WASHINGTON, D.C.— Chairman John D.(Jay) Rockefeller IV today released thefollowing statement after the U.S. SenateCommittee on Commerce, Science, andTransportation concluded the executivesession:

“Senator Thune and I reached strongbipartisan consensus with the CybersecurityAct that was passed out of Committeetoday. I’m confident that others will followour lead and develop their own bipartisanbills with key elements, including information sharing, that will complement our work tohelp strengthen and improve our economic and national security. Now that the CommerceCommittee has passed its bill, we've got to build on today's momentum and get it to thefloor.

“I congratulate Tom Wheeler on the strong bipartisan support he received in the Commerce Committee today. Now that the Committee completed its work on the nomination, the full Senate needs to move forward and confirm him. With all the important issues before the FCC, it's critical that the agency has a confirmed chair and strong leader in place. I am confident, given Tom Wheeler's extensive experience and capabilities in the communications industry, he is the right person for this job.”

 

The following bills and nominations were favorably reported by the Commerce Committee(PDFs of the substitutes and amendments are here):

Legislation

En Bloc Motion- Passed by Voice Vote

• Substitute to S. 134, the Violent Content Research Act of 2013 
• S. RES. 157, A resolution expressing the sense of the Senate that telephoneservice must be improved in rural areas of the United States and that no entitymay unreasonably discriminate against telephone users in those areas 

Amended by: Klobuchar_1   

• S. 267, Pirate Fishing Elimination Act 
• Substitute to S. 269, International Fisheries Stewardship and Enforcement Act(as modified)
• S. 376, Drought Information Act of 2013 

Amended by: Pryor_1           

• S. 839, Coral Reef Conservation Amendments Act of 2013 
• S. 921, the Raechel and Jacqueline Houck Safe Rental Car Act 
• S. 1068, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned OfficeCorps Amendments Act of 2013

            Amended by: Begich_1         

• Substitute to S. 1072, the Small Airplane Revitalization Act of 2013 
• S. 1254, Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research and Control Amendments Actof 2013 
• S. 1344, Arctic Research, Monitoring, and Observing Act of 2013 

Amended by: Begich_1

• S. 1353, The Cybersecurity Act of 2013

Amended by:

Heinrich_1      
Klobuchar_1(Modified) 
Klobuchar_2(Modified) 
Schatz_1(Modified) 
Warner_1(Modified)

Agreed to by Roll Call Vote

• Substitute to S. 1317, NASA Authorization Act of 2013 (as modified) (Yeas – 13; Nays – 12)

Amended by:

Heinrich_1(Modified) 

Warner_1(Modified)

Warner_2(Modified) 

Warner_3(Modified) 

Roll Call Vote – Motion Did Not Carry:

Cruz_1(Co-sponsors Rubio, Wicker, Johnson) (Yeas – 12; Nays – 13)

Nominations

En Bloc Motion- Passed by Voice Vote

• Dr. Jannette Dates, to be a Member of the Board of Directors, Corporation for Public Broadcasting (PN 172)  
• Mr. Bruce M. Ramer, to be a Member of the Board of Directors, Corporation for Public Broadcasting (PN 173, Reappointment)
• Dr. Brent Nelsen, to be a Member of the Board of Directors, Corporation for Public Broadcasting (PN 379) 
• Mr. Thomas Carper, to be a Member of the Amtrak Board of Directors (PN 533, Reappointment) 
• Mr. Howard Husock, to be a Member of the Board of Directors, Corporation for Public Broadcasting (PN 534) 
• Ms. Loretta Sutliff, to be a Member of the Board of Directors, Corporation for Public Broadcasting (PN 589) 
• Dr. Mark E. Schaefer, to be Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere, U.S. Department of Commerce (PN 499) 
• Nominations for Promotion in the U.S. Coast Guard (PN 328, PN 329 and PN 649) 

Passed By Voice Vote

• Nomination of Mr. Thomas E. Wheeler, to be Chairman, Federal Communications Commission (PN 412) 

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