Senate Commerce Republicans

Official news and updates for the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, led by Chairman @SenTedCruz

[Senate Commerce Republicans @SenateCommerce]

🚨ICYMI: This week the Committee, led by Chairman @SenTedCruz and Ranking Member @SenatorCantwell, hosted the @NASAArtemis II crew members to honor their historic mission into deep space.

American space superiority is here to stay. 🚀🇺🇸 @NASA @NASAAdmin

[Sen. Dan Sullivan @SenDanSullivan]

The Russians have said publicly that they are at war with Alaska fishermen, flooding markets to drive down prices. I led the effort to fight back and impose a comprehensive ban on Russian seafood imports. In a @SenateCommerce hearing I chaired, I asked Jeremy Woodrow w/ @Alaska_Seafood how this ban is impacting Alaska’s world-class seafood harvesters.

[Senator Ted Cruz @SenTedCruz]

Dan Marino came to Capitol Hill today to advocate for the Protect College Sports Act.

College sports shaped his life. Now he’s helping lead the fight to protect them from transfer chaos, endless lawsuits, and an unsustainable status quo.

[Senator Ted Cruz @SenTedCruz]

College sports are being pulled apart by transfer chaos, constant litigation, shady NIL deals, disappearing rivalries, and a broken system that is leaving student athletes, schools, and fans without clear rules or real protections.

The Protect College Sports Act:

- Ends the roster chaos with national rules for transfers (one free undergrad) and eligibility (5-in-5)
- Creates enforceable standards on recruiting, tampering, and NIL disclosures
- Protects student athletes’ right to earn from their own NIL
- Enables enforcement of House settlement on revenue sharing and fake NIL deals
- Sanctions against agents that take advantage of student athletes, facilitate player poaching, and recruit tampering
- Protects women’s sports, Olympic sports, and scholarship opportunities
- Preserves historic rivalries
- Keeps college sports tied to education, so student athletes become successful adults
- Prohibits football coaches from quitting mid-season to be hired by another program
- Guarantees safety standards, health care, and an ombudsman for student athletes
- Makes TV money work for college sports with an option for schools to pool media rights
- Stops Super League consolidation

[Senator Ted Cruz @SenTedCruz]

Good policy occasionally takes the scenic route.

@SenateCommerce Republicans have spent years examining E-Rate, from USF reform and hotspot expansion to initiatives like Eyes on the Board and KOSMA.

Glad to see the @FCC undertake a comprehensive review of the program. Looking forward to the discussion.

[Jake Sherman @JakeSherman]

TED CRUZ will be our guest on Fly Out Day to talk about the future of college sports. He has a big bipartisan bill to overhaul college sports.

I like college sports. So this is a very interesting conversation for me.

[Brendan Carr @BrendanCarrFCC]

Over the last few years—and especially during COVID—schools dramatically increased screen time for students.

But research is now pouring in showing that excessive screen time has been associated with poor academic performance, and we’ve seen a serious slide in reading and other basic skills along America’s students.

For its part, the FCC has been subsidizing connections to and within schools for three decades—spending roughly $3 billion annually today.

It is time to review the FCC’s program (known as E-Rate) to ensure great educational outcomes—not distractions or declining performance.

So today, I have announced that the FCC will vote this month on a proposal to conduct a thorough review of the agency’s program.

This aligns with a broader trend we are seeing in states, in Congress, and across the Administration to empower parents and address excessive screen time.

[Senator John Curtis @SenJohnCurtis]

.@lancefrmdabean, you may have a career as a politician if things don't work out on the field. @utahathletics

[E. Gordon Gee @gordongee]

This morning, I testified before the Senate Commerce Committee on the Protect College Sports Act. Student-athletes deserve to benefit from their talents and to leave college with the habits and education that prepare them to lead. To protect that opportunity, universities need a stable system with fair rules and the resources to support women’s and Olympic sports.

I'm grateful to @SenatorCantwell and @SenTedCruz for their bipartisan leadership to save something worth saving.

[Senate Commerce Republicans @SenateCommerce]

"I think it's a wonderful step in the right direction."

Pete Bevacqua, Athletic Director at @NotreDame, gives opening remarks during this morning's hearing for the Protect College Sports Act:

[Amanda Christovich @achristovichh]

Former WVU president Gordon Gee: "Without this bill, we'll have chaos. Without this bill we'll now have an opportunity to address the issues you're talking about," he says to Sen. Fischer (who is asking about women's sports and protecting the men's College World Series).

[Josh Ward @Josh_Ward]

"If we continue to do that we're going to lose Olympic sports. ... We're going to lose scholarships. Basically you're going to have football and basketball succeed, and we'll have club sports for everything else."

🎥 Nick Saban at today's senate hearing, via @TreyWallace

[Amanda Christovich @achristovichh]

Texas Tech's Cody Campbell, a leader of President Trump's committees on college sports, to @FOS: "The hearing went very well. It seems that there is broad bipartisan agreement on the major issues, which speaks to the quality and thoughtfulness in how the bill was constructed."

[Senator Ted Cruz @SenTedCruz]

College sports are worth saving.

Glad to welcome Coach Nick Saban to the @SenateCommerce Committee as we work to restore order, protect student-athletes, and preserve the opportunities, traditions, and scholarships that make college athletics uniquely American.

[On3 NIL @On3NIL]

NEW: Nick Saban detailed how much Alabama’s NIL collective spent every year for the past five years in Wednesday’s hearing about the Protect College Sports Act.

(via CommerceRepublicans/TT h/t @whalexander_)

https://t.co/n91REfdssH

[Senator Todd Young @SenToddYoung]

My comments during today’s @SenateCommerce hearing on the future of college sports.

[Senate Commerce Republicans @SenateCommerce]

"It's not fair to players...don't pull the rug out from them in the middle of the season."

Chairman @SenTedCruz on the LANE KIFFIN RULE 👀

[Ross Dellenger @RossDellenger]

Sen. Ted Cruz mentions the "Lane Kiffin Rule" that's part of the bill, which prevents coaches from leading in-season: "It’s not fair to players if you are heading into the playoffs and your coach leaves and goes to a rival. That’s not fair."

[Ross Dellenger @RossDellenger]

Nick Saban said the term “student-athlete” will eventually change to “athlete that’s a student” because you’d have colleges sponsoring “pro sports teams” because “we are going to be playing the players so much.”

[Trey Wallace @TreyWallace]

Nick Saban, discussing collectives, outlines what Alabama was working with

Says he had $2.7 million in his first year of NIL, then $7 million, and then $10 million.

After he retired, he said it jumped to $17 million, then $24 million.

“Now you have schools at $40 million”