The United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation is a
standing committee of the
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and pow ...
.
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
Maria Ellen Cantwell (; born October 13, 1958) is an American politician and former businesswoman serving as the junior United States senator from Washington since 2001. A member of the Democratic Party, she previously served in the Washington ...
(D-WA) with Sen.
Roger Wicker
Roger Frederick Wicker (born July 5, 1951) is an American attorney and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Mississippi, in office since 2007. A member of the Republican Party, Wicker previously served as a member of the ...
(R-MS) 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
The Philip A. Hart Senate Office Building is the third U.S. Senate office building, and is located on 2nd Street NE between Constitution Avenue NE and C Street NE in Washington, D.C., in the United States. Construction began in January 1975, an ...
.
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 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
. 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
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research.
NASA was established in 1958, succeeding th ...
(NASA).
The original progenitors of this committee were:
*
United States Senate Committee on Commerce and Manufactures (1816–1825)
*
United States Senate Committee on Commerce
The United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation is a standing committee of the United States Senate. Besides having broad jurisdiction over all matters concerning interstate commerce, science and technology policy, a ...
(1825–1946, 1961–1977)
*
United States Senate Committee on Manufactures (1825–1855, 1864–1946)
*
United States Senate Committee on Interstate Commerce
The United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation is a standing committee of the United States Senate. Besides having broad jurisdiction over all matters concerning interstate commerce, science and technology policy, a ...
(1885–1946)
*
United States Senate Committee on Interoceanic Canals The United States Senate Committee on Interoceanic Canals was established on December 15, 1899 and terminated on January 2, 1947, when its functions were transferred to the Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce. The Committee on Interoceanic ...
(1899–1946)
*
(1946–1961)
*
(1958–1977)
Jurisdiction
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:
# "
Coast Guard;
#
Coastal zone management
Integrated coastal zone management (ICZM), integrated coastal management (ICM), or integrated coastal planning is a coastal management process for the management of the coast using an integrated approach, regarding all aspects of the coastal zone ...
;
#
Communications
Communication (from la, communicare, meaning "to share" or "to be in relation with") is usually defined as the transmission of information. The term may also refer to the message communicated through such transmissions or the field of inquir ...
;
#
Highway safety
Road traffic safety refers to the methods and measures used to prevent road users from being killed or seriously injured. Typical road users include pedestrians, cyclists, motorists, vehicle passengers, horse riders, and passengers of on-road ...
;
#
Inland waterways, except construction;
#
Interstate commerce
The Commerce Clause describes an enumerated power listed in the United States Constitution ( Article I, Section 8, Clause 3). The clause states that the United States Congress shall have power "to regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among ...
;
#
Marine and ocean navigation,
safety
Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to risk management, the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk.
Meanings
There are ...
, and
transportation
Transport (in British English), or transportation (in American English), is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land (rail and road), water, cable, pipeline, ...
, including navigational aspects of
deepwater port
A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...
s;
#
Marine fisheries;
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Merchant marine and
navigation
Navigation is a field of study that focuses on the process of monitoring and controlling the movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another.Bowditch, 2003:799. The field of navigation includes four general categories: land navigation, ...
;
# Nonmilitary
aeronautical
Aeronautics is the science or art involved with the study, design, and manufacturing of air flight–capable machines, and the techniques of operating aircraft and rockets within the atmosphere. The British Royal Aeronautical Society identifies ...
and
space sciences
The following outline is provided as an overview and topical guide to space science:
Space science encompasses all of the scientific disciplines that involve space exploration and study natural phenomena and physical bodies occurring in outer s ...
;
#
Ocean
The ocean (also the sea or the world ocean) is the body of salt water that covers approximately 70.8% of the surface of Earth and contains 97% of Earth's water. An ocean can also refer to any of the large bodies of water into which the wo ...
s,
weather
Weather is the state of the atmosphere, describing for example the degree to which it is hot or cold, wet or dry, calm or stormy, clear or cloudy. On Earth, most weather phenomena occur in the lowest layer of the planet's atmosphere, the ...
, and
atmospheric activities;
#
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal ( es, Canal de Panamá, link=no) is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and divides North and South America. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a conduit ...
and
interoceanic canals generally, except as provided in subparagraph (c);
# Regulation of
consumer products and
services, including testing related to toxic substances, other than pesticides, and except for credit, financial services, and housing;
# Regulation of interstate
common carrier
A common carrier in common law countries (corresponding to a public carrier in some civil law systems,Encyclopædia Britannica CD 2000 "Civil-law public carrier" from "carriage of goods" usually called simply a ''carrier'') is a person or compan ...
s, including
railroads,
buses,
truck
A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame construction ...
s,
vessels
Vessel(s) or The Vessel may refer to:
Biology
*Blood vessel, a part of the circulatory system and function to transport blood throughout the body
*Lymphatic vessel, a thin walled, valved structure that carries lymph
*Vessel element, a narrow wat ...
,
pipelines, and
civil aviation;
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Science, engineering, and technology research and development and policy;
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Sport
Sport pertains to any form of Competition, competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and Skill, skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to specta ...
s;
#
Standards Standard may refer to:
Symbols
* Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs
* Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification
Norms, conventions or requirements
* Standard (metrology), an object th ...
and
measurement
Measurement is the quantification of attributes of an object or event, which can be used to compare with other objects or events.
In other words, measurement is a process of determining how large or small a physical quantity is as compared ...
;
#
Transportation
Transport (in British English), or transportation (in American English), is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land (rail and road), water, cable, pipeline, ...
; and,
# Transportation and commerce aspects of
Outer Continental Shelf lands."
[ ]
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."
Members, 117th Congress
Subcommittees
Source:
Chairs
The committee, under its various names, has been chaired by the following senators:
Committee on Commerce and Manufactures, 1816–1825
Committee on Commerce, 1825–1947
Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce, 1947–1961
Committee on Aeronautical and Space Sciences, 1958–1977
Committee on Commerce, 1961–1977
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, 1977–present
Historical committee rosters
116th Congress
;Subcommittees
115th Congress
Source
References
External links
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation websiteArchive Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee Legislation activity and reports,
Congress.gov
Congress.gov is the online database of United States Congress legislative information. Congress.gov is a joint project of the Library of Congress, the House, the Senate and the Government Publishing Office.
Congress.gov was in beta in 2012, and b ...
.
{{Authority control
Commerce
Commerce is the large-scale organized system of activities, functions, procedures and institutions directly and indirectly related to the exchange (buying and selling) of goods and services among two or more parties within local, regional, nation ...
Senate Committee
This is a complete list of U.S. congressional committees ( standing committees and select or special committees) that are operating in the United States Senate. Senators can be a member of more than one committee.
Standing committees
, there a ...
NASA oversight
Senate Committee
This is a complete list of U.S. congressional committees ( standing committees and select or special committees) that are operating in the United States Senate. Senators can be a member of more than one committee.
Standing committees
, there a ...
Transportation government agencies of the United States
1816 establishments in the United States
Organizations established in 1816