Republican News

Press Releases 07/22/2010
Hutchison: NASA Legislation Embraced by Appropriations Committee Presents Unified Senate Position on Space
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas), Ranking Member on the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, said the approval of the Commerce, Science, Justice Appropriations legislation by the Senate Appropriations Committee today presents a unified Senate position on NASA and the future of America’s human spaceflight programs.
Press Releases 07/22/2010
Committee Approves Bill with Hutchison Provision to Improve Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Education
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee today approved reauthorization of the America COMPETES Act with a new provision sponsored by Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas), Ranking Member on the Committee, to improve math and science education across the nation. The provision, modeled after the highly successful UTeach initiative in Texas, would enable participating colleges and universities to prepare students who major in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) to become certified as elementary and secondary school teachers.
Press Releases 07/22/2010
Committee Approves Hutchison Legislation to Improve Oil Spill Response and Mitigation
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee today approved legislation sponsored by Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas), Ranking Member on the Committee, to improve oil spill response capabilities by enhancing the United States Coast Guard’s ability to prepare for and respond to offshore oil spills along coastal waterways.
Press Releases 07/21/2010
Hutchison: Port Security is a Critical Element of National Security
WASHINGTON, D.C. – During a hearing today on reauthorization of the SAFE Port Act in the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas), the Committee’s Ranking Member, said that port security plays a crucial role in America’s national security efforts. In 2006, Senator Hutchison was a cosponsor of the original SAFE Port Act, which strengthened port security across the nation by establishing innovative programs to enhance the ability to protect our borders and preserve the flow of commerce.
Press Releases 07/15/2010
Committee Approves Hutchison Cosponsored Bill to Preserve America’s Human Spaceflight Capabilities
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee today unanimously approved legislation cosponsored by Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas), Ranking Member on the Committee, to safeguard America’s human spaceflight capabilities while balancing commercial space investment with a robust mission for NASA. The bill was sponsored by Committee Chairman John D. Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) and cosponsored by Senators Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), David Vitter (R-La.) and George LeMieux (R-Fla.).
Press Releases 07/1/2010
Hutchison Pleased with Short-Term Shuttle Extension to 2011
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas), Ranking Member on the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, today said she was pleased to see NASA delay the launch of the space shuttle Discovery to November 1, 2010, and push back the scheduled launch of space shuttle Endeavour to February 26, 2011. Senator Hutchison has consistently stated that the President's NASA proposal should include a short-term stretch out of the shuttle program’s remaining flights in order to protect the nation’s $100 billion investment in the International Space Station.
Press Releases 06/30/2010
Hutchison Calls on President to Temporarily Waive Jones Act to Assist with Gulf Oil Spill
WASHINGTON, D.C. – During a Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee hearing today to consider various legal remedies available for the oil spill in the Gulf, Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas), Ranking Member on the Committee, called on President Obama to waive the Jones Act to temporarily allow foreign marine vessels to assist with oil cleanup efforts in the Gulf of Mexico. Hutchison noted that it has been more than two months since the oil spill began, and an estimated 140 million gallons of oil have leaked into the Gulf.
Press Releases 06/24/2010
Hutchison: We Must Focus on Safety of Nation’s Oil and Gas Pipelines
Press Releases 06/22/2010
Hutchison Strongly Supports John Glenn Statement on NASA
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas), Ranking Member on the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, today said she strongly supports former Ohio Senator and astronaut John Glenn’s statement highlighting the risks of relying only on the Russian Soyuz vehicles for American access to the International Space Station. Senator Hutchison has consistently stated that any compromise between the Constellation program and the President's budget proposal should include a short-term extension of the shuttle program in order to protect the nation’s $100 billion investment in the space station. She noted that additional shuttle flights would sustain and utilize the space station to conduct ground-breaking research and help maintain the primary justification for continuing America’s human space flight capability.
Press Releases 06/21/2010
Commerce Committee Republicans Oppose Inclusion of Expanded FTC Authority in Financial Services Bill
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Republican members of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee today released a letter to the conferees of the financial services reform legislation recently approved by the Senate, outlining their opposition to the inclusion of expanded Federal Trade Commission (FTC) authority in the Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2010. The letter was signed by every Republican member of the Committee, including Ranking Member Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas), and Senators Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), John Ensign (R-Nev.), Jim DeMint (R-S.C.), John Thune (R-S.D.), George S. LeMieux (R-Fla.), Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), David Vitter (R-La.), Sam Brownback (R-Kan.), and Mike Johanns (R-Neb.). The FTC expansions were not included in the Senate-passed version of the bill, but were in the legislation approved by the House, and are scheduled to be debated by the conferees.