United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

Senate Commerce Committee

Standing committee
Active United States Senate 119th Congress
History
Formed	February 4, 1977
Leadership
Chair	Ted Cruz (R) Since January 3, 2025
Ranking member	Maria Cantwell (D) Since January 3, 2025
Structure
Political parties	Majority (15)   Republican (15) Minority (13)   Democratic (13)
Jurisdiction
Policy areas	Aviation, Coast Guard, Coastal zone management, Common carriers, Communications, Competitiveness, Consumer protection, Highways and highway safety, Inland waterways, Internet, Navigation, Interstate commerce, Marine conservation, Marine fisheries, Merchant Marine, Oceanography, Outer Continental Shelf lands, Panama Canal, Product safety and liability, Rail, Science policy of the United States, Sport, Standards of weights and measures, Tourism, Transportation generally, Weather and climate change
Oversight authority	Coast Guard, CPSC, CPB, Department of Commerce, Department of Transportation, FAA, FCC, FMC, FMCSA, FRA, FTC, MARAD, NASA, NHTSA, NIST, NOAA, NSF, NTIA, NTSB, OSTP, PHMSA, STB, TSA
House counterpart	Committee on Energy and Commerce (Commerce[a]) Committee on Science, Space, and Technology Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
Subcommittees
Aviation Safety, Operations, and Innovation Communications, Media, and Broadband Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Data Security Oceans, Fisheries, Climate Change and Manufacturing Space and Science Surface Transportation, Maritime, Freight, and Ports Tourism, Trade, and Export Promotion
Meeting place
512 Dirksen Senate Building
Website
https://www.commerce.senate.gov/
Rules
Rule XXV.1.(f), Standing Rules of the Senate Rules of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
^ The "Energy" portion of the committee is a counterpart to the Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee.

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. Ted Cruz (R-TX) with Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) 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:

• United States Senate Committee on Commerce and Manufactures (1816–1825)
• United States Senate Committee on Commerce (1825–1946, 1961–1977)
• United States Senate Committee on Manufactures (1825–1855, 1864–1946)
• United States Senate Committee on Interstate Commerce (1885–1946)
• United States Senate Committee on Interoceanic Canals (1899–1946)
• United States Senate Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce (1946–1961)
• United States Senate Committee on Aeronautical and Space Sciences (1958–1977)

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:

1. "Coast Guard;
2. Coastal zone management;
3. Communications;
4. Highway safety;
5. Inland waterways, except construction;
6. Interstate commerce;
7. Marine and ocean navigation, safety, and transportation, including navigational aspects of deepwater ports;
8. Marine fisheries;
9. Merchant marine and navigation;
10. Nonmilitary aeronautical and space sciences;
11. Oceans, weather, and atmospheric activities;
12. Panama Canal and interoceanic canals generally, except as provided in subparagraph (c);
13. Regulation of consumer products and services, including testing related to toxic substances, other than pesticides, and except for credit, financial services, and housing;
14. Regulation of interstate common carriers, including railroads, buses, trucks, vessels, pipelines, and civil aviation;
15. Science, engineering, and technology research and development and policy;
16. Sports;
17. Standards and measurement;
18. Transportation; and,
19. Transportation and commerce aspects of Outer Continental Shelf lands."^[2]

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]

The committee, under its various names, has been chaired by the following senators:^[7]

Subcommittees

Source: [1][2]

Subcommittees

Source:^[11]

Subcommittees

Source^[12]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

• Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation website (Archive)
• Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee. Legislation activity and reports, Congress.gov.