Minority News

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In case you missed it, the Wall Street Journal Editorial Board praised Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and President Trump for securing a major legislative breakthrough to reinstate spectrum auction authority. The agreement, included in Senate Commerce Committee’s section of the Senate budget reconciliation text, balances key national security interests with consumer demands, establishing the largest spectrum pipeline ever. The spectrum provision will generate an estimated $85 billion for American taxpayers, drive consumer-focused innovation in connectivity and AI, and secure American leadership in next-generation technologies.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In his opening statement at today’s Senate Commerce Committee confirmation hearing for the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Chairman Ted Cruz (R-Texas) stressed the urgent need to modernize America’s aviation systems and integrate cutting-edge technologies like drones, air taxis, and commercial spaceflight. Sen. Cruz discussed the importance of the $12 billion designated for FAA’s modernization efforts in the Commerce Committee’s reconciliation title.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Todd Young (R-Ind.), Chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Surface Transportation, Freight, Pipelines, and Safety, will convene a subcommittee hearing titled “On the Right Track: Modernizing America’s Rail” on Wednesday, June 18, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. EST. This hearing will examine the state of the U.S. freight and passenger rail network, with an emphasis on enhancing safety, improving efficiency, fostering innovation, and ensuring the long-term viability of the nation’s rail infrastructure to move American energy, goods, and people. The hearing will explore avenues for meaningful regulatory and policy reforms in the context of the upcoming surface transportation reauthorization.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Ranking Member Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Rand Paul (R-Ky.), and Ranking Member Gary Peters (D-Mich.) led their Senate colleagues in sending a letter to the Acting Inspector General of the Department of Transportation (DOT OIG) and the Inspector General of the Department of the Army (Army OIG) requesting concurrent audits in response to the January 29th midair collision between a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter and American Airlines 5342 near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) as well as ongoing coordination issues between the Army and DCA air traffic control.

U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, spoke on the Senate floor about how the bipartisan aviation legislation under consideration in the Senate this week strengthens security.

U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, spoke on the Senate floor on the bipartisan proposal to reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration through fiscal year 2017 under consideration in the Senate. The bill was approved by the committee in March 2016.

U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, wrote an op-ed on how the bipartisan Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization bill strengthens airport security.