Senate Commerce Committee

Sens Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), and Ed Markey (D-MA) called on the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to address the safety risks of artificial intelligence (AI) in children’s toys. The Senators requested information on how the CPSC is working to protect children from the potential harms of AI in toys. The senators asked for answers to the following questions by January 31, 2026:

Senate Commerce Committee Ranking Member Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) released a report on the affordability of broadband and television services. Key findings from this report include:

• 23 million low-income households lost $30–$75 per month in broadband support, forcing 70% of recipients to downgrade or discontinue their internet access.
• The FCC is making it easier for broadband providers to hide fees from consumers.
• The FCC is reducing competition by forcing Dish to abandon its nationwide network, effectively eliminating a fourth national carrier.

Sen Maria Cantwell (D-WA) wrote to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr strongly opposing an effort by the FCC’s Republican majority to roll back rules put in place after the China-sponsored Salt Typhoon hack to better protect U.S. data networks from future attacks. Sen Cantwell wrote, "Your proposal to rescind this ruling would undermine the FCC’s ability to hold carriers accountable for protecting our nation’s critical communications infrastructure.

Sen Ted Cruz (R-TX), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, announced a hearing on December 17th to conduct oversight of the Federal Communications Commission. The last Senate Commerce oversight hearing with all FCC commissioners present was June 24, 2020, under the leadership of Chairman Roger Wicker (R-MS). The hearing will happen on December 17 at 10 am EST. The witnesses are FCC Chairman Brendan Carr and Commissioners Anna Gomez and Olivia Trusty.

In his opening statement at today’s Senate Commerce Committee hearing titled “Shut Your App: How Uncle Sam Jawboned Big Tech Into Silencing Americans, Part II,” Chairman Ted Cruz (R-TX) underscored the need for legislation to protect Americans from censorship in light of revelations that Biden White House officials successfully pressured Big Tech into deplatforming Americans online. In his remarks, Chairman Cruz said,"“We cannot remain idle in the face of government agencies manipulating private companies into silencing their critics.

In a letter to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr, Senate Communications Committee Chairman Ted Cruz (R-TX) urged the Commission to investigate whether federal communication subsidies are being improperly extended to undocumented residents. Citing California’s new law, A.B. 1303, which expands the state’s Lifeline program to “individuals not lawfully present in the United States” and bars cooperation with federal immigration authorities, Sen Cruz argues that such policies violate federal law and misuse taxpayer funds.