United States Senate Committee on Appropriations
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The U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations is a standing committee of the United States Senate. It has jurisdiction over all discretionary spending legislation in the Senate.
The Senate Appropriations Committee is the largest committee in the U.S. Senate, consisting of 28 members. Its role is defined by the U.S. Constitution, which requires "appropriations made by law" prior to the expenditure of any money from the Treasury, and is therefore one of the most powerful committees in the Senate. The committee was first organized on March 6, 1867, when power over appropriations was taken out of the hands of the Finance Committee.
The chairman of the Appropriations Committee has enormous power to bring home special projects (sometimes referred to as "pork barrel spending") for his or her state as well as having the final say on other Senator's appropriation requests. For example, in fiscal year 2005 per capita federal spending in Alaska, the home state of then-Chairman Ted Stevens, is $12,000, double the national average. Alaska has 11,772 special earmarked projects for a combined cost of $15,780,623,000. This represents about 4 % of the overall spending in the $388 billion Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2005 passed by Congress.
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[edit] Members, 109th Congress
The Committee is currently chaired by Republican Thad Cochran of Mississippi, and the Ranking Minority Member is Democrat Robert Byrd, of West Virginia.
[edit] Subcommittees
It has the following subcommittees:
- Agriculture, Rural Development, and Related Agencies
- Chairman: Robert Bennett, R-Utah
- Ranking Member: Herbert Kohl, D-Wisconsin
- Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies
- Chairman: Richard Shelby, R-Alabama
- Ranking Member: Barbara Mikulski, D-Maryland
- Defense
- Chairman: Ted Stevens, R-Alaska
- Ranking Member: Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii
- District of Columbia
- Chairman: Sam Brownback, R-Kansas
- Ranking Member: Mary Landrieu, D-Louisiana
- Energy and Water
- Chairman: Pete Domenici, R-New Mexico
- Ranking Member: Harry Reid, D-Nevada
- Homeland Security
- Chairman: Judd Gregg, R-New Hampshire
- Ranking Member: Robert Byrd, D-West Virginia
- Interior and Related Agencies
- Chairman: Conrad Burns, R-Montana
- Ranking Member: Byron Dorgan, D-North Dakota
- Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies
- Chairman: Arlen Specter, R-Pennsylvania
- Ranking Member: Tom Harkin, D-Iowa
- Legislative Branch
- Chairman: Wayne Allard, R-Colorado
- Ranking Member: Dick Durbin, D-Illinois
- Military Construction and Veterans Affairs
- Chairman: Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas
- Ranking Member: Diane Feinstein, D-California
- State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs
- Chairman: Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky
- Ranking Member: Patrick Leahy, D-Vermont
- Transportation, Treasury, the Judiciary, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies
- Chairman: Christopher Bond, R-Missouri
- Ranking Member: Patty Murray, D-Washington
[edit] Chairmen of the Appropriations Committee, 1867-present
| Name | Party | State | Years | |
| Lot M. Morrill | Republican | Maine | 1867–1869 | |
| William P. Fessenden | Republican | Maine | 1869 | |
| Lot M. Morrill | Republican | Maine | 1869–1871 | |
| Cornelius Cole | Republican | California | 1871–1873 | |
| Lot M. Morrill | Republican | Maine | 1873–1876 | |
| William Windom | Republican | Minnesota | 1876–1879 | |
| Henry G. Davis | Democratic | West Virginia | 1879–1881 | |
| William B. Allison | Republican | Iowa | 1881–1893 | |
| Francis M. Cockrell | Democratic | Missouri | 1893–1895 | |
| William B. Allison | Republican | Iowa | 1895–1908 | |
| Eugene Hale | Republican | Maine | 1908–1911 | |
| Francis E. Warren | Republican | Wyoming | 1913–1919 | |
| Thomas S. Martin | Democratic | Virginia | 1913–1919 | |
| Francis E. Warren | Republican | Wyoming | 1919–1929 | |
| Wesley L. Jones | Republican | Washington | 1929–1932 | |
| William Windom | Republican | Minnesota | 1876–1879 | |
| Frederick Hale | Republican | Maine | 1932–1933 | |
| Carter Glass | Democratic | Virginia | 1933–1946 | |
| Kenneth D. McKellar | Democratic | Tennessee | 1946–1947 | |
| Styles Bridges | Republican | New Hampshire | 1947–1949 | |
| Kenneth D. McKellar | Democratic | Tennessee | 1949–1953 | |
| Styles Bridges | Republican | New Hampshire | 1953–1955 | |
| Carl T. Hayden | Democratic | Arizona | 1955–1969 | |
| Richard B. Russell Jr. | Democratic | Georgia | 1969–1971 | |
| Allen J. Ellender | Democratic | Louisiana | 1971–1972 | |
| John L. McClellan | Democratic | Arkansas | 1972–1977 | |
| Warren G. Magnuson | Democratic | Washington | 1977–1981 | |
| Mark O. Hatfield | Republican | Oregon | 1981–1987 | |
| John C. Stennis | Democratic | Mississippi | 1987–1989 | |
| Robert C. Byrd | Democratic | West Virginia | 1989–1995 | |
| Mark O. Hatfield | Republican | Oregon | 1995–1997 | |
| Theodore F. Stevens | Republican | Alaska | 1997–2001 | |
| Robert C. Byrd | Democratic | West Virginia | 2001 | |
| Theodore F. Stevens | Republican | Alaska | 2001 | |
| Robert C. Byrd | Democratic | West Virginia | 2001–2003 | |
| Theodore F. Stevens | Republican | Alaska | 2003–2005 | |
| W. Thad Cochran | Republican | Mississippi | 2005–2007 | |
| Robert C. Byrd | Democratic | West Virginia | 2007– |
[edit] References
- ↑ Overview of the Committee's role. U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations. Retrieved on October 14, 2005.
- ↑ Creation of the Senate Committee on Appropriations. U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations. Retrieved on October 14, 2005.
- ↑ Courtney Mabeus. Buying Leadership. Capital Eye. Retrieved on October 14, 2005.
- ↑ Rosenbaum, David E.. "Call it Pork or Necessity, but Alaska Comes Out Far Above the Rest in Spending", New York Times, 9 February 2005.
- ↑ Committee Members. U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations. Retrieved on October 14, 2005.
- ↑ Subcommittees. U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations. Retrieved on October 14, 2005.
[edit] Further reading
- Frumin, Alan S. "Appropriations" in Riddick's Senate Procedure, 150-213. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1992.
- Munson, Richard. The Cardinals of Capitol Hill; The Men and Women Who Control Government Spending. Grove Press, 1993. ISBN 0802114601.
- Senate Committee on Appropriations. United States Senate Committee on Appropriations; 138th Anniversary; 1867-2005. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 2005.
- Streeter, Sandy. The Congressional Appropriations Process: An Introduction. Washington, D.C.: Congressional Research Service, 2006.
[edit] External link
| Current United States Congressional committees | ||
|---|---|---|
| House (list) |
Agriculture • Appropriations • Armed Services • Budget • Education and the Workforce • Energy and Commerce • Financial Services • Government Reform • Homeland Security • House Administration • Hurricane Katrina (Select) • Intelligence (Permanent Select) • International Relations • Judiciary • Resources • Rules • Science • Small Business • Standards of Official Conduct • Transportation and Infrastructure • Veterans' Affairs • Ways and Means • (Whole) | |
| Senate (list) |
Aging (Special) • Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry • Appropriations • Armed Services • Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs • Budget • Commerce, Science and Transportation • Energy and Natural Resources • Ethics (Select) • Environment and Public Works • Finance • Foreign Relations • Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions • Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs • Indian Affairs • Intelligence (Select) • Judiciary • Rules and Administration • Small Business and Entrepreneurship • Veterans' Affairs | |
| Joint | (Conference) • Economic • Library • Printing • Taxation | Defunct committees |
