Committee debate paused Tuesday on a bill that would speed federal approval of new satellites as Democrats raised concerns about potential automatic approval, especially as Elon Musk’s SpaceX seeks to build a large constellation of artificial intelligence data satellites.
The Senate Commerce Committee recessed a planned markup without voting on the bill or amendments offered by Democrats after the panel lost its quorum.
Nearly all of the committee’s Republican members attended the markup to vote on a slate of transportation nominees, while most Democrats voted by proxy. But once discussion began on amendments to the satellite bill, Republican members left.
