United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

{{Short description|Standing committee of the United States Senate}}

{{Infobox U.S. congressional committee

|name=Senate Commerce Committee

|type=standing

|status=active

|chamber=senate

|congress=119th

|formed=February 4, 1977

|chair=Ted Cruz

|chair_party=R

|chair_since=January 3, 2025

|ranking_member=Maria Cantwell

|rm_party=D

|rm_since=January 3, 2025

| majority1 = R

| majority1_seats = 15

|minority1=D

|minority1_seats=13

|policy_areas=Aviation, Coast Guard, Coastal zone management, Common carriers, Communications, Competitiveness, Consumer protection, Highways and highway safety, Inland waterways, Internet, Navigation, Interstate commerce, Marine conservation, Marine fisheries, Merchant Marine, Oceanography, Outer Continental Shelf lands, Panama Canal, Product safety and liability, Rail, Science policy of the United States, Sport, Standards of weights and measures, Tourism, Transportation generally, Weather and climate change

|oversight=Coast Guard, CPSC, CPB, Department of Commerce, Department of Transportation, FAA, FCC, FMC, FMCSA, FRA, FTC, MARAD, NASA, NHTSA, NIST, NOAA, NSF, NTIA, NTSB, OSTP, PHMSA, STB, TSA

|counterpart=*Committee on Energy and Commerce
(Commerce{{efn|The "Energy" portion of the committee is a counterpart to the Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee.}})

|subcommittees={{bulleted list

|list_style=text-align:left

|Aviation Safety, Operations, and Innovation

|Communications, Media, and Broadband

|Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Data Security

|Oceans, Fisheries, Climate Change and Manufacturing

|Space and Science

|Surface Transportation, Maritime, Freight, and Ports

|Tourism, Trade, and Export Promotion

}}

|meeting_place=512 Dirksen Senate Building

|website=https://www.commerce.senate.gov/

| chamber_rules=[https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CDOC-113sdoc18/pdf/CDOC-113sdoc18.pdf#page=27 Rule XXV.1.(f), Standing Rules of the Senate]

| committee_rules=[https://www.commerce.senate.gov/committee-rules Rules of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation]

}}

File:Bolden and Garver before Congress.jpg, nominee for Administrator of NASA, center, and Lori Garver, right, nominee for deputy administrator of NASA, testify at their confirmation hearing before the Committee in 2009]]

The United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation is a standing committee of the United States Senate.{{cite web|url=https://www.commerce.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=About|title=U.S. Senate Committee On Commerce, Science, & Transportation - About|website=U.S. Senate Committee On Commerce, Science, & Transportation}} Besides having 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 28 members in the 117th Congress. The Commerce Committee has six subcommittees. It is chaired by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) with Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) as Ranking Member. The majority office is housed in the Dirksen Senate Office Building, and the minority office is located in the Hart Senate Office Building.

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 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 was 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:

United States Senate Committee on Commerce and Manufactures (1816–1825)
United States Senate Committee on Commerce (1825–1946, 1961–1977)
United States Senate Committee on Manufactures (1825–1855, 1864–1946)
United States Senate Committee on Interstate Commerce (1885–1946)
United States Senate Committee on Interoceanic Canals (1899–1946)
United States Senate Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce (1946–1961)
United States Senate Committee on Aeronautical and Space Sciences (1958–1977)

Jurisdiction

In accordance of Rule XXV of the United States Senate, all proposed legislation, messages, petitions, memorials, and other matters relating to the following subjects is referred to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation:

"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; and,
Transportation and commerce aspects of Outer Continental Shelf lands."{{cite web |title=Rules of the United States Senate |url=https://www.rules.senate.gov/rules-of-the-senate|publisher=U.S. Senate Committee on Rules and Administration |access-date=31 May 2019 |language=en}} {{PD-notice}}

The Senate Commerce Committee is also charged to "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."{{Cite web|url=https://www.rules.senate.gov/rules-of-the-senate|title=Rules Of The Senate | U.S. Senate Committee on Rules & Administration|website=www.rules.senate.gov}}

Members, 119th Congress

class=wikitable

! Majority{{USBill|119|SRes|16}} (119th Congress)

! Minority{{USBill|119|SRes|17}} (119th Congress)

{{party shading/Republican}} valign=top |

Ted Cruz, Texas, Chair
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
John Curtis, Utah
Bernie Moreno, Ohio
Tim Sheehy, Montana
Shelley Moore Capito, West Virginia
Cynthia Lummis, Wyoming

| {{party shading/Democratic}} valign=top |

Maria Cantwell, Washington, Ranking Member
Amy Klobuchar, Minnesota
Brian Schatz, Hawaii
Ed Markey, Massachusetts
Gary Peters, Michigan
Tammy Baldwin, Wisconsin
Tammy Duckworth, Illinois
Jacky Rosen, Nevada
Ben Ray Luján, New Mexico
John Hickenlooper, Colorado
John Fetterman, Pennsylvania
Andy Kim, New Jersey
Lisa Blunt Rochester, Delaware

Subcommittees

class="wikitable"
Subcommittee{{cite web\|url=https://www.commerce.senate.gov/2025/2/cruz-cantwell-announce-commerce-subcommittee-rosters-for-119th-congress\|title=Cruz, Cantwell Announce Commerce Subcommittee Rosters for 119th Congress\|date=February 20, 2025\|work=U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, & Transportation}} ! Chair ! Ranking Member
Aviation, Space, and Innovation \| Jerry Moran (R-KS) \| Tammy Duckworth (D-IL)
Telecommunications and Media \| Deb Fischer (R-NE) \| Ben Ray Luján (D-NM)
Consumer Protection, Technology, and Data Privacy \| Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) \| John Hickenlooper (D-CO)
Coast Guard, Maritime, and Fisheries \| Dan Sullivan (R-AK) \| Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE)
Science, Manufacturing, and Competitiveness \| Ted Budd (R-NC) \| Tammy Baldwin (D-WI)
Surface Transportation, Freight, Pipelines, and Safety \| Todd Young (R-IN) \| Gary Peters (D-MI)

class="wikitable"

Subcommittee{{cite web|url=https://www.commerce.senate.gov/2025/2/cruz-cantwell-announce-commerce-subcommittee-rosters-for-119th-congress|title=Cruz, Cantwell Announce Commerce Subcommittee Rosters for 119th Congress|date=February 20, 2025|work=U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, & Transportation}}

! Chair

! Ranking Member

Aviation, Space, and Innovation

| Jerry Moran (R-KS)

| Tammy Duckworth (D-IL)

Telecommunications and Media

| Deb Fischer (R-NE)

| Ben Ray Luján (D-NM)

Consumer Protection, Technology, and Data Privacy

| Marsha Blackburn (R-TN)

| John Hickenlooper (D-CO)

Coast Guard, Maritime, and Fisheries

| Dan Sullivan (R-AK)

| Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE)

Science, Manufacturing, and Competitiveness

| Ted Budd (R-NC)

| Tammy Baldwin (D-WI)

Surface Transportation, Freight, Pipelines, and Safety

| Todd Young (R-IN)

| Gary Peters (D-MI)

Chairs

The committee, under its various names, has been chaired by the following senators:{{cite web | title=Chairmen of Senate Standing Committees 1789-present | url=https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/resources/pdf/CommitteeChairs.pdf | access-date=September 23, 2020 }}