Senate Passes Hutchison Bill to Prevent Inmates from Using Smuggled Cell Phones

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Hutchison-backed legislation allowing prisons to block calls from contraband cellular phones has unanimously passed the Senate. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas), Ranking Member on the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, introduced the legislation to prevent prison inmates from using smuggled cellular phones by allowing states to petition to operate wireless […]

Rockefeller: Any Senate Climate Legislation Should Solidify West Virginia and Coal’s Future

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator John D. (Jay) Rockefeller IV, Chairman of the U.S. Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, released the following statement regarding climate legislation introduced today by Senators Barbara Boxer and John Kerry:   “The climate legislation proposed today by Senators Boxer and Kerry is a disappointing step in the wrong direction and […]

Rockefeller Applauds Department of Commerce Plan to Foster Healthy Entrepreneurial Growth and Innovation in the 21st Centruy

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Senator John D. (Jay) Rockefeller IV, Chairman of the U.S. Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee issued the following statement regarding Commerce Secretary Gary Locke’s efforts to energize entrepreneurship by creating the Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship and the National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship. This aggressive plan to harness the Commerce Department’s […]

Hearing Summary: Nominations Hearing

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation held a full committee hearing today on nominations.   Witness List:   Ms. Anne Ferro, Administrator-Designate, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation   Ms. Cynthia L. Quarterman, Administrator-Designate, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation   Key […]

Hutchison Pushes Bus Safety Standards

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas), Ranking Member on the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, today questioned Anne Ferro, President Obama’s nominee to head the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, on the need to improve the nation’s bus safety standards.  Earlier this year, Senator Hutchison introduced legislation to overhaul and dramatically increase […]

Chairman Rockefeller’s Statement on Today’s Nominations Hearing

I congratulate our two nominees, Anne S. Ferro and Cynthia L. Quarterman, selected by President Obama to lead the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA).   I also want to thank the nominees for choosing to enter public service and working to make our highways, pipelines, […]

Rockefeller and Hutchison Introduce Bipartisan Public Safety Communications Bill

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Senator John D. (Jay) Rockefeller IV, Chairman of the U.S. Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee and Ranking Member, Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, issued the following statement today after introducing legislation that would extend the Public Safety Interoperable Communications (PSIC) grant program.  The PSIC grant program provides funding for state projects that arm public […]

Chairman Rockefeller Statement on Preserving the Open Internet

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Senator John D. (Jay) Rockefeller IV, Chairman of the U.S. Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, issued the following statement today on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issuing a notice of proposed rulemaking on net neutrality regulations:   “An open Internet has been key to expanding economic, education, and healthcare opportunities to consumers and […]