WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, today spoke on the Senate floor about Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), ranking member of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.  

Excerpt of Thune’s remarks (as prepared for delivery):

“I have been honored to have Bill Nelson as a colleague from my first day in the Senate and for the last four years as a partner in an especially successful working relationship at the Commerce Committee.

Over this time, we fostered a can-do spirit with committee colleagues that drove nearly one hundred committee legislative accomplishments.

Together, we worked on policy for our nation’s future in technology, aviation, ocean management, surface transportation, scientific research, space, and many other areas.

Senator Nelson exhibited an especially extraordinary passion for prioritizing safety, the future of manned spaceflight, and an unshakable belief that powerful companies should be held to account when consumers aren’t treated fairly.”