- WASHINGTON -- U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX), a member of the House-Senate conference committee, today voted in favor of the conference report to H.R. 4040, the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008, which passed the Senate 89-3. On Wednesday the bill passed the House by a vote of 424-1 and appears likely to be signed into law by the President. “Congress has now passe...

- WASHINGTON D.C. –The Senate today passed the Conference Report for H.R. 4040, the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008. The final vote was 89 to 3. The legislation reauthorizes the Consumer Product Safety Commission for the first time in 18 years. Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee Chairman Daniel K. Inouye (D-Hawaii) gave the following statement in support of ...

- WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) today was named as the Ranking Republican on the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee after a meeting of the Senate Republican Conference. Senator Hutchison also received a temporary waiver to continue serving as the Ranking Republican on the Aviation Operations, Safety, and Security Subcommittee. “I am hon...

- WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation announces a Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Subcommittee Oversight Hearing on Bus Safety, scheduled for September 18, 2008 at 2:30 p.m. The hearing will review the safety of over-the-road buses and the effectiveness of current Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) regulations governing...

- WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Senate Conferees certify that there are not any provisions contained in the Conference Report on H.R. 4040 that meet the definition of a congressionally directed spending item under Senate Rule XLIV. ###

- WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation announces that the Executive Session scheduled for Thursday, July 31, 2008, at 10:00 a.m. has been postponed. A new date, time, and agenda will be announced as soon as it is available. ###

- WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation announces that the Full Committee Hearing on Improving Consumer Protection in the Prepaid Calling Card Market has been postponed. A new date and time will be announced as soon as it is available. ###

- WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Conference Report for H.R. 4040, the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008, has been published online. Please use the following link to access the document: http://www.rules.house.gov/110/text/110_hr4040cr.pdf ###

- WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Daniel K. Inouye (D-Hawaii), Representative John Dingell (D-Mich.), Senator Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), and Representative Joe Barton (R-Texas) announce that the Conference Committee for H.R. 4040, the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008, has reached agreement on the Conference Report. “This agreement is a victory for all consumers,” said Sena...

- WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Daniel K. Inouye (D-Hawaii), Representative John Dingell (D-Mich.), Senator Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), and Representative Joe Barton (R-Texas) announce that the Conference Committee for H.R. 4040, the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008, has reached agreement on the remaining outstanding items, pending final adoption of the complete conference report. The ...

- WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation announces the witnesses for a Full Committee Hearing on Improving Consumer Protection in the Prepaid Calling Card Market. The full witness list is below. The Committee will examine information disclosure to consumers, allegations of hidden charges and fees, discrepancies in minutes marketed and minutes receiv...

- WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation today releases the attached financial disclosure related to section 5227 of S. 3297, the Advancing America’s Priorities Act. Section 5227 provides authorizations of appropriations for the National Undersea Research Program, including an authorization for the National Technology Institute, that are expec...

- WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation announces the agenda for its Executive Session scheduled for Thursday, July 31, 2008, at 10:00 a.m. Committee members will consider: 1. S. 3198, a bill to amend title 46, United States Code, with respect to the navigation of submersible or semi-submersible vessels without nationality 2. S. 3274,...

- WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation announces a Full Committee Nomination Hearing for John P. Hewko to be Assistant Secretary for Aviation and International Affairs at the U.S. Department of Transportation. The hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, July 29, 2008 at 10:30 a.m. Nomination Hearing Full Committee Date: Tuesday, July 29, 2008 Time: ...

- WASHINGTON, D.C. – President George W. Bush today signed into law H.R. 3403, the New and Emerging Technologies 911 Improvement Act of 2008, which contains key provisions authored by Senator Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), Vice Chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, Commerce Committee Chairman Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii), Senator Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), and Senator Olympi...

- WASHINGTON, D.C. – President George W. Bush yesterday signed into law H.R. 802, the Maritime Pollution Prevention Act (MARPOL Annex VI). Reported by the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation with an amendment sponsored by Commerce Committee Chairman Daniel K. Inouye (D-Hawaii) and Vice Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), H.R. 802 would require the Coast Guard and the Environmental ...

- The Commerce Commitee Roundup for July 7 - 18, 2008 is attached below.

- WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), Vice Chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, today praised an agreement between the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA), the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), and the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) to limit the distribution of child pornography on ...

- WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Daniel K. Inouye (D-Hawaii), Representative John Dingell (D-Mich.), Senator Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), and Representative Joe Barton (R-Texas) announce that at today’s Conference Committee Meeting for H.R. 4040, the Reauthorization of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the following items were adopted by a unanimous voice vote pending final adoption of the ...

- WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee Chairman Daniel K. Inouye (D-Hawaii) today joined Senators John Kerry (D-Mass.), Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) and Gordon Smith (R-Ore.) to introduce the National Nanotechnology Initiative Amendments Act of 2008. The bill would reauthorize the National Nanotechnology Initiative (N...

- WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation announces a Conference Committee Meeting for H.R. 4040, the Consumer Product Safety Commission Reform Act of 2007, scheduled for Thursday, July 17, 2008, at 10:30 a.m., in Room 325 of the Russell Senate Building. The Conference Committee Meeting is open to the public but will not be webcast. Please note that ...

- WASHINGTON, D.C. – The United States Congress last night passed H.R. 3985, the Over-the-Road Bus Transportation Accessibility Act of 2007. This bill, which passed the Senate Commerce Committee earlier this year, would require the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to specifically consider compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) when determining whether a b...

- WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), Vice Chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, today called for modernization of the nation’s air traffic control system. Stevens also called for coordination between the government and the airline industry when developing and implementing a modern air traffic control system during a Commerce Committee he...

- WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Senate last night passed by unanimous consent H.R. 3985, the Over-the-Road Bus Transportation Accessibility Act of 2007, which clarifies the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s authority to enforce compliance with Americans with Disabilities Act accessibility requirements for over-the-road passenger buses. H.R. 3985 directs the Secretary of Transporta...

- WASHINGTON, D.C. – The United States Senate Appropriations Committee yesterday approved the Fiscal Year 2009 (FY09) Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) Appropriations bill, which included two key provisions sponsored by Senate Commerce Committee Vice Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska). The first provision would exempt the Universal Service Fund (USF) from the Antideficiency Act (...

- WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation announces the witnesses for the Aviation Operations, Safety, and Security Subcommittee hearing on The Outlook for Summer Air Travel: Addressing Congestion and Delay. The full witness list is below. The combination of high demand and poor weather, in addition to an air traffic control system that lacks the nec...

- WASHINGTON, D.C. – The United States House of Representatives last night unanimously approved legislation, cosponsored by Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee Vice Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), to assist education efforts surrounding the digital television transition (DTV) scheduled to occur on February 17, 2009. The DTV Transition Assistance Act (S. 2607) enables the N...

- WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation announces the rescheduling of an Aviation Operations, Safety, and Security Subcommittee hearing on The Outlook for Summer Air Travel: Addressing Congestion and Delay. The hearing has been rescheduled for July 15, 2008, at 10:00 a.m. The combination of high demand and poor weather, in addition to an air traff...

- WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation announces the witnesses for an Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard Subcommittee hearing on Fishing Safety: The Policy Implications of Cooperatives and Vessel Improvements. The full witness list is below. The hearing will address fishing safety issues in the context of cooperatives and vessel improve...

- WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation announces the witnesses for the Full Committee hearing on Privacy Implications of Online Advertising. The full witness list is below. Individuals and businesses are becoming increasingly dependent upon the Internet for social, entertainment, research and business activities. This has created the incentive and...