Democratic News

April 6, 2016
Press Release

U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), the top Democrat on the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, spoke on the floor today on legislation to reauthorize the FAA.  The bill, which passed the Commerce Committee last month, contains a number of pro-consumer and drone safety measures.   The lawmaker also said today he intends to offer […]

April 6, 2016
Press Release

U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), the top Democrat on the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science & Transportation, issued the following the statement in response to a Wall Street Journal report today that Amtrak crews may not have followed basic safety procedures that could have prevented Sunday’s deadly train accident in Pennsylvania.  “It’s disturbing that this tragic accident […]

April 6, 2016
Press Release

U.S. Sen. Bill NelsonRemarks on the Senate floor on FAA reauthorizationApril 6, 2016 Sen. Nelson: Mr. President, I think the Chairman, Senator Thune, has pointed out that what we have tried to exhibit, is the way the Senate is supposed to work in a bipartisan way to forge consensus in order to be able to […]

March 29, 2016
Press Release

U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Commerce Committee, issued the following statement in response to the FTC’s move to seek compensation for consumers who purchased or leased  “Clean Diesel” Volkswagens.   Nelson asked the Federal Trade Commission in September to investigate Volkswagen marketing.   “This was one of the most egregious examples […]

February 23, 2016
Press Release

WASHINGTON, D.C. – An ongoing U.S. Senate investigation into defective Takata airbags has found widespread manipulation of airbag inflator test data by Takata employees, with some occurring after the recalls began.  The new findings, by the minority staff of the Commerce Committee, were unveiled today on the Senate floor by U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), […]

February 11, 2016
Press Release

The NTSB announced today that it will be sending a team of investigators back to the site of the cargo ship El Faro to search again for the ship’s missing data recorder. The decision comes less than a month after U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL), the top Democrat on the Senate Commerce Committee which oversees […]

February 10, 2016
Press Release

WASHINGTON  – U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), the ranking member of the Senate Commerce Committee, filed legislation today giving the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) the power to ban bulk shipments of potentially deadly lithium-ion batteries from passenger airliners. Specifically,  Nelson’s bill would repeal a ban Congress enacted in 2012 prohibiting the FAA from imposing restrictions on transporting […]

February 10, 2016
Press Release

WASHINGTON – In a letter sent today to the head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), the ranking member of the Senate Commerce Committee, is asking the agency to immediately halt the continued manufacture and sale of defective Takata ammonium nitrate airbag inflators, while also prodding it to […]

February 5, 2016
Press Release

WASHINGTON, D.C. – As part of a renewed push to protect air travelers from the threat posed by drones, U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) says he plans to offer a measure to boost federal efforts to research, test and deploy various technologies to keep drones away from sensitive areas, such as our nation’s airports.  Nelson, […]

January 21, 2016
Press Release

WASHINGTON, D.C. – With concerns mounting about artificial turf athletic fields and playgrounds made of crumb rubber, two top Democrats on the Senate Commerce Committee today asked President Barack Obama to initiate a comprehensive federal-led study into the potential health risks posed by the surfaces. In a letter to the president, U.S. Sens. Bill Nelson […]