News and reports from the Department of Transportation.

U.S. Senators Ted Cruz (R-Tex.), incoming Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), incoming Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Mike Lee (R-Utah), and Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) today sent a letter to the CEOs of DirectTV and its controlling shareholders, AT&T and TPG, voicing deep concerns about DirecTV’s recent decision to drop conservative news network Newsmax. The letter demands answers and information about the decision.

U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell, (D-Wash.), Chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, released the below statement ahead of tomorrow’s hearing titled “Strengthening Airline Operations and Consumer Protections.” Sen. Cantwell will question Southwest Airlines Chief Operating Officer Andrew Watterson about the upheaval at the airline over the 2022 holiday season that resulted in 16,700 canceled flights and millions of stranded passengers.

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.), incoming Ranking Member of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, and Senator Joe Manchin (D-W.Va), Chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, today introduced the Gas Stove Protection and Freedom Act, legislation that would block the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) from banning gas stoves.

U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, held a virtual roundtable to hear from five Washington state residents who were caught up in Southwest Airlines’ holiday meltdown. Sen. Cantwell will chair a hearing on Thursday, February 9, 2023 regarding these operational failures and strengthening consumer protections for air travelers.

U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, today joined Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) to call on the CEOs of three telehealth companies to protect their patients’ sensitive health data following reports the companies are tracking and sharing their customers’ personally identifiable health data with social media platforms for advertising purposes.

U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, today announced Democratic subcommittee chairs for the 118th Congress.

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.), incoming Ranking Member of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, and Senator Joe Manchin (D-W.Va), Chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, today introduced the Gas Stove Protection and Freedom Act, legislation that would block the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) from banning gas stoves.

On the 20th anniversary of the Space Shuttle Columbia tragedy, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, and Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas), incoming Ranking Member of the Commerce Committee, introduced a Senate resolution honoring the seven crewmembers who lost their lives on February 1, 2003.

U.S. Senators Ted Cruz (R-Tex.), incoming Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), incoming Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Mike Lee (R-Utah), and Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) today sent a letter to the CEOs of DirectTV and its controlling shareholders, AT&T and TPG, voicing deep concerns about DirecTV’s recent decision to drop conservative news network Newsmax. The letter demands answers and information about the decision.

U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, applauded the announcement by President Biden and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg that 9 major transportation projects – including the Hudson Tunnel -- have been awarded a total $1.2 billion through the Cantwell-authored new Megaprojects Grant program in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

Opening remarks, as prepared, of Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee Chairman David Rouzer (R-NC) from today’s hearing entitled, “Stakeholder Perspectives on the Impacts of the Biden Administration’s Waters of the United States (WOTUS) Rule”:

Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman Sam Graves (R-MO), Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee Chairman David Rouzer (R-NC), and over 150 Members of Congress have sponsored a joint resolution of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act (CRA) on the Biden Administration’s flawed and burdensome “Waters of the United States” (WOTUS) rule (H.J. Res. 27).

Stakeholders representing farmers, homebuilders, infrastructure builders, and others testified at a hearing on the impacts and economic repercussions of the Biden Administration’s overreaching, ambiguous, and unrealistic Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule.

Opening remarks, as prepared, of Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Sam Graves (R-MO) and Aviation Subcommittee Chairman Garret Graves (R-LA) from today’s hearing entitled, “FAA Reauthorization: Enhancing America’s Gold Standard in Aviation Safety”:

Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Sam Graves (R-MO) statement following the President’s State of the Union address: