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); 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]

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 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)

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;
Communications;
Highway safety;
Inland waterways, except construction;
Interstate commerce;
Marine and ocean navigation, safety, and transportation, including navigational aspects of deepwater ports;
Marine fisheries;
Merchant marine and navigation;
Nonmilitary aeronautical and space sciences;
Oceans, weather, and atmospheric activities;
Panama Canal 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 carriers, including railroads, buses, trucks, vessels, pipelines, and civil aviation;
Science, engineering, and technology research and development and policy;
Sports;
Standards and measurement;
Transportation; and,
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]

Members, 119th Congress

Majority^[4]	Minority^[5]
Ted Cruz, Texas, Chair John Thune, South Dakota Roger Wicker, Mississippi Deb Fischer, Nebraska Jerry Moran, Kansas Dan Sullivan, Alaska Marsha Blackburn, Tennessee Todd Young, Indiana Ted Budd, North Carolina Eric Schmitt, Missouri John Curtis, Utah Bernie Moreno, Ohio Tim Sheehy, Montana Shelley Moore Capito, West Virginia Cynthia Lummis, Wyoming	Maria Cantwell, Washington, Ranking Member Amy Klobuchar, Minnesota Brian Schatz, Hawaii Ed Markey, Massachusetts Gary Peters, Michigan Tammy Baldwin, Wisconsin Tammy Duckworth, Illinois Jacky Rosen, Nevada Ben Ray Luján, New Mexico John Hickenlooper, Colorado John Fetterman, Pennsylvania Andy Kim, New Jersey Lisa Blunt Rochester, Delaware

Subcommittees

Subcommittee^[6]	Chair	Ranking Member
Aviation, Space, and Innovation	Jerry Moran (R-KS)	Tammy Duckworth (D-IL)
Telecommunications and Media	Deb Fischer (R-NE)	Ben Ray Luján (D-NM)
Consumer Protection, Technology, and Data Privacy	Marsha Blackburn (R-TN)	John Hickenlooper (D-CO)
Coast Guard, Maritime, and Fisheries	Dan Sullivan (R-AK)	Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE)
Science, Manufacturing, and Competitiveness	Ted Budd (R-NC)	Tammy Baldwin (D-WI)
Surface Transportation, Freight, Pipelines, and Safety	Todd Young (R-IN)	Gary Peters (D-MI)

Chairs

The committee, under its various names, has had the below chairs.^[7]

Committee on Commerce and Manufactures, 1816–1825

Name		State	Start	End
William Hunter	Federalist	Rhode Island	1816	1817
Nathan Sanford	Democratic-Republican	New York	1817	1820
Mahlon Dickerson	Democratic-Republican (1820–1824)	New Jersey	1820	1825
Mahlon Dickerson	Crawford Democratic-Republican (1824–1825)	New Jersey	1820	1825

Committee on Commerce, 1825–1947

Name		State	Start	End
James Lloyd	Adams-Clay Republican (1825)	Massachusetts	1825	1826
James Lloyd	Adams Republican (1825–1826)	Massachusetts	1825	1826
Josiah Johnston	Adams Republican	Louisiana	1826	1827
Levi Woodbury	Jacksonian	New Hampshire	1827	1831
John Forsyth	Jacksonian	Georgia	1831	1832
William King	Jacksonian	Alabama	1832	1833
Nathaniel Silsbee	Anti-Jackson	Massachusetts	1833	1835
John Davis	Anti-Jackson	Massachusetts	1835	1836
William King	Jacksonian (1836–1837)	Alabama	1836	1841
William King	Democratic (1837–1841)	Alabama	1836	1841
Jabez Huntington	Whig	Connecticut	1841	1845
William Haywood	Democratic	North Carolina	1845	1846
John Dix	Democratic	New York	1846	1849
Hannibal Hamlin	Democratic	Maine	1849	1856
Henry Dodge	Democratic	Wisconsin	1856	1857
Clement Clay	Democratic	Alabama	1857	1861
William Bigler	Democratic	Pennsylvania	1861
Zachariah Chandler	Republican	Michigan	1861	1875
Roscoe Conkling	Republican	New York	1875	1879
John Gordon	Democratic	Georgia	1879	1880
Matt Ransom	Democratic	North Carolina	1880	1881
Roscoe Conkling	Republican	New York	1881
Samuel McMillan	Republican	Minnesota	1881	1887
William Frye	Republican	Maine	1887	1893
Matt Ransom	Democratic	North Carolina	1893	1895
William Frye	Republican	Maine	1895	1911
Knute Nelson	Republican	Minnesota	1911	1913
James Clarke	Democratic	Arkansas	1913	1916
Duncan Fletcher	Democratic	Florida	1916	1919
Wesley Jones	Republican	Washington	1919	1930
Hiram Johnson	Republican	California	1930	1933
Hubert Stephens	Democratic	Mississippi	1933	1935
Royal Copeland	Democratic	New York	1935	1939
Josiah Bailey	Democratic	North Carolina	1939	1946

Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce, 1947–1961

Name		State	Start	End
Wallace White	Republican	Maine	1947	1949
Edwin Johnson	Democratic	Colorado	1949	1953
Charles Tobey	Republican	New Hampshire	1953
John Bricker	Republican	Ohio	1953	1955
Warren Magnuson	Democratic	Washington	1955	1961

Committee on Aeronautical and Space Sciences, 1958–1977

Name		State	Start	End
Lyndon Johnson	Democratic	Texas	1958	1961
Robert Kerr	Democratic	Oklahoma	1961	1963
Clinton Anderson	Democratic	New Mexico	1963	1973
Frank Moss	Democratic	Utah	1973	1977
Wendell Ford	Democratic	Kentucky	1977

Committee on Commerce, 1961–1977

Name	Party		State	Start	End
Warren Magnuson		Democratic	Washington	1961	1977

Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, 1977–present

Name		State	Start	End
Warren Magnuson	Democratic	Washington	1977	1978
Howard Cannon	Democratic	Nevada	1978	1981
Bob Packwood	Republican	Oregon	1981	1985
John Danforth	Republican	Missouri	1985	1987
Fritz Hollings	Democratic	South Carolina	1987	1995
Larry Pressler	Republican	South Dakota	1995	1997
John McCain	Republican	Arizona	1997	2001
Fritz Hollings	Democratic	South Carolina	2001^[a]
John McCain	Republican	Arizona	2001
Fritz Hollings	Democratic	South Carolina	2001	2003^[b]
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	2025
Ted Cruz	Republican	Texas	2025	present

Ranking members

Name		State	Start	End
Wallace White	Republican	Maine	???	1947
Edwin Johnson	Democratic	Colorado	1947	1949
Charles Tobey	Republican	New Hampshire	1949	1953
Edwin Johnson	Democratic	Colorado	1953	1955
John Bricker	Republican	Ohio	1955	1959
Andrew Schoeppel	Republican	Kansas	1959	1962
John Butler	Republican	Maryland	1962	1963
Norris Cotton	Republican	New Hampshire	1963	1975
James Pearson	Republican	Kansas	1975	1979
Bob Packwood	Republican	Oregon	1979	1981
Howard Cannon	Democratic	Nevada	1981	1983
Fritz Hollings	Democratic	South Carolina	1983	1987
John Danforth	Republican	Missouri	1987	1995
Fritz Hollings	Democratic	South Carolina	1995	2001
John McCain	Republican	Arizona	2001	2003
Fritz Hollings	Democratic	South Carolina	2003	2005
Daniel Inouye	Democratic	Hawaii	2005	2007
Ted Stevens	Republican	Alaska	2007	2008
Kay Hutchison	Republican	Texas	2008	2013
John Thune	Republican	South Dakota	2013	2015
Bill Nelson	Democratic	Florida	2015	2019
Maria Cantwell	Democratic	Washington	2019	2021
Roger Wicker	Republican	Mississippi	2021	2023
Ted Cruz	Republican	Texas	2023	2025
Maria Cantwell	Democratic	Washington	2025	present

Historical committee rosters

118th Congress

Majority^[8]	Minority^[9]
Maria Cantwell, Washington, Chair Amy Klobuchar, Minnesota Brian Schatz, Hawaii Ed Markey, Massachusetts Gary Peters, Michigan Tammy Baldwin, Wisconsin Tammy Duckworth, Illinois Jon Tester, Montana Kyrsten Sinema, Arizona^[c] Jacky Rosen, Nevada Ben Ray Luján, New Mexico John Hickenlooper, Colorado Raphael Warnock, Georgia Peter Welch, Vermont	Ted Cruz, Texas, Ranking Member John Thune, South Dakota Roger Wicker, Mississippi Deb Fischer, Nebraska Jerry Moran, Kansas Dan Sullivan, Alaska Marsha Blackburn, Tennessee Todd Young, Indiana Rick Scott, Florida (until February 2, 2023)^[10] Ted Budd, North Carolina Eric Schmitt, Missouri JD Vance, Ohio Shelley Moore Capito, West Virginia Cynthia Lummis, Wyoming

Subcommittees

Subcommittee	Chair	Ranking Member
Aviation Safety, Operations and Innovation	Tammy Duckworth (D-IL)	Jerry Moran (R-KS)
Communications, Media and Broadband	Ben Ray Luján (D-NM)	John Thune (R-SD)
Consumer Protection, Product Safety and Data Security	John Hickenlooper (D-CO)	Marsha Blackburn (R-TN)
Oceans, Fisheries, Climate Change and Manufacturing	Tammy Baldwin (D-WI)	Dan Sullivan (R-AK)
Space and Science	Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ)	Eric Schmitt (R-MO)
Surface Transportation, Maritime, Freight and Ports	Gary Peters (D-MI)	Todd Young (R-IN)
Tourism, Trade, and Export Promotion	Jacky Rosen (D-NV)	Ted Budd (R-NC)

Source: [1][2]

117th Congress

Majority	Minority
Maria Cantwell, Washington, Chair Amy Klobuchar, Minnesota Richard Blumenthal, Connecticut Brian Schatz, Hawaii Ed Markey, Massachusetts Gary Peters, Michigan Tammy Baldwin, Wisconsin Tammy Duckworth, Illinois Jon Tester, Montana Kyrsten Sinema, Arizona Jacky Rosen, Nevada Ben Ray Luján, New Mexico John Hickenlooper, Colorado Raphael Warnock, Georgia	Roger Wicker, Mississippi, Ranking Member John Thune, South Dakota Roy Blunt, Missouri Ted Cruz, Texas Deb Fischer, Nebraska Jerry Moran, Kansas Dan Sullivan, Alaska Marsha Blackburn, Tennessee Mike Lee, Utah Ron Johnson, Wisconsin Shelley Moore Capito, West Virginia Todd Young, Indiana Rick Scott, Florida Cynthia Lummis, Wyoming

Subcommittees

Subcommittee	Chair	Ranking Member
Aviation Safety, Operations and Innovation	Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ)	Ted Cruz (R-TX)
Communications, Media and Broadband	Ben Ray Luján (D-NM)	John Thune (R-SD)
Consumer Protection, Product Safety and Data Security	Richard Blumenthal (D-CT)	Marsha Blackburn (R-TN)
Oceans, Fisheries, Climate Change and Manufacturing	Tammy Baldwin (D-WI)	Dan Sullivan (R-AK)
Space and Science	John Hickenlooper (D-CO)	Cynthia Lummis (R-WY)
Surface Transportation, Maritime, Freight and Ports	Gary Peters (D-MI)	Deb Fischer (R-NE)
Tourism, Trade, and Export Promotion	Jacky Rosen (D-NV)	Rick Scott (R-FL)

Source:^[11]

116th Congress

Majority	Minority
Roger Wicker, Mississippi, Chair John Thune, South Dakota Roy Blunt, Missouri Ted Cruz, Texas Deb Fischer, Nebraska Jerry Moran, Kansas Dan Sullivan, Alaska Mike Lee, Utah Ron Johnson, Wisconsin Shelley Moore Capito, West Virginia Cory Gardner, Colorado Todd Young, Indiana Rick Scott, Florida Marsha Blackburn, Tennessee	Maria Cantwell, Washington, Ranking Member Amy Klobuchar, Minnesota Richard Blumenthal, Connecticut Brian Schatz, Hawaii Ed Markey, Massachusetts Tom Udall, New Mexico Gary Peters, Michigan Tammy Baldwin, Wisconsin Tammy Duckworth, Illinois Jon Tester, Montana Kyrsten Sinema, Arizona Jacky Rosen, Nevada

Subcommittees

Subcommittee	Chair	Ranking Member
Aviation and Space	Ted Cruz (R-TX)	Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ)
Communications, Technology, Innovation and the Internet	John Thune (R-SD)	Brian Schatz (D-HI)
Manufacturing, Trade, and Consumer Protection	Jerry Moran (R-KS)	Richard Blumenthal (D-CT)
Science, Oceans, Fisheries, and Weather	Cory Gardner (R-CO)	Tammy Baldwin (D-WI)
Security	Dan Sullivan (R-AK)	Ed Markey (D-MA)
Transportation and Safety	Deb Fischer (R-NE)	Tammy Duckworth (D-IL)

115th Congress

Majority	Minority
John Thune, South Dakota, Chair Roger Wicker, Mississippi Roy Blunt, Missouri Ted Cruz, Texas Deb Fischer, Nebraska Jerry Moran, Kansas Dan Sullivan, Alaska Dean Heller, Nevada Jim Inhofe, Oklahoma Mike Lee, Utah Ron Johnson, Wisconsin Shelley Moore Capito, West Virginia Cory Gardner, Colorado Todd Young, Indiana	Bill Nelson, Florida, Ranking Member Maria Cantwell, Washington Amy Klobuchar, Minnesota Richard Blumenthal, Connecticut Brian Schatz, Hawaii Ed Markey, Massachusetts Tom Udall, New Mexico Gary Peters, Michigan Tammy Baldwin, Wisconsin Tammy Duckworth, Illinois Maggie Hassan, New Hampshire Catherine Cortez Masto, Nevada Jon Tester, Montana

Source^[12]

Notes

^ At the beginning of the 107th Congress in January 2001 the Senate was evenly divided. With a Democratic president and vice president still serving until January 20, the Democratic vice president was available to break a tie, and the Democrats thus controlled the Senate for 17 days, from January 3 to January 20. On January 3 the Senate adopted S. Res. 7 designating Democratic senators as committee chairs to serve during this period and Republican chairs to serve effective at noon on January 20, 2001.
^ On June 6, 2001, the Democrats took control of the Senate after Senator James Jeffords (VT) changed from the Republican Party to Independent and announced that he would caucus with the Democrats.
^ Kyrsten Sinema is formally an independent but caucuses with the Democrats.

References

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^ S.Res. 17 (119th Congress)
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External links

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

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[1] The "Energy" portion of the committee is a counterpart to the Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee.

[9] At the beginning of the 107th Congress in January 2001 the Senate was evenly divided. With a Democratic president and vice president still serving until January 20, the Democratic vice president was available to break a tie, and the Democrats thus controlled the Senate for 17 days, from January 3 to January 20. On January 3 the Senate adopted S. Res. 7 designating Democratic senators as committee chairs to serve during this period and Republican chairs to serve effective at noon on January 20, 2001.

[10] On June 6, 2001, the Democrats took control of the Senate after Senator James Jeffords (VT) changed from the Republican Party to Independent and announced that he would caucus with the Democrats.

[Sinema-13] Kyrsten Sinema is formally an independent but caucuses with the Democrats.

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[5] S.Res. 16 (119th Congress)

[6] S.Res. 17 (119th Congress)

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[11] S.Res. 30 (118th Congress)

[12] S.Res. 31 (118th Congress)

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v t e Current United States Senate Commerce subcommittees
Active	Aviation, Space, and Innovation Telecommunications and Media Consumer Protection, Technology, and Data Privacy Coast Guard, Maritime, and Fisheries Science, Manufacturing, and Competitiveness Surface Transportation, Freight, Pipelines, and Safety
Defunct	Tourism, Trade and Export Promotion