Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

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Key Offices

The Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation is led by the following people
Daniel Inouye - (D)
Chairman
A Medal of Honor recipient during WWII and Hawaii's first representatitve after becoming a state, Inouye served in the House for Hawaii from 1959-63 and was elected to the Senate in 1963. Recently, he was one of 7 Democrats in the "Gang of 14" in 2005.
Ted Stevens - (R)
Ranking Member
The longest serving Republican in the Senate (1968-present), Stevens was President pro tempore prior to the 2007 Dem takeover of Congress. He is currently under investigation by the FBI and IRS for possible corruption and bribes from an oil company.

Members of Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

Name Served Since
Olympia Snowe - (R)

A moderate Republican who began in the House representing Maine's 2nd District (1979-95), Snowe won her Senate seat in 1995. She's known for her influence in filibusters, her part in the "Gang of 14" and the highest approval rating in the Senate, 79%.
Barbara Boxer - (D)

The first female Jewish Senator, Boxer is considered a liberal who is vocal on issues such as the environment, abortion, gun control and medical research. Serving as California Junior Senator since 1992, she is now the Chief Deputy Whip in Majority.
Maria Cantwell - (D)

In 1992, Cantwell won a seat in the House representing Washington's 1st District. Defeated in 1994, she went into marketing for RealNetworks. A new millionaire, in 2000 she won the Senate seat for Washington and has been there ever since.
Tom Carper - (D)

A Vietnam vet, Carper served in the House for Delaware (1983-93) and as Governor (1993-2001) before being elected to the Senate in 2001. As Vice-Chairmen of the moderate Democratic Leadership Council (DLC), he has garnered much bipartisan respect.
Jim DeMint - (R)

Elected to the House for South Carolina's 4th (1999-2005), DeMint then ran successfully for the Senate in 2005. In 2007 he was ranked most conservative, insisting there are WMDs in Iraq, and that troop deaths are caused by Dems 'cut and run' talk.
Byron Dorgan - (D)

Serving in the House for North Dakota's At-Large District from 1981-92, Dorgan was elected to the Senate in 1992. As Chairman of the Democratic Policy Committee, he's a powerful Democratic Senator. He's a strong proponent of mended US-Cuban relations.
John Ensign - (R)

A veterinarian prior to public office, Ensign was elected to the House for Nevada's 1st District. On his second try, he won election to the Senate in 2000 and since has taken firm stances on animal rights, pro-life, and the necessity for support of the War
Kay Bailey Hutchison - (R)

Ranked one of the 30 most powerful women in 2001, Hutchison served in the Texas State House followed by a stint in the private sector. In 1993 she won special election for the Senate seat from Texas; she has served in that capacity since.
John Kerry - (D)

John Forbes Kerry is the junior United States Senator from Massachusetts, in his fourth term of office. Kerry was the Presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2004 election.
Amy Klobuchar - (D)

Since being elected to the Junior Senate seat for Minnesota in 2006, Klobuchar has taken a typical Democratic approach to social and fiscal issues. Following the collapse of the Mississippi River Bridge in 2007, she pushed through a $250 million relief.
Frank Lautenberg - (D)

The only senator to leave the Senate and later return, Lautenberg had stints from 1982-2001, after not seeking re-election in 2000, and from 2003-present. Ranked high as a liberal in the Senate, he is seeking re-election in 2008.
Trent Lott - (R)

Representing Mississippi in the Senate since 1989, Lott has since been the subject of controversy. Resigning from his Majority Leader seat over perceived racist comments, in 2007 returned as the Minority Whip. He's been quite silent since.
John McCain - (R)

John McCain spent 5 and 1/2 years in a Vietnamese prisoner of war camp before entering the House and the Senate (R-AZ). He led 2 unsuccessful presidential campaigns. He is running again in the 2008 election.
Claire McCaskill - (D)

With over two decades of public service experience, McCaskill was elected to the U.S. Senate for Missouri in 2006. Serving on the Armed Services Committee, she has been vocal on issues concerning the DoD's spending habits and the Iraq War.
Bill Nelson - (D)

Once a fire marshal and a Florida State House Representative, Nelson later became a U.S. Representative (1979-91) before entering the Senate for Florida in 2001. He's the second sitting member of Congress to travel to space with NASA in 1986.
Mark Pryor - (D)

A member of the Arkansas House of Representatives from 1991-4, Pryor was elected state Attorney General in 1998 and as a Democratic National Convention Delegate in 2000. He has been the Junior Senator from Arkansas since 2003.
Jay Rockefeller - (D)

A Democratic exception to his oil dynasty family, Jay was West Virginia's Governor (1977-85) before entering the Senate in 1985. As Chairman of the Select Committee on Intelligence, Rockefeller's been an outspoken critic of Bush's handling of the Iraq War.
Gordon Smith - (R)

While some say Smith is a conservative, others say he falls directly in the ideological center. Entering the Senate in 1997 for Oregon, he has since been a strong supporter of laws protecting gays and has become critical of Iraq War he initially supported.
John Sununu - (R)

Elected to the House in 1996 for New Hampshire's 1st, Sununu served there until 2003, when he moved to the Senate, where he currently sits. In 2007, he was the first Republican to call for the resignation of Attorney General Gonzales.
John Thune - (R)

Elected in 1996 to South Dakota's At-Large District, Thune served in that capacity until entering the Senate in 2005. He's been vocal about banning gay marriage and his disbelief in evolution. He's considered a possible Republican running mate in '08.
David Vitter - (R)

Representing Louisiana's 1st from 1999-2005, Vitter was elected as Junior Senator in 2005. In a 2001 Amendment to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, Vitter required all federally funded schools to allow US military recruiting on campus.