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 entrance to the Senate Appropriations Committee in the United States Capitol
the entrance to the Senate Appropriations Committee in the United States Capitol

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.[1] The committee was first organized on March 6, 1867, when power over appropriations was taken out of the hands of the Finance Committee.[2]

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.[3] 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.[4]

Contents

[edit] The Appropriations Process

The federal budget is divided into two main categories: discretionary spending and mandatory spending. Each appropriations subcommittee develops a draft appropriations bill covering each agency under its jurisdication based on the Congressional Budget Resolution, which is drafted by an analogous Senate Budget committee. Each subcommittee must adhere to the spending limits set by the budget resolution and allocations set by the full Appropriations Committee, though the full Senate may vote to waive those limits if 60 senators vote to do so. The committee also reviews supplemental spending bills (covering unforseen or emergency expenses not previously budgeted).

Each appropriations bill must be passed by both houses of Congress and signed by the president prior to the start of the federal fiscal year, October 1. If that target is not met, has has been common in recent years, the committee drafts a continuing resolution, which is then approved by Congress and signed by the President to keep the federal government operating until the individual bills are approved.

[edit] Members, 110th Congress

The Committee is currently chaired by Democrat Robert C. Byrd of West Virginia, and the Ranking Minority Member is Republican Thad Cochran, of Mississippi.

Majority
Member State
Robert Byrd, Chairman West Virginia
Daniel Inouye Hawaii
Patrick Leahy Vermont
Tom Harkin Iowa
Barbara Mikulski Maryland
Herb Kohl Wisconsin
Patty Murray Washington
Byron Dorgan North Dakota
Dianne Feinstein California
Richard Durbin Illinois
Tim Johnson South Dakota
Mary Landrieu Louisiana
Jack Reed Rhode Island
Frank Lautenberg New Jersey
Ben Nelson Nebraska
Minority
Member State
Thad Cochran, Ranking Minority Member Mississippi
Ted Stevens Alaska
Arlen Specter Pennsylvania
Pete Domenici New Mexico
Kit Bond Missouri
Mitch McConnell Kentucky
Richard Shelby Alabama
Judd Gregg New Hampshire
Robert Bennett Utah
Larry Craig Idaho
Kay Bailey Hutchison Texas
Sam Brownback Kansas
Wayne Allard Colorado
Lamar Alexander Tennessee


[edit] Committee reorganization during the 110th Congress

At the outset of the 110th Congress, Chairman Robert Byrd and Chairman David Obey, his counterpart on the House Appropriations Committee, developed a committee reorganization plan that provided for common subcommittee structures between both houses, a move that the both chairmen hope will allow Congress to "complete action on each of the government funding on time for the first time since 1994."[5][6] The subcommittee's were last overhauled between the 107th and 108th Congresses, after the creation of the Subcommittee on Homeland Security and again during the 109th Congress, when the number of subcommittees was reduced from 13 to 12.

A key part of the new subcommittee organization was the establishment of a new Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government, which colsolidates funding for the Treasury Department, the United States federal judiciary, and the District of Columbia. These functions were previously handled by two separate Senate subcommittees.

[edit] Subcommittees

[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

  1. ↑  Overview of the Committee's role. U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations. Retrieved on October 14, 2005.
  2. ↑  Creation of the Senate Committee on Appropriations. U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations. Retrieved on October 14, 2005.
  3. ↑  Courtney Mabeus. Buying Leadership. Capital Eye. Retrieved on October 14, 2005.
  4. ↑  Rosenbaum, David E.. "Call it Pork or Necessity, but Alaska Comes Out Far Above the Rest in Spending", New York Times, 9 February 2005.
  5. ↑  Senate, House Appropriations Set Subcommittee Plans for New Congress. U.S. House Committee on Appropriations. Retrieved on January 27, 2007.
  6. ↑  Senate Appropriations Subcommittee Rosters Set. National Thoroughbred Racing Association. Retrieved on January 27, 2007.

[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 0-8021-1460-1.
  • 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] See Also

[edit] External link

Current United States Congressional committees
House
(list)
Agriculture • Appropriations • Armed Services • Budget • Education and Labor • Energy and Commerce • Financial Services • Foreign Affairs • Homeland Security • House Administration • Intelligence (Permanent Select) • Judiciary • Natural Resources • Oversight and Government Reform • Rules • Science and Technology • 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 • Narcotics Control • Rules and Administration • Small Business and Entrepreneurship • Veterans' Affairs
Joint
(Conference) • Economic • Library • Printing • Taxation
  Defunct committees 
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