The United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation is a standing committee of the United States Senate. It is empowered with legislative oversight of the Coast Guard and Merchant Marine, interstate commerce, communications, highways, aviation, rail, shipping, transportation security, oceans, fisheries, climate change, disasters, science, nonmilitary aeronautical and space sciences, sports, tourism, consumer issues, economic development, technology, competitiveness, product safety, insurance, and standards and measurement. The committee also has jurisdiction over coastal zone management, inland waterways (except construction), the Panama Canal and other interoceanic canals, and commerce aspects of Continental Shelf lands.
The Committee is one of the largest in the Senate with 25 members in the 114th Congress. It is composed of seven subcommittees, and the Committee Chairman is Sen. John Thune (R-SD) and its Ranking Member is Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL). Nelson is the only sitting Member of Congress who served as an astronaut. The majority office is housed in the Dirksen Senate Office Building, and the minority office is located in the Hart Senate Office Building.