House Republicans plan to investigate the Biden administration's pandemic response and the health industry if they regain control of the chamber after the midterm elections.
The probe is to include examinations of the origins of COVID-19, prescription drug middleman abuse and how pandemic relief funds were spent.
House Republicans have been skeptical of the Biden administration's response to the pandemic, and if they control the chamber, they can issue subpoenas to compel testimony and acquire documents.
The Biden administration has already begun preparing for such probes, picking lawyer Richard Sauber — the previous general counsel of the Department of Veterans Affairs — to lead the White House response team.
There will be two separate panels for the probe. The House Oversight and Reform Committee is the chamber's chief investigative committee.
This committee plans to prioritize its efforts on the origins of the coronavirus and federal funding for research done at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. It will also investigate waste, abuse, and fraud involving the trillions of dollars Congress approved for coronavirus relief aid.
The committee will investigate the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, particularly the data gaps and pandemic-era guidelines.
It plans to look into pharmacy benefit managers, which Republicans allege contributed to the high cost of medicines.
The committee will examine the pandemic policies of former Governor Andrew Cuomo, D-N.Y., and other Democrat governors who made nursing homes take in patients infected with COVID-19; however, the Justice Department already reviewed the matter regarding former Governor Cuomo, and nothing came of it.
The second panel in the probe is the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which has broad jurisdiction over health-related issues. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash, could lead it.
The committee has opened inquiries into biosafety practices that federal agencies oversee.
It will investigate the Biden administration's COVID-19 policies, such as the impact of school policies on children. The committee also plans to target the increasing rate of fentanyl deaths.
There will be hearings on federal health agencies related to the pandemic response and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, with an inquiry into how the federal health department decides to implement the Democrats' new drug-pricing policies.
With bipartisan support, the committee will seek transparency into how much hospitals charge. Other probes have been admonished by Democrats, with Republicans taking the reins of these two committees.
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