Press Releases

Sudden and sharp increases in the cost of life-saving prescription medications have caused much public outcry, most recently regarding the substantial spike in the price of EpiPen, which is used to treat life-threatening allergic reactions.

Although today's hearing focuses on competition in the markets for a particular set of life-saving drugs -- namely, those that treat opioid addiction -- I hope that there are some broader lessons that we can draw from our discussion today.

H.R. 3438, the "Require Evaluation before Implementing Executive Wishlists Act of 2016," would stay the enforcement of any rule imposing an annual cost to the economy in excess of $1 billion pending judicial review.

Notwithstanding the bill's colorful short title, H.R. 3438 would have a pernicious impact on rulemaking and the ability of agencies to respond to critical health and safety issues.

In essence, the bill would encourage anyone who wants to delay a significant rule from going into effect by simply seeking judicial review of the rule.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And thank you, Commissioner Koskinen, for joining us today on short notice, under these unusual circumstances.

Last week, a handful of my colleagues attempted to force a vote on your impeachment. When it appeared that they would fall short of the necessary votes, that effort was abandoned-and this hearing was scheduled instead.

"Under the modern practice, an impeachment is normally instituted by the House by the adoption of a resolution calling for a committee investigation. This committee may, after investigation, recommend the dismissal of charges or it may recommend impeachment."[1] The effort to impeach Internal Revenue Service Commissioner John Koskinen contains none of the hallmarks of actual impeachment hearings-which would entail an independent investigation and due process for the accused.

The Impeachment Process:

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 21

10:00 a.m. Full Committee Hearing

Impeachment Articles Referred on John Koskinen, Part III

Witness:

• The Honorable John Koskinen, Commissioner, Internal Revenue Service

  2237 Rayburn House Office Building

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22

10:00 a.m. Full Committee Hearing

Oversight of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement

Witness:

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers (D-MI), Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI), and Communications and Technology Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR), today sent a letter to FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler regarding the agency's set-top box proposal.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) and Ranking Member John Conyers (D-Mich.) released the following statement regarding copyright concerns with the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) set-top box proposal.

Today's hearing focuses on federal diversity jurisdiction whereby federal courts may hear otherwise purely state law cases if the plaintiff and the defendant are citizens of different states.

For more than 2 centuries, Congress has imposed, and the Supreme Court has upheld, the requirement of "complete" diversity, which mandates that every plaintiff must be a citizen of a different state than every defendant for a federal court to have jurisdiction of the lawsuit.