Cantwell Congratulates Newly Announced Artemis III Crew
Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Ranking Member of the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, congratulated the astronauts selected by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to execute the upcoming Artemis III mission. The Mission will send the crew into Earth orbit to test rendezvous and docking capabilities between Orion and commercial spacecraft needed to land astronauts on the Moon.
Cantwell Statement on NASA’s Announcement of the First Three Moon Base Missions
U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, released this statement regarding NASA’s announcement today of the first three Moon Base missions that will begin building sustained operations on the lunar surface:
Cantwell, Cruz Introduce Resolution Honoring the Exceptional Success of the Artemis II Mission
U.S. Senators Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation and Chairman Ted Cruz (R-Texas) today introduced a resolution to commemorate the hugely successful Artemis II mission that launched on April 1, 2026, and returned astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen safely to Earth on April 10, 2026. The Artemis II mission took humans farther from Earth than ever before, when on April 6, 2026, the crew surpassed the record set by Apollo 13 for the farthest distance traveled by astronauts into deep space.
Cantwell, Young Resolution Marking World Quantum Day Passes Senate
The United States Senate unanimously passed a resolution introduced by U.S. Senators Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, Todd Young (R-Ind.) and Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) to commemorate and support the goals of World Quantum Day, recognized annually on April 14. World Quantum Day highlights the significance of the quantum mechanics in everyday-life technologies, such as semiconductors, GPS systems, and MRI imaging.
Cantwell Opening Remarks at April 14 Markup of Legislation Including Reauthorization of the National Quantum Initiative
U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell, (D-Wash.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation delivered the following opening statement at today’s Executive Session to consider nine bills, including the National Quantum Initiative Reauthorization Act of 2026 and the Regional Ocean Partnerships Reauthorization Act of 2026:
Cantwell Speaks Live to Artemis II Crew
Today, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, spoke to the Artemis II crew from her Seattle office as they return from their mission around the moon.
Commerce Committee Passes Landmark NASA Authorization Act
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 space science, and space technology development.
Ranking Member Cantwell Opening Statement Ahead of Commerce Committee Approval of NASA Reauthorization Act and Weather Act
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):
Cantwell, Moran Introduce Bill to Boost AI Education
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).
Cantwell, Young, Hickenlooper and Blackburn Reintroduce Bill to Ensure U.S. Leads Global AI Innovation
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 testbeds with national labs to accelerate groundbreaking AI innovation for the benefit of future economic growth and national security.