Cantwell Delivers Opening Remarks at July 22 Commerce Committee Markup

[VIDEO]

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, delivered the below opening statement at today’s markup of six nominations and seven pieces of legislation, including the Hurricane Hunter Aircraft Recapitalization Act:

“Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you for today in considering six nominations and seven bills.

“I so appreciate what you just said about the Hurricane Hunter Aircraft Recapitalization Act that you and I, and Senators Blunt Rochester, Wicker, Padilla and Budd worked on. As you mentioned, weather reconnaissance and missions flown by Hurricane Hunters ensure [the] National Weather Service can provide accurate storm prediction forecasts that are essential to protecting lives and property from hurricanes, tropical storms, atmospheric rivers. And the bill codifies the Hurricane Hunter mission in law [and] directs NOAA to replace and expand this aging fleet, [with]  a minimum of six and up to nine aircraft that are needed to meet…future storms.

“We consider three aviation bills today, including the Aviation Medication Transparency Act from Senators Duckworth and [Hoeven] — I so appreciate their work on this. I’m glad Senator Duckworth and Chairman Cruz were able to finally come to an agreement on this bill and improve the transparency of FAA-approved medication for pilots, air traffic controllers and other workers.  This bill requires the FAA publication of a user-friendly list of approved medications [so] that individuals are better informed about this, and Senator Duckworth, thank you so much for your leadership on this issue.

“The Supersonic Aviation Modernization Act that my colleague mentioned with Senators Budd [and] Sheehy would require the FAA to issue a final rule mandating acceptable noise standards for certification of civil supersonic flight over the United States, and I encourage future [commercial operators] to maximize the use of sustainable aviation fuels to power those operations.

“I will have a longer statement for the record, Mr. Chairman, on the Aviation Innovation and Global Competitiveness Act from our colleagues, Senator Budd and Senator Welch.

“The Connected Vehicle Security Act from Senator Morano, Slotkin and 11 co-sponsors would limit the import and sale of connected vehicle technology from passenger vehicles from China, North Korea, Iran and Russia, preventing these foreign adversaries from turning our cars into spyware. I don’t know where this spy fridge bill is, Mr. Chairman. But we need to get it. We need our colleagues in the House to make sure that all appliances are not being used in this way.

“The Accelerating Broadband Permits Act of 2026 from Senators Thune and Luján would improve transparency and accountability in the BEAD program by creating a public dashboard to track state progress and develop tools to help navigate federal permitting. These tools are very helpful and bring reliability to broadband communities more quickly. I want to thank Senator Luján for his leadership on this important issue, generally on broadband, but on this particular bill.

“Finally, the Disaster Communications Coordination Preparedness Act from Senators Sheehy and Klobuchar would strengthen coordination before and during disasters by improving FCC communications with emergency officials and communications providers, with clear guidance on how federal resources are available in an emergency. And as a state that sees quite a lot of natural disasters, this emergency communication is critical, and I appreciate Senator Klobuchar’s leadership.

“Turning to the nominees, I am pleased to see for the first time this Congress we are considering Democratic nominees. It is long overdue. And I have broader concerns after the Supreme Court’s conservative majority gutted protections Congress put in place for independent agencies and the membership there, because I think that is the way to get partisan interests out of the way and get majorities working together.

“Our first Democratic nominee is Thomas Chapman, who is renominated to be a member of the National Transportation Safety Board.  Mr. Chapman has a commitment to fact-based investigation and a reputation of trying to continue to serve the NTSB and all that it represents, and so I’m happy to support him.

“Karen Hedlund, our second Democratic nominee, has served with distinction since 2022 on the Surface Transportation [Board], and I’m confident with the largest proposed rail merger in our nation’s history currently being evaluated by the Surface Transportation Board, Karen will put the public’s interest first and foremost. So, I’m glad to support her again today.

“I will not be supporting the remaining nominees that are on the agenda today. That is David Cummins to be Administrator of the Transportation [Security] Administration, Edward Eppler to be the Department of Transportation [Chief] Financial Officer.

“I want to point out that the CSPC nominations — I believe…if these two nominees are confirmed, they will continue to have no Democrats on the Consumer Product Safety Commission and I disagree with the President’s removal of the three duly appointed Senate-confirmed Democratic Commissioners.

“Thank you, Mr. Chairman.”

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