SENATE COMMERCE COMMITTEE MARKUP OF ORBITS ACT, July 27, 2023, DC, 10:00 am ET

The Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee will mark up a number of bills on July 27, 2023 at 10:00 am ET in 253 Russell Senate Office Building.  The meeting will be webcast on the committee’s website.

Among the bills is the Orbital Sustainability or ORBITS Act sponsored by Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-CO) addressing the issue of space debris.

The bill passed the Senate in the 117th Congress on December 21, 2022, but there was no further action. He reintroduced it in this Congress with five bipartisan cosponsors on February 15, 2023.

The committee will also take up Sen. Eric Schmitt’s Launch Communications Act regarding spectrum for commercial launches and reentries. It is a companion to, but somewhat different than, the House version (HR 682) that was reported from the House Energy and Commerce Committee and that the House will consider on Tuesday.

The full list of legislation that will be considered (as of July 20) is as follows:

Agenda:

·     S. 447, ORBITS Act of 2023  

·     S. 484, Combating Human Rights Abuses Act of 2023

·     S. 1153, The National Manufacturing Advisory Council for the 21st Century Act

·     S. 1303, TICKET Act  

·     S. 1409, Kids Online Safety Act

·     S. 1418, Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act  

·     S. 1421, Country of Origin Online Labeling Act  

·     S. 1648, Launch Communications Act  

·     S. 1669, AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act of 2023  

·     S. 2086, A bill to require the Secretary of Commerce to establish the Sea Turtle Rescue Assistance Grant Program

·     S. 2116, Strengthening Support for American Manufacturing Act

·     S. 2201, the American Cybersecurity Literacy Act