Ohio Rep. Bob Latta eyes top GOP spot on Energy and Commerce panel

WASHINGTON — For Rep. Bob Latta, the “best thing” he’s ever purchased for his office is a set of eight folding chairs.

It’s also something he cites when talking about why he thinks he’s the best person to lead Republicans on the House authorizing committee with the largest jurisdiction.

The Ohio Republican credits the folding chairs as the launchpad for negotiations to advance his bill to establish a federal standard for tracking and tracing changes in drug ownership throughout the supply chain. That bill’s language was eventually included as part of 2013 drug supply chain safety law.

Years later, Latta still relies on the chairs to squeeze 16 people into office meetings.

“Look, I want everybody to hear where everybody’s at, but don’t tell me how we’re not going to do it,” said Latta in an interview with CQ Roll Call on Thursday. “Tell me how we’re going to get it done.”

Latta, who’s served in Congress since 2007 and currently chairs the Communications and Technology Subcommittee, will face off against Health Subcommittee Chairman Brett Guthrie of Kentucky — a member since 2009 — in a race triggered by the pending retirement of Energy and Commerce Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash.

Guthrie did not respond to an interview request. Current National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Richard Hudson of North Carolina is also considered a potential contender, but has not confirmed whether he’s in.

Regardless of whether he were to become chairman or ranking member if Democrats win the House majority — it was too soon to call Thursday — Latta, if selected by fellow Republicans, would have extensive influence over one of the chamber’s most powerful committees. On top of issues ranging from technology to the environment, Energy and Commerce is a key panel in shaping health policy, with its jurisdiction including health insurance, medical research, drug and medical device safety and health care more broadly.

While House Democrats typically rely on seniority to select committee leaders, the Republican Steering Committee chooses panel leadership. The Steering Committee previously selected Rodgers over Latta and Rep. Michael C. Burgess, R-Texas., in a 2020 matchup.

Leadership style

Latta said he’s confident about his ability to work with the Senate to advance health legislation, citing a number of senators who served on Energy and Commerce while in the House.

He said, for example, he has a good relationship with Senate Minority Whip John Thune, R-S.D., who is one of the top contenders to replace current Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who will step down from his leadership role at the end of this Congress.

“I think a lot of it is relationship building and working with members, you know, just not on the other side of the aisle, but also thinking about over in the Senate what they can and they can’t do,” Latta said.

Authorizations

The Energy and Commerce Committee is tasked with a number of reauthorizations each year, for various expiring grant programs and flexibilities. Some, like extending lapsed parts of the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act, known as PAHPA, and efforts to reduce drug prices, have lost steam despite bipartisan interest in the issue.

“You don’t live in a vacuum in committee,” said Latta. “I’ve learned through the legislative process, it’s just not coming up with a great idea, but being able to take that great idea, to work with other members and the other chamber and with leadership and make sure that you can get this, get these things across the finish line.”

“Something I think we’re gonna have to do in some certain bills is to make sure that we don’t have a massive bill,” said Latta. “Let’s break these things up and get these things passed.”

If he is picked to lead Republicans on the committee, Latta says he hopes to build on existing success with his bill that updated the over-the-counter monograph, which is a set of rules that establishes how such drugs are regulated. The bill was included as part of the July 2020 COVID-19 relief law.

“If we don’t get anything done in a Congress, that means you’re starting all over again in the next Congress at zero,” said Latta, adding discussions are still ongoing about how to update and reauthorize the law before the authority lapses at the end of fiscal 2025.

But Latta would not commit to where he could steer the committee on other larger decisions members will face next year.

For example, without action, expanded tax credits that help individuals sign up for health care marketplace coverage expire at the end of 2025.

The 2010 health law has grown in popularity in recent years, but some Republicans have expressed concern with the expanded tax credits because of costs for the federal government.

Latta drew a comparison to the 2003 movie “Elf,” where Will Ferrell’s character is repeatedly startled by a jack-in-the-box while trying to test toys.

“I’ve always said this. I don’t like surprises. I think it’s important that everybody knows what’s going on up front,” he said, and committed to working with the Republican conference, House leadership and the committee before he would make a decision, if elected.

“I don’t want to pick pieces of legislation right now,” he said, without “making sure that we all know exactly where everybody’s at and with what we need to proceed.”

New ground

Latta said his top concerns, if elected as chair, include prioritizing the shifting needs of an aging population, expanding the health workforce and delving into the nitty-gritty issues that affect medical providers.

“I look at things maybe differently, because I love the legislative process,” he said. “I love the committee work, where the work has to be done, because this is where you actually hear the testimony, you have meetings.”

That mentality, he said, inspires a desire to ensure providers spend a larger percentage of their time with patients rather than on paperwork and other administrative duties.

Latta said he was open to following a model used to pass a bipartisan 2018 opioid treatment, prevention and enforcement law. The law encompasses dozens of smaller bills, many which were marked up and debated through the Energy and Commerce committee.

During that process, he said, the committee looked at all angles including finding treatments for patients other than opioids, but worked to assure that prescription opioids were still an option when needed as a “last case scenario” to ensure patient safety.

He suggested the committee could look at obesity drugs like GLP-1s, commonly known as Wegovy or Ozempic, in a way similar to how they approached prescription opioids, examining whether the nation was also promoting “healthy lifestyles” including diet and exercise as prevention measures.

He did not endorse any of the existing legislation ahead of this process.

“We do have a problem in the country with obesity,” said Latta, adding he wants to examine more what issues are linked to obesity in an aging population as well as treatments including the obesity drugs. “I believe in the committee process, it says how we learn, how we produce good pieces of legislation.”