Senate Commerce Committee withdraws subpoena motion after firms agree to provide records; Massport initially resisted
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Summary
The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation announced it would withdraw a planned subpoena after Bonterra and NewPoint Strategies agreed to provide requested materials; the Massport Authority initially refused but later complied, the committee chair said.
Chairman Crews, chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, told members at a committee markup that the panel would withdraw a motion to authorize subpoenas after two firms agreed to produce requested materials. "It turns out subpoenas work, and it turns out even the threat of subpoenas works," he said.
The committee had noticed votes to authorize subpoenas for Bonterra, NewPoint Strategies and the Massachusetts Port Authority, which operates Logan Airport. According to Crews, Bonterra and NewPoint Strategies "immediately reached out to the committee and agreed to comply and to provide all of the materials that had been requested." He said Massport initially refused to cooperate but, at the "eleventh hour," decided to comply.
"So we will withdraw the subpoena motion," Crews said. He framed the development as a win for federal taxpayers and airline passengers, adding that when entities refuse oversight the committee will "exercise all the authorities it has to ensure we can engage in full and rigorous oversight."
The chair contrasted Massport's earlier refusal with the operators of other large airports, saying operators at JFK and O'Hare had cooperated in the past. Crews also repeated an allegation about Massport's past behavior, stating that Massport "housed illegal aliens at Logan Logan Airport during the Biden years." That characterization is attributed to Crews' remarks during the markup.
The committee did not record a separate roll call on the withdrawal. The chair presented the compliance by the firms as the reason for removing the subpoena vote from the agenda and did not announce further formal actions on the subject during the session.
Background: the committee had scheduled votes to authorize subpoenas as part of an oversight inquiry. The chair said two firms agreed to provide the requested materials after the subpoenas were noticed and that Massport later complied as well, prompting the committee to withdraw the subpoena motion.