Democratic News

“We need leadership at your respective agencies to allocate appropriate resources and attention to fix these coordination problems without delay—before a preventable tragedy occurs.” WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, sent a letter to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Attorney General Pam Bondi, […]

Legislation opens Sports Broadcasting Act to allow schools to pool media rights, protect scholarships, invest in women’s & Olympic sports WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, and U.S. Senator Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.), member of the Committee, released a bipartisan discussion draft of […]

WASHINGTON, D.C. – President Trump’s nominee to serve as Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Dr. Arvind Raman, faced a bipartisan grilling from members of the Commerce Committee, including Ranking Member Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), over actions by Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to undermine the CHIPS and Science Act and Hollings Manufacturing Extension […]

U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Ranking Member of the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, delivered the following opening statement before the Committee approved two bipartisan bills led by Sen. Cantwell, the NASA Authorization Act of 2026 (S. 933) and the Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Reauthorization Act of 2026 (S. 3923):

Today, the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation passed the Tsunami Warning, Research and Education Act of 2026 that would reauthorize the Tsunami Warning and Education Act through 2030. Led by Senators Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Ranking Member of the Committee, Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), the bill passed as part of Sen. Cantwell’s Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Reauthorization Act of 2026.

Today, the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation unanimously passed the NASA Authorization Act of 2026, led by U.S. Senators Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Ranking Member of the Committee, Ted Cruz, (R-Texas), Chairman of the Committee, and Committee members Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.), and Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.). The bipartisan legislation authorizes $24.7 billion for Fiscal Year 2026, and $25.3 billion for Fiscal Year 2027 for NASA, a 2.5 percent increase over the previous year, and provides the clear guidance needed to maintain American leadership in aeronautics, space exploration, Earth and

Today, the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation passed the bipartisan Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Reauthorization Act of 2026 which authorizes programs at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) that will strengthen weather research and forecasting to save lives and better prepare our nation against dangerous weather disasters. The legislation is led by Senators Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Ranking Member of the Committee and Chairman Ted Cruz (R-Texas), and co-sponsored by Senators Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.) Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Brian Schatz (D-Hawai’i), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Ted Budd

U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, and U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), a senior member of the Commerce Committee, introduced the bipartisan NSF AI Education Act of 2026 to expand scholarship and professional development opportunities to study artificial intelligence with support from the National Science Foundation (NSF).

U.S. Senators Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, Todd Young (R-Ind.), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) today reintroduced the bipartisan Future of AI Innovation Act, which lays the foundation to maintain U.S. leadership in the global race to develop artificial intelligence (AI) and other emerging technologies. The legislation promotes strong partnerships between government, business, civil society and academia to advance AI research. It authorizes the Center for AI Standards and Innovation (CAISI) at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to promote the development of voluntary standards and creates