The United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation is a standing committee of the United States Senate.[1] It is empowered with legislative oversight of the Coast Guard and Merchant Marine, interstate commerce, communications, highways, aviation, rail, shipping, transportation security, oceans, fisheries, climate change, disasters, science, nonmilitary aeronautical and space sciences, sports, tourism, consumer issues, economic development, technology, competitiveness, product safety, insurance, and standards and measurement. The committee also has jurisdiction over coastal zone management, inland waterways (except construction), the Panama Canal and other interoceanic canals, and commerce aspects of Continental Shelf lands.[1]
The Committee is one of the largest in the Senate with 25 members in the 114th Congress. It is composed of seven subcommittees, and the Committee Chairman is Sen. John Thune (R-SD) and its Ranking Member is Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL). Nelson is the only sitting Member of Congress who served as an astronaut.[2] The majority office is housed in the Dirksen Senate Office Building, and the minority office is located in the Hart Senate Office Building.[1]
History
The Committee has its roots in the Committee on Commerce and Manufacturers, which served as a standing committee in the early-1800s. This committee was split in two in the 1820s and remained in this configuration until the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946. Under the LRA, the number of standing committees was dramatically decreased to streamline increase congressional efficiency and increase institutional strength. As a result, the Committee on Commerce, the Committee on Manufactures, the Committee on Interstate Commerce, and the Committee on Interoceanic Canals were combined into the United States Senate Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce. In 1977, as a part of widespread committee reorganization, the Committee renamed the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation and given additional oversight jurisdiction over nonmilitary aeronautical and space sciences, including the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
The original progenitors of this committee were:
Membership
| Majority |
Minority |
- John Thune, South Dakota, Chair
- Roger Wicker, Mississippi
- Roy Blunt, Missouri
- Marco Rubio, Florida
- Kelly Ayotte, New Hampshire
- Dean Heller, Nevada
- Ted Cruz, Texas
- Deb Fischer, Nebraska
- Dan Sullivan, Alaska
- Jerry Moran, Kansas
- Ron Johnson, Wisconsin
- Cory Gardner, Colorado
- Steve Daines, Montana
|
- Bill Nelson, Florida, Ranking Member
- Maria Cantwell, Washington
- Claire McCaskill, Missouri
- Amy Klobuchar, Minnesota
- Richard Blumenthal, Connecticut
- Brian Schatz, Hawaii
- Ed Markey, Massachusetts
- Cory Booker, New Jersey
- Tom Udall, New Mexico
- Joe Manchin, West Virginia
- Gary Peters, Michigan
|
Source: 2013 Congressional Record, Vol. 159, Page S296 , 661–662
Subcommittees
| Subcommittee |
Chair |
Ranking Member |
| Aviation Operations, Safety, and Security |
|
Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) |
|
Maria Cantwell (D-WA) |
| Communications, Technology, Innovation, and the Internet |
|
Roger Wicker (R-MS) |
|
Brian Schatz (D-HI) |
| Consumer Protection, Product Safety, Insurance and Data Security |
|
Jerry Moran (R-KS) |
|
Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) |
| Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard |
|
Marco Rubio (R-FL) |
|
Cory Booker (D-NJ) |
| Space, Science and Competitiveness |
|
Ted Cruz (R-TX) |
|
Gary Peters (D-MI) |
| Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety, and Security |
|
Deb Fischer (R-NE) |
|
Cory Booker (D-NJ) |
Chairmen
Committee on Commerce and Manufactures, 1816–1825
Committee on Commerce, 1825–1947
Committee on Interstate Commerce, 1887–1947
Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce, 1947–1961
Committee on Commerce, 1961–1977
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, 1977–present
References
External links
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