The United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation is a standing committee of the United States Senate.[1] Besides having broad jurisdiction over all matters concerning interstate commerce, science and technology policy, and transportation, the Senate Commerce Committee is one of the largest of the Senate's standing committees, with 28 members in the 117th Congress. The Commerce Committee has six subcommittees. It is chaired by Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) as Ranking Member. The majority office is housed in the Dirksen Senate Office Building, and the minority office is located in the Hart Senate Office Building.[1]
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 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 was 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:
In accordance of Rule XXV of the United States Senate, all proposed legislation, messages, petitions, memorials, and other matters relating to the following subjects is referred to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation:
The Senate Commerce Committee is also charged to "study and review, on a comprehensive basis, all matters relating to science and technology, oceans policy, transportation, communications, and consumer affairs, and report thereon from time to time."[3]
See main article: 118th United States Congress.
| Subcommittee | Chair | Ranking Member | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aviation Safety, Operations and Innovation | nowrap | Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) | nowrap | Jerry Moran (R-KS) | |||
| Communications, Media and Broadband | nowrap | Ben Ray Luján (D-NM) | nowrap | John Thune (R-SD) | |||
| Consumer Protection, Product Safety and Data Security | nowrap | John Hickenlooper (D-CO) | nowrap | Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) | |||
| Oceans, Fisheries, Climate Change and Manufacturing | nowrap | Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) | nowrap | Dan Sullivan (R-AK) | |||
| Space and Science | nowrap | Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) | nowrap | Eric Schmitt (R-MO) | |||
| Surface Transportation, Maritime, Freight and Ports | nowrap | Gary Peters (D-MI) | nowrap | Todd Young (R-IN) | |||
| Tourism, Trade, and Export Promotion | nowrap | Jacky Rosen (D-NV) | nowrap | Ted Budd (R-NC) | |||
The committee, under its various names, has been chaired by the following senators:[7]
| Chair | Party | State | Years | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| William Hunter | Federalist | Rhode Island | 1816–1817 | ||
| Nathan Sanford | Republican | New York | 1817–1820 | ||
| Mahlon Dickerson | Republican/Crawford Republican | New Jersey | 1820–1825 |
| Chair | Party | State | Years | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wallace H. White, Jr. | Republican | Maine | 1947–1949 | ||
| Edwin C. Johnson | Democratic | Colorado | 1949–1953 | ||
| Charles W. Tobey | Republican | New Hampshire | 1953 | ||
| John W. Bricker | Republican | Ohio | 1953–1955 | ||
| Warren Magnuson | Democratic | Washington | 1955–1961 |
| Chair | Party | State | Years | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lyndon B. Johnson | Democratic | Texas | 1958–1961 | ||
| Robert S. Kerr | Democratic | Oklahoma | 1961–1963 | ||
| Clinton P. Anderson | Democratic | New Mexico | 1963–1973 | ||
| Frank E. Moss | Democratic | Utah | 1973–1977 | ||
| Wendell H. Ford | Democratic | Kentucky | Jan. 10–Feb. 11, 1977 |
| Chair | Party | State | Years | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Warren Magnuson | Democratic | Washington | 1977–1978 | ||
| Howard Cannon | Democratic | Nevada | 1978–1981 | ||
| Bob Packwood | Republican | Oregon | 1981–1985 | ||
| John C. Danforth | Republican | Missouri | 1985–1987 | ||
| Ernest F. Hollings | Democratic | South Carolina | 1987–1995 | ||
| Larry Pressler | Republican | South Dakota | 1995–1997 | ||
| John McCain | Republican | Arizona | 1997–2001 | ||
| Ernest F. Hollings | Democratic | South Carolina | 2001 | ||
| John McCain | Republican | Arizona | 2001 | ||
| Ernest F. Hollings | Democratic | South Carolina | 2001–2003 | ||
| John McCain | Republican | Arizona | 2003–2005 | ||
| Ted Stevens | Republican | Alaska | 2005–2007 | ||
| Daniel Inouye | Democratic | Hawaii | 2007–2009 | ||
| Jay Rockefeller | Democratic | West Virginia | 2009–2015 | ||
| John Thune | Republican | South Dakota | 2015–2019 | ||
| Roger Wicker | Republican | Mississippi | 2019–2021 | ||
| Maria Cantwell | Democratic | Washington | 2021–present |
See main article: 117th United States Congress.
| Subcommittee | Chair | Ranking Member | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aviation Safety, Operations and Innovation | nowrap | Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) | nowrap | Ted Cruz (R-TX) | |||
| Communications, Media and Broadband | nowrap | Ben Ray Luján (D-NM) | nowrap | John Thune (R-SD) | |||
| Consumer Protection, Product Safety and Data Security | nowrap | Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) | nowrap | Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) | |||
| Oceans, Fisheries, Climate Change and Manufacturing | nowrap | Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) | nowrap | Dan Sullivan (R-AK) | |||
| Space and Science | nowrap | John Hickenlooper (D-CO) | nowrap | Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) | |||
| Surface Transportation, Maritime, Freight and Ports | nowrap | Gary Peters (D-MI) | nowrap | Deb Fischer (R-NE) | |||
| Tourism, Trade, and Export Promotion | nowrap | Jacky Rosen (D-NV) | nowrap | Rick Scott (R-FL) | |||
See main article: 116th United States Congress.
| Subcommittee | Chair | Ranking Member | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aviation and Space | nowrap | Ted Cruz (R-TX) | nowrap | Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) | |||
| Communications, Technology, Innovation and the Internet | nowrap | John Thune (R-SD) | nowrap | Brian Schatz (D-HI) | |||
| Manufacturing, Trade, and Consumer Protection | nowrap | Jerry Moran (R-KS) | nowrap | Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) | |||
| Science, Oceans, Fisheries, and Weather | nowrap | Cory Gardner (R-CO) | nowrap | Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) | |||
| Security | nowrap | Dan Sullivan (R-AK) | nowrap | Ed Markey (D-MA) | |||
| Transportation and Safety | nowrap | Deb Fischer (R-NE) | nowrap | Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) | |||
Source[9]