Ranking Member Cantwell Delivers Opening Statement at Nomination Hearing of Bryan Bedford to lead the FAA
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell, Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, delivered the following opening remarks at today’s hearing on the nomination of Bryan Bedford to serve as the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA):
Cantwell, Commerce Committee Democrats Call for Regular Order on Dangerous and Damaging Commerce Title of Reconciliation Bill
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, joined by fellow Democratic Committee Members Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Ben Ray Luján, (N.M.), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), Andy Kim (D-N.J.) and Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.) urged Commerce Committee Chairman Sen. Ted Cruz to follow regular order and schedule a markup for the budget reconciliation text he released last week. The Republican bill will impact every American, but not a single hearing on the legislation has been held on the most significant piece of legislation expected to be considered by the Senate this year.
Sen. Cruz: FAA Nominee Needs to Bring the U.S. Aviation System Into the Modern Era
WASHINGTON, D.C. – In his opening statement at today’s Senate Commerce Committee confirmation hearing for the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Chairman Ted Cruz (R-Texas) stressed the urgent need to modernize America’s aviation systems and integrate cutting-edge technologies like drones, air taxis, and commercial spaceflight. Sen. Cruz discussed the importance of the $12 billion designated for FAA’s modernization efforts in the Commerce Committee’s reconciliation title.
Sen. Cruz Continues to Lead Fight to Stop Big Tech Cancel Culture
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz (R-Texas) reintroduced the Transparency in Enforcement, Restricting, and Monitoring of Services (TERMS) Act, which will prevent online service providers from weaponizing broadly worded terms of service agreements to silence customers and deny them access to essential business technologies over their political beliefs. The limited number of providers for some online services has forced conservative organizations to decide between conforming to restrictive woke demands or exercising their freedom of speech.
On the Right Track: Modernizing America’s Rail Network
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Todd Young (R-Ind.), Chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Surface Transportation, Freight, Pipelines, and Safety, will convene a subcommittee hearing titled “On the Right Track: Modernizing America’s Rail” on Wednesday, June 18, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. EST. This hearing will examine the state of the U.S. freight and passenger rail network, with an emphasis on enhancing safety, improving efficiency, fostering innovation, and ensuring the long-term viability of the nation’s rail infrastructure to move American energy, goods, and people. The hearing will explore avenues for meaningful regulatory and policy reforms in the context of the upcoming surface transportation reauthorization.
Sen. Cruz Applauds New NTIA Guidance Fixing Biden’s $42 Billion Internet Boondoggle
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Last week, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) released a Policy Notice issuing new guidance for the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program. The new guidance ensures requested funds will be released this calendar year so long as a state proposal is technologically neutral and uses money efficiently. The Notice strips out time-consuming and unnecessary Biden-era central planning mandates, such as its extreme and costly technology bias, illegal rate regulation, and DEI labor requirements. Those edicts limited provider competition and delayed delivery of faster Internet to Americans.
Cantwell, Cruz Lead Call for Audits of DCA Airspace Safety Issues
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, and Committee Chairman Ted Cruz (R-Texas) were joined by U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Ranking Member Gary Peters (D-Mich.), all Democratic members of the Committee and several Republican members in sending a letter to Acting Inspector General of the Department of Transportation (DOT OIG) Mitch Behm and Inspector General of the Department of the Army (Army OIG) Lieutenant General Gregory J. Brady requesting concurrent safety audits in response to the January 29th mid-air collision near National Airport (DCA), as well as ongoing coordination issues between the Army and DCA air traffic control.
Senate Committee Leaders Call for Audits on DCA Airspace Safety Issues
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Ranking Member Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Rand Paul (R-Ky.), and Ranking Member Gary Peters (D-Mich.) led their Senate colleagues in sending a letter to the Acting Inspector General of the Department of Transportation (DOT OIG) and the Inspector General of the Department of the Army (Army OIG) requesting concurrent audits in response to the January 29th midair collision between a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter and American Airlines 5342 near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) as well as ongoing coordination issues between the Army and DCA air traffic control.
Cantwell Statement on Commerce Secretary Lutnick’s “Reform” of BEAD Broadband Program
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell, Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, released the following statement on Commerce Secretary Lutwick’s “new guidance” on the BEAD program:
Cantwell Statement on GOP Spectrum Auction Proposal
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, criticized Senate Republicans’ spectrum auction language released on Thursday, June 5, 2025 for failing to protect aviation safety and national security. The proposal would require the FCC to sell off at least 100 Mhz of spectrum in the upper C-Band, directly adjacent to the spectrum used for aircraft altimeters, within just two years. When the first Trump administration auctioned the lower C-Band—even further from aircraft altimeter spectrum—the FAA was so concerned about potential interference it nearly grounded every airplane in the country in early 2022.