The House Energy and Commerce Committee plans to conduct “rigorous oversight” throughout 2017, with a focus on eliminating wasteful spending and ensuring laws function effectively without harming economic growth. These priorities are detailed in the committee’s oversight plan for the 115th Congress released by the panel’s Republican majority in late January.
The plan broadly covers the wide variety of issues that fall under the committee’s jurisdiction, from healthcare to environment to communications. The section on energy and environment issues promises scrutiny of states’ use of funds awarded through the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF), with a focus on looking for “efficiencies that could be realized in managing this funding to maximize its effectiveness.” The plan also says the committee will examine EPA’s protocol for issuing health advisories under the Safe Drinking Water Act.
On climate change, the committee will “monitor international negotiations on efforts to control greenhouse gas emissions,” and will consider whether EPA’s efforts to regulate domestic emissions under the Clean Air Act “are scientifically well grounded.” The plan also promises general EPA oversight, including “review of the agency’s funding decisions, resource allocation, grants, research activities, enforcement actions, relations with State and local governments, public transparency, and respect for economic, procedural, public health, and environmental standards in regulatory actions.”
The committee plans to “exercise its jurisdiction over cybersecurity” in 2017, with the goal of ensuring protection while “avoiding one-size-fits-all approaches.” The Department of Homeland Security’s CFATS program will also be subject to committee oversight “to examine whether taxpayer funds are spent prudently” and if DHS is succeeding in protecting chemical facilities from terrorist attacks.
The oversight plan does not outline any specific legislative proposals, and the extent to which the committee addresses each of the topics highlighted in the plan will be determined as the year unfolds.