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 27 members in the 115th 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 [ edit ]
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:
Members, 115th Congress [ edit ]
Majority
Minority
John Thune , South Dakota, Chair
Roger Wicker , Mississippi
Roy Blunt , Missouri
Ted Cruz , Texas
Deb Fischer , Nebraska
Jerry Moran , Kansas
Dan Sullivan , Alaska
Dean Heller , Nevada
Jim Inhofe , Oklahoma
Mike Lee , Utah
Ron Johnson , Wisconsin
Shelley Moore Capito , West Virginia
Cory Gardner , Colorado
Todd Young , Indiana
Bill Nelson , Florida, Ranking Member
Maria Cantwell , Washington
Amy Klobuchar , Minnesota
Richard Blumenthal , Connecticut
Brian Schatz , Hawaii
Ed Markey , Massachusetts
Tom Udall , New Mexico
Gary Peters , Michigan
Tammy Baldwin , Wisconsin
Tammy Duckworth , Illinois
Maggie Hassan , New Hampshire
Catherine Cortez Masto , Nevada
Jon Tester , Montana
Source[3]
Subcommittees [ edit ]
Subcommittee
Chair
Ranking Member
Aviation Operations, Safety, and Security
Roy Blunt (R-MO)
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
Dan Sullivan (R-AK)
Gary Peters (D-MI)
Space, Science and Competitiveness
Ted Cruz (R-TX)
Ed Markey (D-MA)
Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety, and Security
Deb Fischer (R-NE)
Cory Booker (D-NJ)
Chairmen [ edit ]
Committee on Commerce and Manufactures, 1816–1825 [ edit ]
Committee on Commerce, 1825–1947 [ edit ]
Committee on Interstate Commerce, 1887–1947 [ edit ]
Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce, 1947–1961 [ edit ]
Committee on Commerce, 1961–1977 [ edit ]
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, 1977–present [ edit ]
References [ edit ]
External links [ edit ]