Commerce Committee Leaders Introduce Coast Guard Reauthorization

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.) and Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), who respectively serve as the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, and Sens. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Cory Booker (D-N.J.), who serve as chairman and ranking member of the subcommittee with jurisdiction over the U.S. Coast […]

Thune and Wicker Statement on Lifeline Program Expansion

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted 3-2 on a proposal marking the first step in the process of expanding the Lifeline universal service program to broadband Internet services. U.S. Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee Chairman John Thune (R-S.D.) and U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Communications, […]

Thune Statement on Reversal of Proposed Carry-On Bag Guidelines

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, which has jurisdiction over aviation and consumer protection matters, issued the following statement on today’s announcement by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) that it was pausing the rollout of a new initiative to set a voluntary […]

Nelson Seeks Answers from Google on YouTube Kids App Content

WASHINGTON, D.C — U.S. Senate Commerce Committee Ranking Member Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) is seeking answers from Google CEO Larry Page on recent reports that YouTube Kids contained content inappropriate for children.  In a letter sent late Tuesday, Nelson is asking the company to detail, among other things, how it selects content for the new app […]

Thune Proposes Modernization for the National Weather Service

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee Chairman John Thune (R-S.D.) today introduced S. 1573, the National Weather Service Improvement Act. The bill modernizes the National Weather Service (NWS) in three critical areas: it reinvests some resources from the NWS’s 122 local weather forecast offices to six regional centers, emphasizes improving clear communication of weather forecast […]

Committee Probes Report of Self-Dealing by NOAA Employees

U.S. Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee Chairman John Thune (R-S.D.) has requested answers from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) about schemes by employees to enrich themselves with lucrative post-retirement contracts financed by taxpayers.

Thune on Court Declining to Issue Temporary Stay in FCC Internet Case

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee Chairman John Thune (R-S.D.) issued the following statement on the federal appeals court decision not to delay the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) controversial Title II Internet regulations while the lawsuit against them moves forward:  “This decision underscores the need for Congress to find a bipartisan […]

Nelson Statement on Net Neutrality Court Decision

U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL), the ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science & Transportation, issued the following statement in response to the decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia to allow the FCC’s net neutrality rules to move forward. “The rules are now poised to go into […]

Sens. Thune, Schatz, Wicker and Rubio Introduce DOTCOM Act

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Leading members of U.S. Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, Chairman John Thune (R-S.D.), subcommittee ranking member Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), and subcommittee chairmen Sens. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) today introduced S. 1551, the DOTCOM Act. The DOTCOM Act requires certifications, and an opportunity for congressional review to ensure that […]