Summary
Mission:
Has broad jurisdiction over all matters concerning interstate commerce, science and technology policy, and transportation, the Senate Commerce Committee is one of the largest of the Senate’s standing committees, with 26 members in the 117th Congress.
House counterparts: Energy and Commerce Committee; Science, Space, and Technology Committee; and Transportation and Infrastructure Committee
Democratic Members (Majority):
Maria Cantwell, Washington, Chair
Amy Klobuchar, Minnesota
Richard Blumenthal, Connecticut
Brian Schatz, Hawaii
Ed Markey, Massachusetts
Gary Peters, Michigan
Tammy Baldwin, Wisconsin
Tammy Duckworth, Illinois
Jon Tester, Montana
Kyrsten Sinema, Arizona
Jacky Rosen, Nevada
Ben Ray Luján, New Mexico
John Hickenlooper, Colorado
Raphael Warnock, Georgia
Peter Welch, Vermont
Republican Members (Minority):
Ted Cruz, Texas, Ranking Member
John Thune, South Dakota
Roger Wicker, Mississippi
Deb Fischer, Nebraska
Jerry Moran, Kansas
Dan Sullivan, Alaska
Marsha Blackburn, Tennessee
Todd Young, Indiana
Ted Budd, North Carolina
Eric Schmitt, Missouri
J. D. Vance, Ohio
Shelley Moore Capito, West Virginia
Cynthia Lummis, Wyoming
Featured Video:
U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation Hearing Q&A 06/24/2021
OnAir Post: Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee
News
Committee Press Releases can be found here at the committee website.
Minority Press Releases can be found here at the committee website.
Minority Investigations can be found here at the committee website.
Press Release – October 13, 2021
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation which oversees federal maritime agencies sent a letter to Acting Administrator of the Maritime Administration (MARAD) Lucinda Lessley demanding answers regarding allegations of rape, sexual assault, and sexual harassment made by midshipmen at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA) as well as the response from leaders at MARAD. Senator Cantwell sent a copy of the letter to the Coast Guard, which has primary jurisdiction for investigating these incidents on the high seas.
Many of the alleged incidents occurred during the midshipmen’s “Sea Year.” Sea Year is a required part of the USMMA’s undergraduate training, where sophomore and junior midshipmen spend part of their academic year at sea working on primarily private merchant marine vessels learning firsthand the skills of a merchant mariner.
“Through the Maritime Legal Aid & Advocacy (MLAA), a legal advocacy group formed on behalf of mariners, victims of shipboard sexual harassment, sexual assault, and rape have bravely shared their personal stories in blog posts on the group’s website,” Senator Cantwell wrote to Lessley.
Press Release – October 12, 2021
SEATTLE, WA – U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell, Chair of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation called on Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg to preserve all documents, data, and electronic information related to testimony that the company misled the public about the harmful impact of its platforms on teenagers and children, and in spreading hate and divisive content.
“Mr. Zuckerberg, you have acknowledged before our Committee that Facebook has a responsibility to ensure that people who use your products can do so safely,” Sen. Cantwell wrote in a letter to the CEO. “Given the importance of these issues, I urge Facebook to take these concerns seriously. This Committee will continue its oversight and work to pursue legislation to protect consumers’ privacy, improve data security, and strengthen federal enforcement to address the digital harms that are the subject of these hearings.”
During a hearing before a Commerce subcommittee, Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen testified that the company’s own research recognizes the role its platforms play in spreading hate and divisive content in the United States and abroad, “eroding individual privacy interests, undermining the mental health of vulnerable teenagers and children, and promoting ethnic violence, among other troubling impacts,” noted Sen. Cantwell. “The testimony… raises significant concerns about whether Facebook has misled the public, Federal regulators, and this Committee.”
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, – August 4, 2021
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation today approved six bills and three nominations, which are now all subject to approval by the full Senate.
The Minority Business Development Act of 2021, which Chair Cantwell recently touted at an event in Washington state, was one of the bills that advanced out of committee today.
“First, I want to discuss the Minority Business Development Act of 2021,” Chair Cantwell said. “That was introduced by Senators Cardin, Scott, Wicker, Baldwin, and Cornyn. This bill would make the Minority Business Development Agency permanent in statute and would create a presidential-appointed, Senate-confirmed Undersecretary of Commerce for Minority Business Development. This bill would authorize the Minority Business Development Agency’s current Business Center Program, create new rural Minority Business Centers… and most importantly, it would authorize $110 million per year for five years to the Minority Business Development Agency organization to carry out this mission. I want to thank Senator Wicker for his work on this.”
About
Jurisdiction
The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, to which committee shall be referred all proposed legislation, messages, petitions, memorials, and other matters relating to the following subjects:
- Coast Guard.
- Coastal zone management.
- Communications.
- Highway safety.
- Inland waterways, except construction.
- Interstate commerce.
- Marine and ocean navigation, safety, and transportation, including navigational aspects of deepwater ports.
- Marine fisheries.
- Merchant marine and navigation.
- Nonmilitary aeronautical and space sciences.
- Oceans, weather, and atmospheric activities.
- Panama Canal and interoceanic canals generally, except as provided in subparagraph (c).
- Regulation of consumer products and services, including testing related to toxic substances, other than pesticides, and except for credit, financial services, and housing.
- Regulation of interstate common carriers, including railroads, buses, trucks, vessels, pipelines, and civil aviation.
- Science, engineering, and technology research and development and policy.
- Sports.
- Standards and measurement.
- Transportation.
- Transportation and commerce aspects of Outer Continental Shelf lands.
Such committee shall also study and review, on a comprehensive basis, all matters relating to science and technology, oceans policy, transportation, communications, and consumer affairs, and report thereon from time to time.
Excerpted from the Standing Rules of the Senate, July 2001.
Source: Committee website
History
Throughout the history of the United States Senate, a number of committees have held the jurisdiction currently given the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation (the Committee). Indeed, many separate committees simultaneously shared the jurisdiction held by today’s Committee.
Briefly stated, the progenitor committees are:
Committee on Commerce and Manufactures (1816-1825)
Committee on Commerce (1825-1946, 1961-1977)
Committee on Manufactures (1825-1855, 1864-1946)
Committee on Interstate Commerce (1885-1946)
Committee on Interoceanic Canals (1899-1946)
Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce (1946-1961)
Committee on Aeronautical and Space Sciences (1958-1977)
Prior to the 14th Congress (1816), the Senate had only four standing committees. None dealt with legislative functions; rather, they dealt only with housekeeping or administrative functions (e.g., the engrossment and enrollment of bills, the audit and control of contingent Senate expenses, and the library).
For substantive matters that were found to require in-depth consideration, the Senate created temporary (select) committees — often consisting of three members — to consider a particular bill or issue. Generally, Members were elected to serve on select committees to consider a particular bill.
There was no uniformity with regard to the creation of select committees, and Members were asked to serve based on expertise. This meant that some Members were selected to serve on a variety of temporary committees, while others had far fewer responsibilities in this regard. As a result, there was no parity in workload among the Members, a fact that began to impede the progress of the Senate. During the 13th Congress (1815-1816), nearly 100 select committees were named.
During the second session of the 14th Congress, the Senate adopted a resolution creating a system of standing legislative committees. This first effort consisted of 11 five-Member committees and included the Committee on Commerce and Manufactures.1
Prior to 1826, committee membership was based on election and, based upon observations made by John Quincy Adams and implications in Jefferson’s Manual of Parliamentary Practice, the Senator receiving the most votes for membership on a particular committee became that committee’s chairman.2 Thus, while there were nearly twice as many Democratic-Republicans as there were Federalists during the 14th Congress, William Hunter, a Federalist from Rhode Island, was elected as the first Chairman of the Committee on Commerce and Manufactures.3
In those early days, the Committee on Commerce and Manufactures focused mainly on compiling statistical reports and conducting investigations requested by the full Senate on such matters as harbor improvements, the amount and type of articles in foreign trade, canal construction, and the regulation of shipping. These relatively noncontroversial pursuits were to come to an end by the mid-1820s. The first bill reported by the Committee was an act for the relief of Isaac Lawrence and other merchants in the City of New York who claimed to have paid excessive import duties.
Just after the War of 1812, there was increased demand that fledgling industries in this country be helped to grow. In response, Congress enacted a number of protective tariffs with little opposition. However, when an extension of the tariffs was proposed in 1824, the debate became heated. Strong opposition came from the southern states whose agricultural economies benefited from strong international trade and representatives from the Northeast whose maritime industries also profited from vigorous foreign trade.
The Committee on Commerce and Manufactures favorably reported the 1824 tariff bill with the Committee badly splitting along the interests its Members represented.4 The bill was debated by the full Senate for two weeks and passed the Senate by a vote of 25-21. Passage of the legislation caused a persistent rift within the Committee on Commerce and Manufactures — the essence of which was perhaps best captured by Senator James Lloyd of Massachusetts when he said “It [is] wrong to refer two subjects, which often come in collision with each other, to the same committee.”
Prevailing sentiment led Senator Mahlon Dickerson, Chairman of the Committee on Commerce and Manufactures, to offer a resolution in 1825 to divide his committee into two: one to represent commerce interests and the other to represent manufacturers. The resolution was approved 20 to 9. Senator Dickerson retained chairmanship of the new Committee on Manufactures, while the former committee’s often minority of one, Senator Lloyd, became chairman of the new Committee on Commerce. These committees stood together for the next 120 years.
After the Civil War, America’s railroads began a rapid expansion. During this period, the practices of the railroads were called into question and, in 1872, President Grant recommended a special Senate committee be formed to investigate. The committee was appointed and chaired by Senator William Windom of Minnesota. This panel proposed several reforms, including the construction and ownership of some railroads by the government, but no action was taken for more than a decade.
Then, in 1885, Senator Shelby Cullom of Illinois, “an indefatigable worker for railroad regulation,” introduced a resolution calling for the creation of a temporary committee to consider the regulation of railroads. The Senate approved the resolution, and the Select Committee on Transportation by Railroad Between the Several States was created.
By December of that year, preceded by the Select Committee to Investigate Interstate Commerce, the Committee on Interstate Commerce was established and made permanent. Senator Cullom became its first chairman, where he served for the next 28 years (13 as chairman) until his retirement from the Senate in 1913. The Committee on Interstate Commerce remained in existence for the next 50 years. In 1886, the Supreme Court in the famous Wabash Railroad case declared State regulation of railroad rates (and interstate commerce in general) unconstitutional. As a result, such regulation fell to the federal government, and the Committee on Interstate Commerce reported the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887 establishing federal control over railroad rates and services.
Just as the Committee on Interstate Commerce was created to deal with the issues connected with the rush to expand the transportation potential of the railroads in the mid and latter portion of the 19th Century, by the end of the century the Senate discovered it was necessary to address issues surrounding efforts to make the maritime industry ever more efficient. Many agreed the strategic importance of a canal across the Isthmus of Panama was made apparent by the historic voyage made around Cape Horn by the U.S.S. Oregon during the Spanish-American War.
As a result, in 1899, the Senate voted to create the Committee on Interoceanic Canals. Senator (and former Confederate brigadier general) John T. Morgan of Alabama became the first chairman of the committee and presided over the committee’s 1902 Spooner Act report, which authorized the construction of the Panama Canal. While the Committee on Interoceanic Canals continued to exist until very early 1947, there is little evidence that it produced much additional work.
As mentioned previously, the Senate had no standing committees until 1816 when it created 11. By the turn of the century, there were 42 standing committees of the Senate and, by 1913, it reached the record high of 73.5 Committee assignments meant enhanced prestige, more staff (until the 1880s, only committee chairmen were permitted to employ clerical staff), extra office space, and a larger stationery allowance. This made it extraordinarily difficult to eliminate any standing committee once created. Indeed, Senate leaders were thwarted in their attempts to do away with the Committee on Revolutionary Claims as late as 1884 because a number of Senators argued “the committee has always been assigned to the minority of the Senate. The committee room is a large room, and is a very convenient place for Senators of the minority to assemble.”
In 1921, the Senate was able to reorganize and reduce the number of standing committees from 73 to 33. The Committee on Commerce, the Committee on Manufactures, the Committee on Interstate Commerce, and the Committee on Interoceanic Canals all survived the process. Each would continue to exist for another quarter century.
In the mid-1940s, the Senate reorganized again. The Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 was written to streamline Congress and improve efficiency. As signed into law, the Act reduced the number of standing Senate committees from 33 to 15 and eliminated a number of special committees with jurisdictions overlapping the newly created standing committees. The Committee on Commerce and the Committee on Manufactures — committees that once had split from a single committee thought unable to adequately balance the needs of those trading in commerce with those of manufacturers — together with the Committee on Interstate Commerce and the Committee on Interoceanic Canals ceased to exist. Almost all of their jurisdiction was turned over to a single, new, Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce.
In 1958, the Committee on Aeronautical and Space Sciences was established.
In 1961, the name of the Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce was shortened to the Committee on Commerce. Many simply called it the “Commerce Committee,” a shorthand reference to the Committee that continues to this day.
By the mid-1970s, many were once again calling for a review of the structure and operations of the Senate. In 1976, the Select Committee to Study the Senate Committee System was created and made recommendations in the form of S. Res. 4, the Committee System Reorganization Amendments of 1977. S. Res. 4, as passed by the Senate, changed the name of the Committee on Commerce to the present-day Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. The Committee on Aeronautical and Space Sciences was terminated in 1977; its functions were transferred to the modern-day “Commerce Committee.”
This name change was made to reflect the expanded jurisdiction given the Committee under the reorganization. Specifically, the Committee was given responsibility for the regulation of consumer products and services for the first time. The Committee also was charged with the nations science, engineering, and technology policy. Related to its new science responsibilities was jurisdiction over non-military aeronautical and space science policy.
Prior to this reorganization, the Committee had responsibility for oceans policy, commercial shipping, navigation, waterways, and canals. The 1977 amendments expanded that jurisdiction to include the transportation and commercial aspects of the outer continental shelf lands policy. The Committee’s extensive responsibilities over communications policy remained unchanged by the 1977 changes.
In addition to its new responsibilities, several of the Committee’s existing jurisdictions were expanded. The Committee’s transportation jurisdiction was expanded to include all interstate common carriers — including all civil aviation and interstate pipelines. In a move related to the Committee’s new science responsibilities, it also was given jurisdiction over transportation issues surrounding non-military aeronautical and space policy.
Today, the United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and its Standing Subcommittees derive their jurisdiction from the Standing Rules of the Senate.
Senator Maria Cantwell of Washington state currently serves as the first Woman Chair of the Committee.
Source: Committee website
FAQs
How can I access information from hearings that have already been held?
Archived webcasts are available in either video or audio format for most hearings held in 2005 through the present. These can be accessed from the audio/video link on our homepage menu bar or on our hearings page. In addition, submitted testimony is available on our hearings page. When full hearing transcripts are available from the Government Printing Office, these, too, will be posted on the hearings page by clicking the relevant hearing.
How many Subcommittees are there and who are the Subcommittee Chairmen?
The Commerce Committee is comprised of six subcommittees. Information on all subcommittees can be accessed on our homepage menu bar.
How can I access bills that have been referred to the Commerce Committee?
The best point of access for locating legislation pending before the Committee, is the Library of Congress’ website: www.thomas.loc.gov. When bills are approved by the Committee, copies of bills as approved are posted on the newsroom page, with the press release on that bill, as soon as available.
What is the seating capacity of the Commerce Committee’s hearing room?
Under its normal configuration, the room can accommodate 150 seats.
How do I obtain a witness list for a hearing?
Hearing witnesses are listed on our hearings page as soon as they are confirmed.Return to Top
Where can I find the hearings that are currently scheduled?
A list of all upcoming hearings, including date, time, and room location can be found the right hand side of our home page.
Source: Committee website
Contact
Locations
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
Russell Senate Office Building 254; Washington DC, 20510
Phone: 202-224-0411
Minority
Phone: 202-224-1251
Web Links
Legislation
Bills
Source: Committee website
Hearings
Source: Committee website
Markups
Source: Committee website
Subcommittees
Aviation Safety, Operations, and Innovation
Source: Wikipedia
The Subcommittee on Aviation and Space has jurisdiction over technology, engineering, astronautical and aeronautical research and development; national and civil space policy; civil aviation research, development, and demonstration, and aviation safety and protection of consumers. The subcommittee conducts oversight on the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and the civil aviation and civil space policy functions of the Department of Transportation, Department of Commerce, and National Space Council within the Executive Office of the President.
Majority members:
Tammy Duckworth, Illinois, Chair
Jon Tester, Montana
Kyrsten Sinema, Arizona
Jacky Rosen, Nevada
John Hickenlooper, Colorado
Raphael Warnock, Georgia
Minority members:
Jerry Moran, Kansas, Ranking Member
John Thune, South Dakota
Dan Sullivan, Alaska
Todd Young, Indiana
Communications, Media and Broadband
Source: Wikipedia
The Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet has jurisdiction over legislation, Congressional action, and other matters relating to communications. For these purposes, “communications” includes telephones, cell phones, the Internet, commercial and noncommercial television, cable, satellite broadcast, satellite communications, wireline and wireless broadband, radio, consumer electronic equipment associated with such services, and public safety communications.
The Subcommittee also is responsible for oversight of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) at the Department of Commerce, which is the administration primarily responsible for the management of government spectrum and advising the President on telecommunications policy.
Majority members:
Ben Ray Luján, New Mexico, Chair
Amy Klobuchar, Minnesota
Brian Schatz, Hawaii
Ed Markey, Massachusetts
Gary Peters, Michigan
Tammy Baldwin, Wisconsin
Tammy Duckworth, Illinois
Jon Tester, Montana
Kyrsten Sinema, Arizona
Jacky Rosen, Nevada
John Hickenlooper, Colorado
Raphael Warnock, Georgia
Peter Welch, Vermont
Minority members:
John Thune, South Dakota, Ranking Member
Deb Fisher, Nebraska
Jerry Moran, Kansas
Dan Sullivan, Alaska
Marsha Blackburn, Tennessee
Todd Young, Indiana
Ted Budd, North Carolina
Eric Schmitt, Missouri
J. D. Vance, Ohio
Shelley Moore Capito, West Virginia
Cynthia Lummis, Wyoming
Consumer Protection, Product Safety and Data Security
Source: Wikipedia
The Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Data Security is responsible for consumer affairs, consumer protection, and consumer product safety; product liability; property and casualty insurance; manufacturing and workforce development; sports-related matters; and data privacy, security, and protection. The subcommittee also conducts oversight on the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), as well as manufacturing and trade related matters within the Department of Commerce.
Majority members:
John Hickenlooper, Colorado, Chair
Amy Klobuchar, Minnesota
Brian Schatz, Hawaii
Ed Markey, Massachusetts
Tammy Baldwin, Wisconsin
Ben Ray Luján, New Mexico
Tammy Duckworth, Illinois
Peter Welch, Vermont
Minority members:
Marsha Blackburn, Tennessee, Ranking Member
Deb Fischer, Nebraska
Jerry Moran, Kansas
Dan Sullivan, Alaska
Todd Young, Indiana
Ted Budd, North Carolina
Cynthia Lummis, Wyoming
Oceans, Fisheries, Climate Change and Manufacturing
Majority members:Tammy Baldwin, Wisconsin, Chair
Brian Schatz, Hawaii
Ed Markey, Massachusetts
Ben Ray Luján, New Mexico
Raphael Warnock, Georgia
Peter Welch, Vermont
Minority members:
Dan Sullivan, Alaska, Ranking Member
Jerry Moran, Kansas
Marsha Blackburn, Tennessee
J. D. Vance, Ohio
Space and Science
Source: Wikipedia
The Subcommittee’s jurisdiction includes oversight of NASA, the National Science Foundation, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and the Office of Science and Technology Policy. For the 111th Congress, the Subcommittee gained additional jurisdiction on science matters from the former United States Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Science, Technology, and Innovation.
Kyrsten Sinema, Ariz. (Chair)
Edward Markey, Mass.
Gary Peters, Mich.
Ben Ray Luján, N.M.
John Hickenlooper, Colo.
Eric Schmitt, Mo. (Ranking Member)
Deb Fischer, Neb.
J.D. Vance, Ohio
Cynthia Lummis, Wyo.
Surface Transportation, Maritime, Freight and Ports
Source: Wikipedia
The Subcommittee on Transportation and Safety has jurisdiction over interstate transportation policy issues. In addition to the committee’s broad oversight of the Department of Transportation, the subcommittee has oversight over the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, the Federal Railroad Administration, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, National Transportation Safety Board, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and the Surface Transportation Board. The subcommittee focuses on safety and infrastructure development related to both freight and passenger rail, including Amtrak.
Gary Peters, Mich. (Chair)
Amy Klobuchar, Minn.
Brian Schatz, Hawaii
Edward Markey, Mass.
Tammy Baldwin, Wis.
Tammy Duckworth, Ill.
Raphael Warnock, Ga.
Peter Welch, Vt.
Todd Young, Ind. (Ranking Member)
John Thune, S.D.
Roger Wicker, Miss.
Deb Fischer, Neb.
Eric Schmitt, Mo.
Shelley Moore Capito, W.Va.
Ted Budd, N.C.
Tourism, Trade and Export Promotion
The Subcommittee on Tourism, Trade, and Export Promotion has jurisdiction over economic development matters related to tourism, trade, and U.S. exports. The subcommittee has oversight of the Corporation for Travel Promotion, the National Travel and Tourism Office, the Travel and Tourism Advisory Board, the Tourism Policy Council, the Department of Commerce export promotion sub-agencies, and live entertainment issues.
Jacky Rosen, Nev. (Chair)
Amy Klobuchar, Minn.
Tammy Duckworth, Ill.
Kyrsten Sinema, Ariz.
John Hickenlooper, Colo.
Ted Budd, N.C. (Ranking Member)
John Thune, S.D.
Marsha Blackburn, Tenn.
Shelley Moore Capito, W.Va.
More Information
Agencies, Commissions, & Boards
Source: Wikipedia
The Committee has oversight authority over the following government agencies, commissions, and boards.
Coast Guard, CPSC, CPB, Department of Commerce, Department of Transportation, FAA, FCC, FMCSA, FRA, FMC, FTC, MARAD, NASA, NHTSA, NOAA, NIST, NSF, NTIANTSB, PHMSA, STB, TSA, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy
Nominations
Source: Committee website
Campaign Finance
Source: Open Secrets webpages
