Hearings

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Chair of the Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Data Security will convene a hearing titled “Protecting Kids Online: Snapchat, TikTok, and YouTube” at 10:00 am on Tuesday, October 26, 2021. Children and teens face immense peer pressure to be on apps such as Snapchat, TikTok, and YouTube. While social media can provide entertainment and educational opportunities, these apps have also been misused to harm kids and promote destructive acts, such as vandalism in schools, deadly viral challenges, bullying, eating disorders, manipulative influencer marketing, and grooming. This hearing will examine how tech companies treat young audiences, including how algorithms and product design choices can amplify harms, addiction, and intrusions into privacy. The hearing will also explore needed improvements to our laws to protect children and teenagers online.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, will convene an executive session at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, October 20, 2021 to consider the presidential nominations of Victoria Marie Wassmer, to be the Chief Financial Officer, DOT; Mohsin Raza Syed, to be Assistant Secretary for Government Affairs, DOT; Amitabha Bose, to be the Administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration, DOT; Meera Joshi to be the Administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration; Mary Boyle, to be a Commissioner of the Consumer Product Safety Commission; and Rear Admiral Nancy Hann, to be Director, NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps and Office of Marine and Aviation Operations. Immediately following the executive session, the Committee will hold a hearing to consider the presidential nominations of Max Vekich to be a Commissioner of the Federal Maritime Commission; Christopher Coes to be Assistant Secretary for Transportation Policy, DOT; and Laurie E. Locascio, to be Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology, DOC.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), the Chair of the Subcommittee on Communications, Media, and Broadband, will convene a hearing titled “State of Telehealth: Removing Barriers to Access and Improving Patient Outcomes” at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, October 7, 2021. The hearing will examine the importance of access to telehealth services, the utilization and changes during the COVID-19 pandemic, the critical role of access to broadband in the public health response, and how to structure future deployment and policy to address the needs of underserved communities.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Chair of the Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Data Security will convene a hearing titled “Protecting Kids Online: Testimony from a Facebook Whistleblower” at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, October 5, 2021. Recent Wall Street Journal investigations have revealed troubling insights regarding how Instagram affects teenagers, how it handles children onto the platform, and other consumer protection matters related to Facebook. The hearing will provide an opportunity for a Facebook whistleblower to discuss their perspective and experience with the Subcommittee, including how to update children’s privacy regulations and other laws to protect consumers online.

WASHINGTON, D.C. —U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation will convene a hearing titled “Protecting Consumer Privacy” at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, September 29, 2021. This hearing will examine how to better safeguard consumer privacy rights, including by equipping the Federal Trade Commission with the resources it needs to protect consumer privacy through the creation of a privacy bureau; and the need for a comprehensive federal privacy law.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Chair of the Subcommittee on Tourism, Trade, and Export Promotion will convene a hearing titled “Legislative Solutions to Revive Travel and Tourism and Create Jobs” at 3:00 p.m. on Tuesday, September 21, 2021. This hearing will examine a staff discussion draft of bipartisan legislation, the Omnibus Travel and Tourism Act of 2021, that would support the recovery of the travel and tourism economy in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The draft Omnibus Travel and Tourism Act includes provisions to study the impacts of COVD-19 on the travel and tourism industry, elevate travel and tourism matters at the US Department of Commerce, promote travel to the United States, and set visitation goals for international travelers to the United States.

WASHINGTON, D.C.—U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), the Chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, will convene an executive session at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, August 4, 2021, to consider the following measures and nominations:

WASHINGTON, D.C.— U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, will convene a full committee hearing at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday July 28, 2021 to consider the presidential nominations of Alexander Hoehn-Saric to be a Commissioner and Chair of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC); Mary T. Boyle to be a Commissioner of the CPSC; Richard Trumka, Jr. to be a Commissioner of the CPSC; and Grant Harris to be Assistant Secretary for Industry and Analysis at the Department of Commerce.

U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper, Chair of the Subcommittee on Space and Science, will convene a hearing titled “Space Situational Awareness, Space Traffic Management, and Orbital Debris: Examining Solutions for Emerging Threats” at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, July 22, 2021. Reliable space situational awareness (“SSA”) data and civil space traffic management (“STM”) services are critical to enabling continued growth of the innovative commercial space industry. As the number of satellites in orbit rapidly increases, the nation must redouble its efforts to track and manage objects in space. Witnesses will discuss the policies, programs, and research needed for effective civil SSA, STM, and orbital debris mitigation.