United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

Committee information

• Date created: 1816, as the Committee on Commerce and Manufactures
• Members: twenty-six members in the 116th Congress (2019–2021)
• Subcommittees: Manufacturing, Trade, and Consumer Protection; Science, Oceans, Fisheries, and Weather; Transportation and Safety; Aviation and Space; Communications, Technology, Innovation, and the Internet; and Security

Role

The United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation is a standing committee in the United States Senate. The committee consists of twenty-six members. The full committee office is located in the Dirksen Senate Building in Washington, DC. The committee and its parts hold jurisdiction under the Standing Rules of the Senate.

This committee includes six subcommittees, each of which has an important task in overseeing some aspect of commerce, science, or transportation in the United States. The Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation—which is one of the largest committees in the Senate—also oversees many different aspects of life and business in the country.

In terms of commerce, the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation oversees issues involving consumer rights and protections, economic development, insurance policies and claims, and interstate economic dealings. It is also an important moderator of national business practices in that it deals with cases involving product safety and competitiveness between industries and organizations. In addition, the committee oversees the commercial aspects of tourism—a major industry in many parts of the United States.

The science aspect of the committee also takes numerous forms. This aspect includes emerging technologies across all fields of science, communication systems and devices, and the standards and measurements observed in science. Another large facet of the committee’s scientific work involves the environment. Members monitor cases related to weather patterns; climate change; and natural disasters such as floods, earthquakes, and hurricanes. Additionally, committee deals with issues relating to space, including government-funded explorations and private spaceflight endeavors.

Likewise, the committee watches over dealings in many areas of transportation. Some of the most important of these are highway construction and maintenance, rail lines and railroad companies, and security related to transportation within and between states. Other important dealings in the transportation category involve commercial aspects of transportation, such as shipping routes and services and merchant marine activities.

The Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation also has oversight over the Coast Guard. One of the five branches of armed forces in the United States, the Coast Guard was founded in 1790. In modern times, it is an arm of the Department of Homeland Security. Its tasks include protecting the waters of and around the United States, guarding coasts and ports, enforcing maritime laws, and saving endangered sailors and ships. Related to its interest in the Coast Guard, the committee also oversees issues relating to the oceans and major waterways, including the operation of fisheries and canals.

Many aspects of the committee’s work necessarily overlap. For instance, monitoring fishing practices may involve explorations and studies of the ocean performed by environmental scientists. These scientists may be safeguarded by the Coast Guard. The results of the fishing study might involve the purchase of ships and the sale of seafood, which involves commerce within and between states. In this way, the many diverse issues overseen by the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation may interact and overlap in certain projects.

History

When the US Senate was founded in 1789, its powers were limited. In its early years, the Senate had no more than four standing committees, and these groups mainly handled various clerical and administrative tasks within the federal government. They were not empowered to make laws or perform any other important legislative duties. In the coming years, however, the United States developed and expanded quickly. Many new issues arose that demanded the government’s attention.

The Senate attempted to manage these new pressing concerns by creating small, temporary committees. The senators on these short-term groups were elected based on their personal skills and areas of study. Inevitably, some senators were in high demand for inclusion in committees, while others found themselves seldom summoned. This system of lopsided responsibility began to cause problems, especially when the number of temporary committees swelled to almost one hundred.

In 1816, during the 14th Congress, the Senate chose to reorganize itself and update its methods by creating eleven standing committees, each of which would include five senators. One of these first eleven committees established in 1816 was the Committee on Commerce and Manufactures, which was the original form that would grow and develop over time into the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

Originally, the Committee on Commerce and Manufactures was created from senators chosen by election, with the senator receiving the most votes becoming the chairperson. The first chairperson was William Hunter, a Rhode Islander of the Federalist party. At first, the committee performed mostly mundane tasks, such as gathering reports and statistics relating to ports and sea trade. Soon, however, the committee became more powerful and active, legislating during contentious cases relating to import duties and protective tariffs.

In the coming decades, the committee would undergo a long series of transformations in which its jurisdiction would be increased, split, or otherwise altered to suit the changing needs of the country and government. In several cases, the duties held in modern times by the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation were simultaneously shared by more than one smaller committee with more limited jurisdiction.

The Committee on Commerce and Manufactures, as founded in 1816, ceased to exist as such in 1825. That year, it was divided into two separate but cooperating committees, known as the Committee on Commerce and the Committee on Manufactures. The United States grew rapidly in the 1800s, adding many new states, new businesses, and improved forms of transportation. By 1885, these developments had made necessary the creation of a separate Committee on Interstate Commerce, which would oversee business occurring between more than one state.

As the United States became a major international power and developed a brisk international trade by sea, the Senate made further revisions to account for that change. In 1899, the Senate established a Committee on Interoceanic Canals, which would regulate US involvement with canals, which are waterways that connect oceans for purposes of trade and travel. In 1946, the Senate made another revision. It combined the Committee on Interstate Commerce and the Committee on Interoceanic Canals into one committee—the Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce.

Since the first airplane flight in 1903, aviation became an increasingly important part of society. By the 1950s, it was a major industry. During the Cold War (1947–1991), aviation reached even higher as nations began racing into space. In 1958, the Senate accounted for these great new strides by creating the Committee on Aeronautical and Space Sciences. By 1977, with the Senate hoping to reorganize and streamline its extensive committee system, all the aforementioned progenitor committees were absorbed into a new committee called the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

Subcommittees

As of the 116th Congress, the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation includes six subcommittees. These subcommittees handle issues of Manufacturing, Trade, and Consumer Protection; Science, Oceans, Fisheries, and Weather; Transportation and Safety; Aviation and Space; Communications, Technology, Innovation, and the Internet; and Security.

Manufacturing, Trade, and Consumer Protection

The Subcommittee on Manufacturing, Trade, and Consumer Protection carries many of the oldest responsibilities of the overall main Senate committee. Its powers were handed down from the original Committee on Commerce and Manufactures, founded in 1816. It also absorbed the powers of the Committee of Interstate Commerce, founded in 1885, and the Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce, founded in 1946.

This subcommittee oversees many aspects of modern American commerce. Perhaps most importantly, it holds jurisdiction over the Federal Trade Commission, which monitors businesses and checks any instances of unfair practices, monopolies, or other dangers to economic competition. Along with the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the Federal Trade Commission also provides protections for consumers against faulty and dangerous goods and predatory business practices. The Subcommittee on Manufacturing, Trade, and Consumer Protection also overseas many cases related to insurance coverage and claims and workforce development.

Science, Oceans, Fisheries, and Weather

The Subcommittee on Science, Oceans, Fisheries, and Weather took over the important tasks once held by the Committee on Interoceanic Canals, which existed from 1899 to 1946. This subcommittee oversees many groups and initiatives relating to the oceans, most notably the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration, which studies the world’s waterways and assists sailors and ocean-based businesses. Another important jurisdiction of this subcommittee is the National Weather Service, the country’s top meteorological system, which studies weather patterns and helps organizations and individuals alike understand and prepare for upcoming weather patterns.

This subcommittee also oversees several scientific organizations of a more general nature. These include the National Science Foundation and the Office of Science and Technology Policy, which promote and legislate on scientific issues. In addition, the members of the Subcommittee on Science, Oceans, Fisheries, and Weather also have cojurisdiction over the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

Transportation and Safety

The Subcommittee on Transportation and Safety deals with issues relating to automobile and rail traffic, as well as other safety concerns related to transportation of materials. Most notably, the subcommittee oversees the Department of Transportation, the body that sets many of the rules of the road in the United States. The Department of Transportation monitors highways and regulates driving-related laws, as well as working with aviation and railroad industries. The Subcommittee on Transportation and Safety also oversees the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Overseeing the Surface Transportation Board gives the Subcommittee on Transportation and Safety general jurisdiction over most forms of ground transport. Railroad jurisdiction comes via the Federal Railroad Administration. The subcommittee also has jurisdiction over the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, which assures that the transportation of potentially dangerous materials such as oil and waste is conducted properly.

Aviation and Space

One of the newest fields of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation involves the use of aircraft and spacecraft. The Subcommittee on Aviation and Space absorbed the powers of the original Committee on Aeronautical and Space Sciences, as founded in 1958. This subcommittee overseas the country’s flight abilities via the Federal Aviation Administration, which monitors private and commercial aircraft around the nation. In addition, the subcommittee oversees the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the organization responsible for the vast majority of space flights. In the twenty-first century, a new area of jurisdiction arose in drone regulation. Drones, or unpiloted aircraft, began as a military tool and later became a popular business and recreational tool.

Communications, Technology, Innovation, and the Internet

The Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, Innovation, and the Internet has a wide range of tasks. This subcommittee oversees the Federal Communications Commission, which is in charge of monitoring television, radio, and other media across the country. Relatedly, the subcommittee has jurisdiction over the National Telecommunications and Information Administration as well, whose work is similar but restricted to that communication done electronically. Another task of the subcommittee is overseeing the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the service that provides public television and radio. Digital network security is another important responsibility of this subcommittee.

Security

The Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation includes the Subcommittee on Security, whose work in assuring general security overlaps the fields of some other subcommittees. The most recognizable jurisdiction of this subcommittee is the Coast Guard, the branch of the Armed Forces dedicated to protecting the country’s coasts and ocean regions. Relatedly, the subcommittee also oversees the US Maritime Administration (MARAD). The Transportation Security Administration, known for its monitoring of airports and airlines, additionally falls under subcommittee scrutiny. The Subcommittee on Security also helps the Subcommittee on Aviation and Space by providing drone security, and it assists the Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, Innovation, and the Internet through digital network and cybersecurity.

Bibliography

“About.” U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, & Transportation, https://www.commerce.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/about. Accessed 24 Jan. 2019.

“About Us.” MARAD Maritime Administration, 13 Nov. 2018, https://www.maritime.dot.gov/about-us. Accessed 24 Jan. 2019.

“About the U.S. Coast Guard.” Coast Guard Foundation, https://coastguardfoundation.org/about-the-coast-guard. Accessed 24 Jan. 2019.

“Committee History.” U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, & Transportation, https://www.commerce.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/committeehistory. Accessed 24 Jan. 2019.

“Committee Membership List.” United States Senate, 2019, https://www.senate.gov/general/committee‗membership/committee‗memberships‗SSCM.htm. Accessed 24 Jan. 2019.

Daschle, Tom, and Charles Robbins. The U.S. Senate: Fundamentals of American Government. Thomas Dunne Books, 2013.

“Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.” GovTrack, https://www.govtrack.us/congress/committees/SSCM. Accessed 24 Jan. 2019.

“Subcommittees.” U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, & Transportation, https://www.commerce.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/subcommittees. Accessed 24 Jan. 2019.