Republican News

WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, sent a letter to Sen. Maria Cantwell, chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, requesting that the Committee hold a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) oversight hearing to discuss the agency’s plans and timelines for developing new broadband maps.

WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., and Tim Scott, R-S.C., today introduced the Improving Minority Participation and Careers in Telecommunications (IMPACT) Act. The legislation would create a grant program through the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) that would award $100 million in grants to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs), and Minority-serving Institutions to develop job training programs to educate and train students to participate in the telecommunications workforce.

WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, and Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., ranking member of the Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Data Security, along with Reps. Cathy McMorris Rogers, R-Wash., ranking member of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, and Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla., ranking member of the Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Commerce, sent a letter to Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) Acting Chairman Robert Adler asking for a full accounting of the $50 million appropriated to the agency in the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021

WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., ranking member and chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, today reintroduced legislation to reform the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA)’s Fishery Resource Disaster Relief program of the National Marine Fisheries Service. This legislation, the Fishery Resource Disasters Improvement Act, will make improvements to provide fishermen with disaster relief more quickly.

WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., ranking member and chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, today reintroduced the Advanced Technological Manufacturing Act to reauthorize and modernize the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Advanced Technological Education (ATE) program.

WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. 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. Reps. 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 Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel inquiring about the agency’s status on completing its mapping process to ensure accurate broadband data collection.

WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., chairman of the Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Data Security, along with Reps. Doris Matsui, D-Calif., Morgan Griffith, R-Va., Bobby Rush, D-Ill., and Tony Cárdenas, D-Calif., who are members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, today sent a letter to U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) Acting Chairman Robert Adler regarding the development and implementation of regulatory guidelines related to furniture flammability consistent with S. 1341, the Safer Occupancy Furniture Flammability Act (SOFFA).

WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, and Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., ranking member of the Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Data Security, today introduced the Broadband Reserve Fund Act. This legislation would require the net proceeds from the C-Band spectrum auction to be deposited into a reserve fund at the Department of Treasury to be used to expand broadband access and digital opportunity, modernize the nation’s communications infrastructure, and meet other connectivity priorities. These funds would be available for Congress to authorize for use by the Federal

WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, and Gary Peters, D-Mich., chairman of the Subcommittee on Surface Transportation, Maritime, Freight, and Ports, today introduced the Flood Level Observation, Operations, and Decision Support (FLOODS) Act to establish a National Integrated Flood Information System. The legislation would improve the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) forecasting and communication of flood, tornado, and hurricane events.

WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, today sent a letter to President Joseph R. Biden Jr. requesting that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s budget request for fiscal year 2022 continue to support the U.S. Coast Guard’s recapitalization efforts, account for increased operations costs, and adequately address shore side infrastructure investment needs.