House Advances Two Energy and Commerce Committee Bills

WASHINGTON, DC – The House of Representatives today advanced two Energy and Commerce Committee bills, each of which were unanimously approved by the House in the previous Congress. Passage of the two bills today comes a day after the House cleared four additional committee bills further demonstrating the committee’s dedication to advancing bipartisan, thoughtful solutions.

“We’ve hit the ground running in the 115th Congress having seen six bipartisan Energy and Commerce Committee bills pass the House,” said Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR). “These two bills unanimously passed the House last Congress and I’m hopeful the Senate can act on these bills expeditiously.”

The bills passed by the House today include:

• H.R. 288, Small Business Broadband Deployment Act, sponsored by Chairman Walden, would support small Internet Service Providers (ISPs) by protecting them from the onerous reporting requirements included in the FCC’s Open Internet Order. The bill would extend the small business ISP exemption for providers with fewer than 250,000 subscribers for five years, allowing small businesses to focus on building networks, deploying broadband, improving connectivity for rural consumers, and creating jobs. H.R. 288 passed the House unanimously by voice vote.
• H.R. 306, Energy Efficient Government Technology Act, authored by committee member Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA), would require energy efficient and energy technologies in federal data centers, saving taxpayers and the federal government money while improving energy efficiency. H.R. 306 passed the House unanimously by voice vote.

###