Last updated 2/26/26 by Sarah Clein, Leadership Connect
This tracker is based on publicly available congressional materials and data compiled through Leadership Connect. It is provided for informational purposes only and does not reflect the views or policy positions of Leadership Connect.
The House Committee on Energy and Commerce oversees some of the most consequential policy areas in Congress, including health care, energy, telecommunications, consumer protection, and environmental regulation.
Using Leadership Connect’s Congressional Hearings intelligence, this tracker synthesizes publicly available congressional hearings through proprietary tools to analyze emerging policy trends. It highlights where the Committee is focusing its attention, how conversations are shifting, and what issues are likely to stay at the center of debate in the months ahead.
Oversight Themes and Policy Direction
1. Health Insurance Affordability and Market Power
Health insurance costs continue to rise for individuals, families, and employers, raising concerns about premium growth, prior authorization practices, and insurer consolidation. Lawmakers are examining how market concentration and insurer business practices affect affordability and patient access.
Subcommittee Information
Subcommittee on Health
- Hearing: Lowering Health Care Costs for All Americans: An Examination of Health Insurance Affordability
- Date: January 22, 2026
Subcommittee Leadership
- Chair: Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-VA, 9)
- Vice Chair: Rep. Diana Harshbarger (R-TN, 1)
- Ranking Member: Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO, 1)
Core Concerns
- Rapid premium growth in Affordable Care Act marketplaces and uncertainty around subsidy expiration
- Rising employer-sponsored insurance costs affecting wages and small business competitiveness
- Whether prior authorization is being used as a cost containment tool at the expense of timely care
- Whether insurer profit margins and executive compensation reflect market power rather than efficiency
- Increasing consolidation among insurers and vertical integration with PBMs and providers
Emerging Themes
- Direct questioning of CEOs about corporate decision-making
- Debate over whether insurers pass negotiated savings to consumers
- Executive pledges to streamline prior authorization
- Claims that hospital consolidation and drug pricing drive cost growth
- Growing interest in denial transparency and reporting requirements
What This Signals
The Subcommittee is moving from general affordability rhetoric to company-level accountability. Expect continued hearings and potential targeted reforms around prior authorization, transparency, and insurer market power.
2. Medicare and Medicaid Fraud Is a Rising Priority
Medicare and Medicaid lose billions of dollars each year to fraudulent billing schemes and improper payments. Congress is reviewing how federal agencies detect and prevent fraud, with a focus on strengthening oversight, improving technology, and reducing payment vulnerabilities.
Subcommittee Information
Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations
- Hearing: Common Schemes, Real Harm: Examining Fraud in Medicare and Medicaid
- Date: February 3, 2026
Subcommittee Leadership
- Chair: Rep. John Joyce (R-PA, 13)
- Vice Chair: Rep. Troy Balderson (R-OH, 12)
- Ranking Member: Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-NY, 9)
Core Concerns
- Estimated annual fraud losses reaching into the tens of billions
- Sophisticated criminal networks exploiting billing systems
- Vulnerabilities in prepayment screening and claims review
- Identity theft and misuse of beneficiary data
- Delays between improper payment and recovery
Emerging Themes
- Calls for predictive analytics and AI-driven prepayment screening
- Debate over shifting from “pay-and-chase” to prevention-first enforcement
- Concerns about agency staffing and coordination gaps
- Recognition that fraud directly harms patients
What This Signals
Program integrity will remain a sustained oversight priority. Legislative efforts are likely to focus on data sharing, detection tools, and proactive screening reforms.
3. FirstNet Reauthorization and Oversight Review
FirstNet is the nationwide communications network dedicated to first responders. As its authorization approaches expiration in 2027, Congress is reviewing how the network is managed and overseen, including questions about leadership structure, accountability, and federal oversight.
Subcommittee Information
Subcommittee on Communications and Technology
- Hearing: Evaluating FirstNet: Performance, Accountability, and Reauthorization
- Date: February 4, 2026
Subcommittee Leadership
- Chair: Rep. Richard Hudson (R-NC, 9)
- Vice Chair: Rep. Rick Allen (R-GA, 12)
- Ranking Member: Rep. Doris Matsui (D-CA, 7)
Core Concerns
- Statutory authorization expiring in 2027
- Inspector General findings on oversight and contract performance
- Ambiguity in governance structure
- Ensuring rural and remote coverage
Emerging Themes
- Agreement governance clarity is needed
- Interest in board term structure reforms
- Clarifying reporting lines between FirstNet and NTIA
- Bipartisan emphasis on insulating public safety communications from politics
What This Signals
Reauthorization appears likely, with governance clarification and accountability reforms at the center.
4. Energy Reliability and FERC Oversight
The U.S. electric grid is facing rising demand, infrastructure constraints, and reliability risks, particularly as data centers and advanced computing increase electricity consumption. Congress is examining how federal regulators oversee electricity markets, transmission planning, and infrastructure development to maintain reliable and affordable service.
Subcommittee Information
Subcommittee on Energy
- Hearing: Oversight of FERC: Advancing Affordable and Reliable Energy for All Americans
- Date: February 3, 2026
Subcommittee Leadership
- Chair: Rep. Bob Latta (R-OH, 5)
- Vice Chair: Rep. Randy Weber (R-TX, 14)
- Ranking Member: Rep. Kathy Castor (D-FL, 14)
Core Concerns
- Rapid electricity demand growth from AI and data centers
- Rising reliability warnings and reserve margin concerns
- Transmission buildout delays and interconnection backlogs
- Retirement of dispatchable baseload generation
- Federal permitting complexity
Emerging Themes
- Debate over policy-driven generation transitions
- Emphasis on transmission modernization
- Concern over cost allocation for large-load customers
- Framing reliability as economic competitiveness and national security
What This Signals
Grid reliability is increasingly treated as a national security and economic competitiveness issue. Expect continued FERC oversight and potential permitting or planning reforms.
5. Chemical Safety Reform and Regulatory Disputes
The U.S. electric grid is facing rising demand, infrastructure constraints, and reliability risks, particularly as data centers and advanced computing increase electricity consumption. Congress is examining how federal regulators oversee electricity markets, transmission planning, and infrastructure development to maintain reliable and affordable service.
Subcommittee Information
Subcommittee on Environment
- Hearing: Chemicals in Commerce: Legislative Proposal to Modernize America’s Chemical Safety Law, Strengthen Critical Supply Chains, and Grow Domestic Manufacturing
- Date: January 22, 2026
Subcommittee Leadership
- Chair: Rep. Gary Palmer (R-AL, 6)
- Vice Chair: Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX, 2)
- Ranking Member: Rep. Paul Tonko (D-NY, 20)
Core Concerns
- Predictability and speed of new chemical reviews
- EPA use of fee authority and transparency
- Interpretation of TSCA statutory authority
- Balancing public health protections with manufacturing competitiveness
Emerging Themes
- Majority framing reforms as modernization and supply chain strengthening
- Minority warning of weakened worker and health protections
- Debate over scientific standards and testing thresholds
- Emphasis on domestic manufacturing competitiveness
What This Signals
Chemical safety reform is back on the legislative agenda, but partisan disagreement over scope and safeguards remains substantial.
6. Artificial Intelligence Across Sectors
Artificial intelligence is increasingly influencing industries under the Committee’s jurisdiction, including health care, energy, and telecommunications. Lawmakers are assessing how AI affects insurance administration, fraud detection, infrastructure demand, and regulatory oversight.
Subcommittee Information
Discussed in Hearings Across:
Core Concerns
- Automation of insurance claim and prior authorization decisions
- Use of AI in fraud detection and emerging fraud schemes
- Data center electricity demand growth
- Speed of AI deployment outpacing regulatory adaptation
Emerging Themes
- Recognition AI amplifies both efficiency and systemic risk
- Guardrails favored over blanket prohibitions
- Sector-specific oversight rather than comprehensive AI legislation
What This Signals
AI will continue to surface in multiple hearings across jurisdictions, with incremental oversight rather than sweeping AI-specific legislation.
7. Structural Oversight and Accountability Is a Cross-Cutting Theme
Across multiple hearings, members have raised questions about how federal agencies are structured and whether they have clear authority and effective oversight mechanisms. The discussion centers on governance design, reporting lines, regulatory implementation, and operational accountability.
Core Concerns
- Governance clarity and statutory authority
- Inspector General findings and enforcement effectiveness
- Staffing and resource constraints
- Transparency and reporting mechanisms
Emerging Themes
- Structural reform discussions embedded within policy debates
- Focus on agency design, not just policy substance
- Use of reauthorization vehicles to clarify authority
What This Signals
Institutional structure and governance reform are becoming central oversight themes. Future legislative action may focus as much on how agencies operate as on the policies they administer.
What the Committee Is Likely to Do Next
High Likelihood
- Advance FirstNet reauthorization with governance reforms
- Continue hearings on health insurance affordability
- Increase oversight of Medicare Advantage and prior authorization
- Pursue additional Medicare and Medicaid fraud enforcement legislation
Medium Likelihood
- Legislative adjustments to chemical safety law
- Additional grid reliability and transmission planning hearings
- Bipartisan prior authorization transparency reforms
Low Likelihood
- Broad structural health insurance market redesign
- Major wholesale energy market redesign legislation
- Comprehensive AI regulatory framework
