Health subcommittee forwards seven public-health reauthorizations to full committee

The House Energy and Commerce Committee—s Subcommittee on Health on Saturday advanced seven bipartisan public-health reauthorizations to the full committee, with members debating workforce shortages, rural access and the interaction of the measures with recent federal health policy changes.

The markup moved a package of separate bills that reauthorize programs under the Public Health Service Act and other statutes. Chairman Griffith said the session was "a critical step to get these various bills ... across the finish line before they expire at the end of the fiscal year." Most measures were forwarded by voice vote and will next be considered by the full committee.

Why it matters: the bills would extend grant programs intended to recruit and retain health professionals, support telehealth infrastructure, bolster rural outreach and long-standing maternal and newborn screening programs. Supporters said the measures are designed to maintain services in underserved and rural areas and to strengthen training pipelines for physicians, nurses and other health professionals.

On HR 4262 (the Empower for Health Act of 2025), the subcommittee adopted an amendment in the nature of a substitute offered by Representative Raul Ruiz. Ruiz said the substitute would "spur growth in our health care workforce" and cited projections that the United States faces "a significant and growing shortage of physicians with projections indicating a shortage of over 187,130 physicians by 2037." The substitute renames and refocuses the bill to authorize funding for Title VII programs that support primary care training, pediatric loan repayment, geriatrics workforce enhancement and related programs.

Representative Jan Schakowsky, sponsor of the underlying bill, and others emphasized the legislation's role in increasing physician recruitment and retention and expanding access in rural and underserved areas. Representative Kim Kelly (remarks during the session) urged reauthorization of Title VII dental training and highlighted a companion proposal, H.R. 2001, the Action for Dental Health Act, which the speaker said would strengthen oral-health supports for underserved communities.

The subcommittee also advanced HR 3593, the Title VIII Nursing Workforce Reauthorization Act, which reauthorizes nursing workforce programs and loan-repayment and education grants intended to strengthen the nursing pipeline. Representative David Joyce spoke in support of the bill before members agreed to recommend it to the full committee.

Rural health and telehealth: Representative Buddy Carter introduced H.R. 2493, the Improving Care in Rural America Reauthorization Act, describing a record of outreach service delivery and local economic impact from rural health grants. He told members the outreach program delivered services to more than 500,000 individuals in fiscal 2023 and that the rural network program generated local economic activity. The measure would extend rural health outreach and network development grants through 2030.

That bill prompted sharper exchanges. Representative Ruiz, an emergency physician, criticized recent budget changes passed elsewhere in the House, calling those measures "10 giant steps back" and arguing cuts to Medicaid and provider reimbursements will worsen rural hospital closures and access. Representative Schar (a pediatrician) and others echoed concerns that proposed reductions in Medicaid funding would undercut the benefits of new rural investments.

The subcommittee also approved H.R. 3419 to reauthorize the Telehealth Network and Telehealth Resource Centers grant programs. Chairman Griffith noted the University of Virginia serves as a resource center for his district and the Mid-Atlantic region and reported a "24% increase in telehealth visits from fiscal year 24 to fiscal year 25" at that center. Members said reauthorizing the centers would help maintain technical assistance and telehealth infrastructure that supports providers in hard-to-reach areas.

Other measures advanced included H.R. 3302, the Healthy Start Reauthorization Act (to extend community-based programs aimed at reducing infant mortality); H.R. 4709, a newborn-screening reauthorization to sustain and expand state newborn screening systems; and H.R. 2846, a bill to align paid-leave benefits for officers of the U.S. Public Health Service with those of other uniformed services. Supporters stressed the track record and bipartisan history of programs such as Healthy Start and newborn screening, noting newborn screening identifies conditions that can be treated early to avert serious disability.

During opening remarks, Representative Diana DeGette asked for additional hearings on matters relating to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and referenced letters from subcommittee Democrats requesting testimony from outside figures. DeGette also said some bills agreed in a previous December package had been removed from consideration this cycle and noted that "Medicare's ability to broadly cover telehealth services expires in 2 and a half weeks," a point she said merited urgent attention.

What the subcommittee did: by voice votes, the panel agreed to the Ruiz substitute on H.R. 4262 and recommended each bill to the full committee for consideration. Where recorded, members spoke in support; no recorded roll-call tallies were taken during the voice votes. Staff was authorized to make technical and conforming edits to the measures approved.

Votes at a glance - H.R. 4262 (Empower for Health Act of 2025; substitute offered by Representative Raul Ruiz): amendment agreed to; bill recommended to full committee (voice vote). - H.R. 3593 (Title VIII Nursing Workforce Reauthorization Act): recommended to full committee (voice vote; unanimous by acclamation). - H.R. 2493 (Improving Care in Rural America Reauthorization Act): recommended to full committee (voice vote). - H.R. 3419 (Telehealth Network and Telehealth Resource Centers Reauthorization Act): recommended to full committee (voice vote). - H.R. 3302 (Healthy Start Reauthorization Act): recommended to full committee (voice vote). - H.R. 2846 (Leave parity for U.S. Public Health Service officers): recommended to full committee (voice vote). - H.R. 4709 (Newborn Screening Reauthorization Act): recommended to full committee (voice vote).

Next steps: Each bill will be considered by the full Energy and Commerce Committee; if reported, they would still need House floor action, Senate approval and the president's signature to become law. Several members stressed that committee passage does not guarantee implementation, and cautioned that executive-branch implementation will be necessary for program outcomes.

(Reporting note: quotes and attributions are taken from the subcommittee markup transcript.)