Rockefeller and Lautenberg Statements on Rail Safety Technology Report

WASHINGTON, D.C.—U.S. Senator John D. (Jay) Rockefeller IV (D-W.Va.), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, and Senator Frank R. Lautenberg (D-N.J.), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety, and Security, today responded to the Government Accountability Office (GAO)’s report on rail safety technology. The report assesses the Federal Railroad Administration’s and the rail industry’s progress implementing positive train control (PTC), a system designed to prevent accidents, and evaluates the benefits and challenges of implementing other rail safety technologies.

Senate Commerce Committee Members Respond to NASA Report

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Senate Commerce Committee Members, including Chairman John D. (Jay) Rockefeller IV (D-W.Va.), Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas), Senator Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), and Senator David Vitter (R-La.), today issued a joint statement responding to a NASA report this week in which the space agency says it cannot build a capsule and heavy-lift rocket based on the cost and schedule outlined by Congress:

Rockefeller and Snowe Ask NASA to Eliminate Waste and Fraud in SBIR Program

WASHINGTON, D.C.—U.S. Senator John D. (Jay) Rockefeller IV (D-W.Va.), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, and Senator Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, today responded to the NASA Inspector General’s audit of its Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program. The audit found that NASA is wasting more than $2 million a year in SBIR funds because it does not have adequate financial controls in place to safeguard taxpayer dollars.