Republican News

Press Releases 06/22/2010
Hutchison Strongly Supports John Glenn Statement on NASA
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas), Ranking Member on the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, today said she strongly supports former Ohio Senator and astronaut John Glenn’s statement highlighting the risks of relying only on the Russian Soyuz vehicles for American access to the International Space Station. Senator Hutchison has consistently stated that any compromise between the Constellation program and the President's budget proposal should include a short-term extension of the shuttle program in order to protect the nation’s $100 billion investment in the space station. She noted that additional shuttle flights would sustain and utilize the space station to conduct ground-breaking research and help maintain the primary justification for continuing America’s human space flight capability.
Press Releases 06/21/2010
Commerce Committee Republicans Oppose Inclusion of Expanded FTC Authority in Financial Services Bill
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Republican members of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee today released a letter to the conferees of the financial services reform legislation recently approved by the Senate, outlining their opposition to the inclusion of expanded Federal Trade Commission (FTC) authority in the Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2010. The letter was signed by every Republican member of the Committee, including Ranking Member Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas), and Senators Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), John Ensign (R-Nev.), Jim DeMint (R-S.C.), John Thune (R-S.D.), George S. LeMieux (R-Fla.), Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), David Vitter (R-La.), Sam Brownback (R-Kan.), and Mike Johanns (R-Neb.). The FTC expansions were not included in the Senate-passed version of the bill, but were in the legislation approved by the House, and are scheduled to be debated by the conferees.
Press Releases 06/18/2010
Hutchison and LeMieux Introduce Legislation to Provide Assistance to Oil Spill Clean Up Effort
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas), Ranking Member on the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, Committee member Senator George LeMieux (R-Fla.), and Senator John Cornyn (R-Texas), today introduced legislation that would temporarily allow foreign marine vessels to assist with the oil cleanup effort in the Gulf of Mexico. The bill, titled the WAIVER (Water Assistance from International Vessels for Emergency Response) Act, would temporarily waive the Jones Act, which requires that all goods and people transported by water between United States ports be carried in American flagged, owned, and crewed ships. The waiver would allow foreign flagged vessels with crucial equipment to travel between U.S. ports to provide needed assistance. The Jones Act was put into place in 1920 to ensure that the United States was able to maintain a fleet of merchant ships.
Press Releases 06/17/2010
Hutchison Calls for Bureaucratic Red Tape to be Cut So Foreign Vessels Can Aid in Gulf Cleanup
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) delivered a speech on the U.S. Senate floor calling for an emergency waiver of the Jones Act, which requires many foreign vessels to go through a lengthy bureaucratic approval process in order to assist with the oil cleanup effort in the Gulf of Mexico. Sen. Hutchison, who is the Ranking Republican on the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, said she will introduce legislation to temporarily waive the Jones Act to allow foreign marine vessels to help with the cleanup. This extended waiver would be applied for a period of time that is necessary to respond and restore the waters of the Gulf.
Press Releases 06/17/2010
Hutchison: FCC Move Will Stifle Internet’s Growth through Burdensome Regulations
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas), Ranking Member on Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, today said she was disappointed with the decision by Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to move forward with burdensome regulations after the FCC voted to reclassify broadband as a telecommunications service, the first step in implementing net neutrality rules for the Internet.
Press Releases 06/17/2010
Hutchison Raises Concerns About Proposed Airline Merger
WASHINGTON, D.C. – During a Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee hearing today on the proposed merger between United Airlines and Continental Airlines, Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas), Ranking Member on the Committee, said she was disappointed with the proposed merger decision.
Press Releases 06/10/2010
Hutchison: NASA Leadership Skirting the Law to Shut Down Space Programs
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas), Ranking Member of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, today said NASA leadership was skirting the law to shut down the Constellation program after NASA leadership publicly announced a decision to reprioritize work on the program. NASA’s stated justification for these actions is the Anti-Deficiency Act (ADA), which prohibits spending funds beyond levels that are appropriated in a given year, or obligating the government to pay money before funds have been appropriated. There are a number of unanswered questions on whether the ADA would apply in this situation, and if it did, the recently passed Defense Supplemental legislation clarifies that regardless of any provision of law, work must continue on the Constellation program.
Press Releases 06/10/2010
Hutchison Questions TSA Nominee on Need for Flexible Workforce to React Quickly to Emerging Threats
WASHINGTON, D.C. - During a Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee hearing today on John Pistole, the nominee to lead the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), Ranking Member Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) said she had serious concerns with collective bargaining for TSA security screeners. Senator Hutchison said it was critical for the agency to have a flexible workforce that can react quickly to emerging threats.
Press Releases 06/9/2010
Committee Approves Distracted Driving Legislation Sponsored by Rockefeller and Hutchison
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee today approved legislation (S. 1938), sponsored by Commerce Committee Chairman John D. Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) and Ranking Member Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas), to offer incentive grants to states that enact laws to combat distracted driving. Hutchison noted that the bill would impose no new mandates and would be funded through existing programs, spending no additional taxpayer dollars.
Press Releases 06/4/2010
Hutchison Statement on SpaceX Test Flight
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee Ranking Member Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas), today made the following statement after the SpaceX test flight of the Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida: