Wicker, Grassley Urge DOJ Inspector General to Investigate Abuses at the Commerce Department
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Roger Wicker, R-Miss., ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, and Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, ranking member of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, yesterday sent a letter to Department of Justice (DOJ) Inspector General Michael Horowitz requesting that he lead a “root cause analysis” in furtherance of the Commerce Committee’s initial investigation into abuses at the Department of Commerce’s Investigations and Threat Management Service (ITMS). The Commerce Committee’s investigation uncovered a failure of the DOJ, U.S. Marshals Service, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to exercise appropriate oversight of ITMS activities, particularly the use of “special deputation” of ITMS employees by the Marshals Service, which enabled many ITMS abuses.
During the World Cup, Cantwell, Capito Equal Pay for Team USA Bill Passes Senate Unanimously; Journey to Equal Pay in Sports Closest It’s Ever Been
The U.S. Senate unanimously passed the bipartisan Equal Pay for Team USA Act, led by Sens. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), along with Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), that would ensure equal pay for all Americans who represent the United States in global athletic competitions, like the World Cup and Olympics, regardless of gender. The bill must now pass the House.
Bipartisan Coast Guard, MARAD Reauthorization Bills Set to Pass as Part of NDAA
U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, successfully negotiated the inclusion of the bipartisan Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2022 and U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD) Reauthorization Act, as well as several oceans provisions as part of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The NDAA passed the House and is expected to pass the Senate next week.
Wicker Calls for New Hearing on Big Tech Censorship
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, today sent a letter to U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell, chair of the Committee, urging her to hold a hearing on the state of free speech on social media before the end of the 117th Congress. This urgent request follows the release of the “Twitter Files,” which revealed internal communications from Twitter’s content moderation team that confirmed the tech giant had been coordinating with the Biden campaign to take down posts and that there was no defensible basis for censoring a report from the New York Post on Hunter Biden.
Wicker Remarks at Committee’s Executive Session
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 Committee’s Executive Session.
Commerce Committee Approves 10 Biden Nominations for Commissions and Coast Guard Promotions
Today, the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation during an Executive Session approved ten Biden Administration nominations to serve on several boards, as well as Coast Guard promotions.
As Thanksgiving Approaches, Cantwell, Markey, Blumenthal Call on DOT to Strengthen Ticket Refunds Rule
With more than an estimated four million people travelling through U.S. airports this Thanksgiving season, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, and Committee-members Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) filed a comment on the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) proposed rule on airline ticket refunds, urging the Department to strengthen and expeditiously finalize the proposed rule to ensure that consumers are fairly compensated when an airline cancels or significantly delays their flight – including secondary costs incurred from hotels, meals and transportation in the event of a cancellation or significant delay due to a problem within the airline’s control.
Cantwell, Bipartisan Group of Senators Tell Appropriators: America’s Competitive Future Depends on Fully Funding CHIPS & Science Act
U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, led a bipartisan letter to Senate Appropriators underscoring that Congress must fully fund the CHIPS and Science Act in the Fiscal Year 2023 Appropriations Bill to ensure U.S. global economic and technological leadership.
Cantwell, Cruz Co-Author Consumer Protection Bill on Recording Smart Devices
Today, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Chair of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, and Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas), member of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, introduced the Informing Consumers about Smart Devices Act.
Wicker Statement on FCC Broadband Maps
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, today released the following statement regarding the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) draft broadband availability maps. These new maps are a result of Wicker’s Broadband Deployment Accuracy and Technological Availability (DATA) Act, which required the FCC to strengthen its broadband data collection and mapping process to help deploy broadband more accurately to underserved and unserved communities across the nation.