energy production—to cut costs and enhance durability. They also addressed regulatory and policy hurdles hindering projects and explored ways to promote emerging technologies. Armed Services On Tuesday, March 11, the Subcommittee on Seapower and Projection Forces held a hearing on the state of U.S. shipbuilding. In his opening statement, Subcommittee Chairman Trent Kelly (R-MS) highlighted the need to move quickly to support U.S. shipbuilding, “To say this plainly: we must act now. Whether through changes to our procurement processes, stronger industrial base investments, or cultural shifts within shipbuilding program offices, we need to make these decisions sooner rather than later.”  Education & Workforce On Tuesday, March 11, the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education held a hearing called "Education Without Limits: Exploring the Benefits of School Choice." This hearing highlighted the benefits of school choice. Republican witnesses included a former student who testified that he would’ve been “in prison or not here at all” if it weren’t for school choice and a mother of five who used education savings accounts so her two kids with disabilities could get the education that worked best for them. The Democrat witness was a Harvard-educated lawyer who went to a private school. You shouldn’t have to come from a wealthy Democrat family to have educational options. School choice policy prevents students from being trapped in failing systems and sets our youth up for successful futures. Education and Workforce Committee Republicans will continue to fight for policies like school choice that put more power in the hands of parents and students rather than one-size-fits-all mandates.    Energy and Commerce On Tuesday, March 11, the Environment Subcommittee held a hearing called "Maximizing Opportunities for Redeveloping Brownfields Sites: Assessing the Potential for New American Innovation." This hearing served as an opportunity for members to examine how the EPA’s Brownfields Sites program has revitalized land that otherwise would not have been used. Members also emphasized the potential for Brownfields Sites to be used to construct critical infrastructure such as data centers to help the United States remain a world leader in artificial intelligence.    Financial Services On Tuesday, March 11, the Committee on Financial Services held a full committee hearing called "Navigating the Digital Payments Ecosystem: Examining a Federal Framework for Payment Stablecoins and Consequences of a U.S. Central Bank Digital Currency." The Committee examined the promise of blockchain technology, specifically in payments with stablecoins and discussed how the Committee’s STABLE Act will impact payment stablecoin issuers, protect consumers, and foster competition and innovation. Members also examined the harmful effects of a potential government-controlled central bank digital currency (CBDC) and highlighted Republican efforts to prohibit the creation of a U.S. CBDC.    Foreign Affairs On Tuesday, March 11, the Chairman Mast hosted a full-committee, closed door roundtable with Anthropic CEO and Co-Founder Dario Amodei to discuss DeepSeek, export controls and the AI arms race. This is the second iteration in a series of three roundtables meant to provide insight to all members on the current state of U.S. and Chinese AI development and how to win the AI arms race. On Tuesday, March 11, the East Asia and Pacific Subcommittee held a hearing called “Reauthorizing the U.S. Development Finance Corporation.” During the hearing lawmakers heard from witnesses on how the DFC can better address emerging threats and opportunities, what reforms are needed to enhance the DFC’s ability to compete with the Chinese Communist Party’s Belt and Road Initiative and how to ensure that the DFC’s operations remain transparent, accountable and targeted to deliver outcomes for U.S. partners abroad and American taxpayers. On Tuesday, March 11, the Europe Subcommittee held a hearing called “Arms Control, International Security, and U.S. Assistance to Europe: Review and Reforms for the State Department.” During the hearing lawmakers heard from witnesses on ways to build a more efficient and effective State Department with a focus on the State Department Bureaus that fall under the sub committee's jurisdiction. These insights are essential as the House Foreign Affairs Committee takes up Chairman Mast’s priority of completing a full reauthorization of the State Department for the first time since 2002. On Wednesday, March 12, the Africa Subcommittee held a hearing called “Conflict and Persecution in Nigeria: The Case for a CPC Designation.” During the hearing, lawmakers received testimony from Bishop Wilfred Anagbe of the diocese of Makurdi, Nigeria, and other experts on the dire need to protect religious freedom in Nigeria. During his opening remarks, the Subcommittee Chairman underscored the urgent need for the U.S. to designate Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern and to place the protection and strengthening of Nigeria’s religious and civil freedoms at the forefront of the U.S.-Nigeria bilateral relationship.    Homeland Security On Tuesday, March 11, the Subcommittee on Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection held a hearing entitled “Regulatory Harm or Harmonization? Examining the Opportunity to Improve the Cyber Regulatory Regime.” Members examined opportunities to improve the cyber regulatory regime, including the role the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) should play in cyber regulatory harmonization moving forward. They discussed the apparatus of cyber reporting requirements, including the effectiveness of the “Cyber Incident Reporting for Critical Infrastructure Act of 2022” (CIRCIA), and whether it can be strengthened or reassessed.   On Tuesday, March 11, the Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations, and Accountability held a hearing entitled “Eliminating Waste, Fraud, and Abuse at the Department of Homeland Security: Addressing the Biden-Harris Administration’s Failures.” In this hearing, members examined areas of waste, fraud, and abuse within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that were created or exacerbated by the Biden administration, as well as offer actionable solutions that can be implemented by Congress and the Trump administration.  House Administration On Tuesday, March 11, the Committee on House Administration held a full committee markup considering the following:
 Judiciary On Tuesday, March 11, the Subcommittee on Administrative State, Regulatory Reform, and Antitrust held a hearing called "Antitrust Law and the NCAA: Examining the Current Climate," to examine issues for the Committee's consideration including antitrust liability for NCAA rules concerning NIL payments, transfers, and eligibility.   Natural Resources On Tuesday, March 11, the Subcommittee on Federal Lands held a legislative hearing on the following bill:
   Oversight & Government Reform On Tuesday, March 11, the Subcommittee on Government Operations held a hearing called “Shifting Gears: Moving from Recovery to Prevention of Improper Payments and Fraud” to continue a multi-year long investigation into flaws in federal government payment systems. Subcommittee Chairman Pete Sessions (R-Texas), Ranking Member Kweisi Mfume (D-Md.), and many Subcommittee members showed immense enthusiasm for preventing further fraudulent and improper payments through bipartisan action. Expert witnesses outlined practical and easily implementable solutions to root out fraud in payment systems. These solutions include the elimination of the “pay and chase” model, an emphasis on data sharing, and the modernization of payment systems.  On Tuesday, March 11, the Subcommittee on Federal Law Enforcement held a hearing called “Enhancing Federal, State, and Local Coordination in the Fight Against Criminal Illegal Aliens.” Subcommittee members discussed the need for increased collaboration between federal, state, and local law enforcement to rein in criminal illegal aliens who are often affiliated with transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) within the United States. Members also discussed the missteps of the Biden Administration which allowed TCOs to set up operations inside the United States and the work already undertaken by the Trump Administration to disrupt these illicit enterprises.   Rules On Monday, March 10, the Committee on Rules met on the following measures:
   Science, Space, and Technology On Tuesday, March 11, the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology held a Member Day hearing, providing members the opportunity to share their interests and priorities within the Committee’s jurisdiction. Small Business On Tuesday, March 11, the Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations, and Regulations held a hearing called "Restoring the SBA: Putting Main Street America First." During the hearing, members analyzed how the Small Business Administration (SBA) deviated from its mission under the Biden Administration and how the SBA will return to supporting small businesses.    Transportation and Infrastructure On Tuesday, March 11, the Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment held a hearing to examine the benefits to states and local communities of federal water infrastructure financing programs, including the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) and Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) programs, and how those programs may be improved to help communities improve their water infrastructure. Witnesses emphasized the need to reauthorize programs, cut red tape, ensure flexibility for states and local communities, and more.    This week, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) released the preliminary report on the January 29th accident at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport between American Airlines Flight 5342 and a UH-60 Army helicopter. The Committee leaders released a joint statement that reads in part, “While this is not the final report, we want to thank the NTSB for their tireless and thorough work on this investigation, their continued efforts on behalf of the families of the victims and the flying public, and the emergency safety recommendations they are issuing at this stage of their investigation. Our committee is reviewing the report and the recommendations, and we will continue to act in a bipartisan manner to strengthen the safety of our aviation system.” Veterans Affairs On Tuesday, March 11, the Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity held a legislative hearing on the following measures:
 On Tuesday, March 11, the Subcommittee on Health will hold a legislative hearing on the following measures:
  Ways and Means On Tuesday, March 11, the Subcommittee on Health held a hearing called "After the Hospital: Ensuring Access to Quality Post-Acute Care." Millions of Americans receive post-acute care after a hospital visit, provided across various settings like nursing homes, inpatient rehabilitation, long-term care facilities, and home health, including telehealth. The hearing examined how Medicare can improve access to post-acute care for beneficiaries – encouraging policymakers to look at additional options to ensure patients are getting higher quality post-acute care including remote patient monitoring, home-based care, regulatory relief, greater innovation, and broader coordination of patient care.   |