The United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation is a standing committee of the United States Senate .[1] It is empowered with legislative oversight of the Coast Guard and Merchant Marine , interstate commerce , communications , highways, aviation, rail, shipping, transportation security, oceans, fisheries, climate change , disasters, science , nonmilitary aeronautical and space sciences, sports , tourism, consumer issues, economic development, technology, competitiveness, product safety, insurance, and standards and measurement . The committee also has jurisdiction over coastal zone management, inland waterways (except construction), the Panama Canal and other interoceanic canals, and commerce aspects of Continental Shelf lands.[1]
The Committee is one of the largest in the Senate with 25 members in the 114th Congress. It is composed of seven subcommittees, and the Committee Chairman is Sen. John Thune (R-SD) and its Ranking Member is Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL). Nelson is the only sitting Member of Congress who served as an astronaut .[2] The majority office is housed in the Dirksen Senate Office Building , and the minority office is located in the Hart Senate Office Building .[1]
History
The Committee has its roots in the Committee on Commerce and Manufacturers , which served as a standing committee in the early-1800s. This committee was split in two in the 1820s and remained in this configuration until the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 . Under the LRA, the number of standing committees was dramatically decreased to streamline increase congressional efficiency and increase institutional strength. As a result, the Committee on Commerce , the Committee on Manufactures , the Committee on Interstate Commerce , and the Committee on Interoceanic Canals were combined into the United States Senate Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce . In 1977, as a part of widespread committee reorganization, the Committee renamed the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation and given additional oversight jurisdiction over nonmilitary aeronautical and space sciences, including the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
The original progenitors of this committee were:
Membership
Majority
Minority
John Thune , South Dakota, Chair
Roger Wicker , Mississippi
Roy Blunt , Missouri
Marco Rubio , Florida
Kelly Ayotte , New Hampshire
Dean Heller , Nevada
Ted Cruz , Texas
Deb Fischer , Nebraska
Dan Sullivan , Alaska
Jerry Moran , Kansas
Ron Johnson , Wisconsin
Cory Gardner , Colorado
Steve Daines , Montana
Bill Nelson , Florida, Ranking Member
Maria Cantwell , Washington
Claire McCaskill , Missouri
Amy Klobuchar , Minnesota
Richard Blumenthal , Connecticut
Brian Schatz , Hawaii
Ed Markey , Massachusetts
Cory Booker , New Jersey
Tom Udall , New Mexico
Joe Manchin , West Virginia
Gary Peters , Michigan
Source: 2013 Congressional Record , Vol. 159, Page S296 , 661 –662
Subcommittees
Subcommittee
Chair
Ranking Member
Aviation Operations, Safety, and Security
Kelly Ayotte (R-NH)
Maria Cantwell (D-WA)
Communications, Technology, Innovation, and the Internet
Roger Wicker (R-MS)
Brian Schatz (D-HI)
Consumer Protection, Product Safety, Insurance and Data Security
Jerry Moran (R-KS)
Richard Blumenthal (D-CT)
Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard
Marco Rubio (R-FL)
Cory Booker (D-NJ)
Space, Science and Competitiveness
Ted Cruz (R-TX)
Gary Peters (D-MI)
Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety, and Security
Deb Fischer (R-NE)
Cory Booker (D-NJ)
Chairmen
Committee on Commerce and Manufactures, 1816–1825
Committee on Commerce, 1825–1947
Committee on Interstate Commerce, 1887–1947
Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce, 1947–1961
Committee on Commerce, 1961–1977
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, 1977–present
References
External links