Sen. John Thune Officially Named Chairman of Commerce Committee
As expected, the U.S. Senate on Jan. 8 ratified Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) as the next chairman of the Commerce, Science and Technology Committee during the 114th Congress.
The committee has jurisdiction on trucking safety issues and will be a major player during the reauthorization of the next highway bill this year.
After the announcement, Thune listed the panel’s subcommittee chairmen. Notably, Sen. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) was selected to oversee the Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety, and Security Subcommittee, which oversees trucking matters.
“The opportunity to serve at the Commerce Committee at the forefront of efforts in the new Congress to create jobs and grow our economy is a great honor. I look forward to working with our new ranking member, Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), and my colleagues on both sides of the aisle on pressing business before the committee as I represent the state of South Dakota in the Senate,” Thune said in a statement.
“I have talked about the challenge ahead of us with the senators selected to serve as subcommittee chairmen — we are all eager to get to work on the people’s business,” he added.
