Republican News

Press Releases 10/20/2021
Committee Leaders Call on State Department to Reinstate Hand Carry Program
WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, and Sens. Jacky Rosen, D- Nev., and Rick Scott, R-Fla., chair and ranking member of the Subcommittee on Tourism, Trade, and Export Promotion, today sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken requesting that the operational capacity of the Department of State’s (DOS) passport Hand Carry Program be brought back to pre-pandemic levels.
Press Releases 10/4/2021
Wicker Expresses Concern About TikTok’s Involvement in U.S. Cyber Games
WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, today sent a letter to Department of Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo expressing concern about the role TikTok will play in the first ever U.S. Cyber Games, an initiative receiving funding from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The U.S. Cyber Games represent an important initiative led by the private sector to promote cybersecurity careers, build a diverse and skilled cybersecurity workforce, and help to drive research on effective practices for cybersecurity workforce development.
Press Releases 09/30/2021
Wicker Raises Concerns Over CPSC Acting Chairman’s Nullification of FY2022 Operating Plan
WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, today sent a letter urging Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) Acting Chairman Robert Adler to adopt the Commission’s Operating Plan for Fiscal Year 2022 as amended by majority vote. This follows Acting Chairman Adler’s recent action to nullify a 2-1 vote to approve the Operating Plan.
Press Releases 09/29/2021
Wicker Urges Congress to Pass Federal Data Privacy Legislation
WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, today during the committee hearing on consumer data privacy expressed the importance of Congress passing a comprehensive national data privacy law.
Press Releases 09/24/2021
Senate Ranking Members Urge DOJ to Restore Information Access for Minority Committee Leaders
WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, led Senate committee ranking members in a letter to U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Attorney General Merrick Garland imploring the DOJ to rescind the Office of Legal Counsel’s (OLC) 2017 opinion, which advises departments and agencies that they can ignore document requests from minority leadership of congressional committees.
Press Releases 09/21/2021
Wicker, Cardin Introduce Bill to Support Maritime Workforce
WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, and Ben Cardin, D-Md., today introduced the Maritime Technological Advancement Act. The legislation would establish a grant program to develop, offer, or improve educational or career training programs for American workers in the maritime workforce.
Press Releases 09/17/2021
Wicker Questions Drone Flight Restriction at Mexican Border
U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, today sent a letter requesting Federal Aviation Administrator (FAA) Steve Dickson to explain the implementation of the two-week Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) over the international bridge into Del Rio, Texas and to promptly process any waiver sought by the media to ensure that the First Amendment is protected.
Press Releases 09/3/2021
Wicker Statement on Commerce Department’s Report Confirming Misconduct at ITMS
WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, today released the following statement after the Department of Commerce issued a report on the misconduct at the Investigations and Threat Management Service (ITMS):
Press Releases 09/1/2021
Members of Congress Urge Leadership to Incorporate EPSCoR Provisions in Conference Bill
WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, today joined 33 Senate and 26 House colleagues in a letter to congressional leaders highlighting important provisions included in the Senate-passed United States Innovation and Competition Act (USICA) to strengthen the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR). The members called on leadership to incorporate these landmark provisions as both chambers consider legislation to improve U.S. competitiveness, especially against China.
Press Releases 08/11/2021
Wicker Questions Commerce Department’s Enforcement of Huawei-related Rule
WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, today sent a letter to the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) inquiring about the implementation of a Final Rule restricting access by Huawei to U.S. technologies. This letter is part of Wicker’s ongoing oversight focused on probing compliance with the rule from leading hard disk drive suppliers and its enforcement by the Department of Commerce.