[VIDEO]

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell, Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, delivered the following opening statement at today’s markup of several pieces of legislation and nominations:

“Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The Committee meets today, as you mentioned, to consider two big nominations and a promotion of a Coast Guard officer and 16 bills to improve public safety, promote blockchain technology, protect our nation against malign actors and better protect consumers from fraud, improve weather forecasting and conserve the environment.

“Today we will consider the Sunshine Act from Senators Scott, Markey, Lummis, Blackburn and Schatz. This legislation would end the practice of observing a temporary Daylight Saving Time.  While I know there are strong opinions on this issue – whether Daylight Saving Time or Standard Time… I am supporting this legislation today out of Committee, but I do think there are still some issues, as the Chairman and other members and I were talking here. And just as we've advanced this bill in the past, I expect that there will be some continued work on this policy.

“We also consider Enhancing First Response Act by Senators Klobuchar, Blackburn, Lujan, Sullivan, Capito, Markey, Budd and Thune, which I also co-sponsor -- very important legislation offered by my colleague, Senator Klobuchar, that finally recognizes the lifesaving work of 911 operators by reclassifying them as first responders. I thank Senator Klobuchar for her work on this important issue. The State of Washington made this change permanent in 2022 so I'm happy to see that 911 operators across the country will also be recognized.

“We also have before us Lulu’s law by Senators Britt, Schatz, Fisher and Capito. This bill ensures beachgoers are better informed of risks by clarifying Wireless Emergency Alerts [for shark attacks].

“We are moving the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program Reauthorization Act by Senator Padilla, a very important policy for the Pacific Northwest, as well as many parts of our country. This important legislation will help save lives and protect property.  And today we're considering the Deploying American Blockchain Act of 2025, by Senators Moreno, Blunt Rochester and Sheehy, which passed out of this Committee last year and is intended to strengthen U.S. competitiveness.  

“And we will consider the ASCEND Act from Senator Hickenlooper -- very important legislation which gives NASA the authority to procure remote sensing data and imagery from commercial vendors. I think this is an important policy that will help us grow [the use of] important data and information in the public sector.

“The Foreign Adversary Communications Transparency Act by Senator Fisher, Rosen and Lujan would increase disclosure of FCC licenses that are owned or influenced by foreign adversaries. As the Chairman mentioned, an important security policy. This bill had bipartisan agreement last Congress and I'm supportive of it in this Congress. And we have the United States Research Protection Act of 2025 from Senators Cornyn and Curtis. This proposal amends the CHIPS and Science Act to strengthen and clarify protections against malign foreign actors’…[talent] recruitment, including the countries of China, Iran, North Korea and Russia.

“And we also have two bills before us that aim to improve weather forecasting. The first by Senator Cruz is the…[FOG Act]. Well, there is something that Washington and Texas agree on. And we have the TAME Extreme Weather and Wildfires Act by Senators Schatz, Sheehy and Lujan, which directs NOAA to improve the accuracy and timeliness of weather, water and space forecasting. 

“And the MAIN Event Ticketing Act by Senators Blackburn and Lujan which would better protect consumers by strengthening the BOTS Act of 2016, requiring reporting on bot attacks on ticket sellers. So again, I think this is another attempt to try to help our consuming public afford…events.

“I also appreciate the legislation by my colleague and myself being on the agenda -- the Northwest Straits Marine Conservation Initiative Reauthorization Act enabling the Northwest Straits Commission to continue its vital work. The Puget Sound and the Straits are [among the busiest] waterways in the nation and just happen to intersect with also some of the most beautiful habitat and species in the nation as well. Having the Straits Commission continue to do their work is very important. And a second bill related to healthy communities, by Senator Kaine and Warner, would permit NASA to reimburse the town [of Chincoteague] in Virginia for costs directly associated with PFAS.

“I want to thank my colleagues, Senator Sullivan and Whitehouse, for introducing the FISH Act, which is intended to strengthen the federal government's role in reducing illegal fishing, and I want to thank them for accepting my amendment to reauthorize the vital Sea Grant Program, which is part of this legislation today. I do remain concerned about putting more requirements upon the National Marine Fisheries Service at a time when the administration is proposing to cut their budget by 30 percent. This is an issue, Mr. Chairman, I hope that we'll have a Committee hearing on and have discussion of because I think this is critically important for many of our fishing communities around the U.S. that are managed by fisheries science policy. If you want to have good fisheries management, you have to have good science and can't have the budget cuts. 

“And we are considering also the Peters, Lummis, Curtis bill on China and Combating CCP Labor Abuses Act of 2025, which I appreciate.

“With regards to the Comprehensive NASA Reporting Act from Senators Cruz and Duckworth, I wish we would apply the same issues that we are looking at here -- for clarity from NASA -- so that we can do our oversight jobs for other agencies. I am concerned that this Committee, by not having the oversight, is literally tanking the work of the Committee and letting the Administration rearrange the deck chairs at a time when important issues are to be considered.  

“So I will support this NASA bill today, but I think that we need to get on to other important work that this Committee should be doing, from an oversight role -- aviation safety, AI and quantum issues, the Surface Transportation Act reauthorization and one of my favorite issues, shipping, where I think that the President and others have agreement that we should be doing more on shipbuilding in the United States of America. So I hope we will get to that.  

“On the nominations, I plan to support Ms. Trusty’s nomination out of the Committee today. I've had conversations with leader Thune about our ability to continue to move FCC nominations. So I will continue to support her as long as we are going to continue to support both Democratic and Republican nominees. I believe that her testimony reflects her knowledge and experience on these important policy issues. I may not always agree with her, but as long as the Leader plans to continue to move nominees of both sides, I will continue to support her nomination.  

“And on the Isaacman nomination, he comes before us with a wealth of business experience and space experience. I do think that…at this point in time -- a commitment to keeping the moon mission is the key requirement that we have to have in this position. While it's not clear to me where the Trump Administration will ultimately end up on the NASA budget, I have concerns about some of their proposed cuts today.  

“Mr. Isaacman seems to be committed to the current plan for both lander redundancy, Space Launch System and returning to the to the moon as fast as possible. I think this is a very big competitive issue for the United States of America -- that competitiveness is not just a goal. It's a reality that someday we may wake up and find ourselves falling behind. So today, I will support his nomination, and hope that we will continue to get leadership out of the Administration and clarification on supporting a robust NASA budget.”

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