Minority News

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, and U.S. Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., ranking member of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, today sent a letter to Department of Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo regarding her disconcerting statement that areas already committed to receive federal broadband funding could be eligible for additional funds during yesterday’s Senate Appropriations Committee hearing.

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Roger Wicker, R-Miss., ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., ranking member of the Subcommittee on Space and Science, today introduced the National R&D Strategy for Distributed Ledger Technology Act that would require the federal government to coordinate research and development efforts on distributed ledger technologies (DLT) and their applications. DLT, which includes the more commonly known blockchain technology, builds on decades of research in cryptography and distributed systems to enable information systems with improved access, interoperability, and guarantees of data integrity. It is also one of the key technology focus areas named in the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act (USICA), on which the U.S. Senate agreed to go to conference with the House of Representatives last week.

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, today delivered the following remarks during the nomination hearing for U.S. Coast Guard Commandant Nominee Admiral Linda Fagan:

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Roger Wicker, R-Miss., ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, and John Thune, R-S.D., ranking member of the Subcommittee on Communications, Media, and Broadband, along with U.S. Representatives Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., ranking member of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, and Robert Latta, R-Ohio, ranking member of the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, today sent a letter to Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information Alan Davidson naming their priorities for implementation of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s (NTIA’s) Infrastructure and Jobs Act (IIJA) broadband programs.

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.