United States Senate Committee on Finance
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The U.S. Senate Committee on Finance (or, less formally, Senate Finance Committee) is a standing committee of the United States Senate. It concerns itself with matters relating to the bonded debt of the United States; customs, collection districts, and ports of entry and delivery; deposit of public moneys; general revenue sharing; health programs under the Social Security Act (notably Medicare and Medicaid) and health programs financed by a specific tax or trust fund; national social security; reciprocal trade agreements; revenue measures generally and those relating to the insular possessions; tariff and import quotas, and related matters thereto; and the transportation of dutiable goods.
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[edit] History
The Senate Committee on Finance is one of the original committees established in the Senate. First created in 1815 as a select committee and known as the Committee on Finance and an Uniform National Currency, it was formed to alleviate economic issues arising from the War of 1812. On December 10, 1816 the Senate officially created the Committee on Finance as a standing committee. Originally, the Committee had power over tariffs, taxation, banking and currency issues and appropriations. Under this authority the committee played an influential role in the most heated topics of the era; including numerous tariffs issues and the Bank War. The committee was also influential in the creation of the Department of Interior in 1849. Under the Chairmanship of William Pitt Fessenden, the committee played a decisive role during the Civil War. Appropriating all funds for the war effort as well as raising enough funds to finance the war through tariffs and the nation's first income tax. Additionally, the committee produced the Legal Tender Act of 1862, the nation's first reliance on paper currency.
In 1865 the House of Representatives created an Appropriations Committee to relieve the burden from the Committee on Ways and Means. The Senate followed this example by forming the Appropriations Committee in 1867.
Despite the loss of one of its signature duties the committee continued to play a prominent role in the major issues of the nation. The committee was at the center of the debate over the silver question in the latter half of the 19th Century. Passage of the Bland-Allison Act and the Sherman Silver Purchase Act were attempts to remedy the demand for silver, though the silver cause would eventually fail by the end of the century. The committee also continued to play a role in the debate over income taxes. The repeal of the Civil War income taxes in the 1870s would eventually be raised in 1894 with the passage of a new income tax law. The Supreme Court's decision in Pollack v. Farmers' Loan and Trust Company ruled the income tax as unconstitutional, since it was not based on apportionment. The fight for an income tax finally culminated with the Payne-Aldrich Tariff Act of 1909. In order to pass the new tariff Senate leaders, including Chairman Nelson Aldrich, allowed for a Constitutional Amendment to be passed. Four years later the 16th Amendment was officially ratified and in 1913 the nation's first peacetime income tax was instituted.
Around that same time the committee lost jurisdiction over banking and currency issues to the newly created Committee on Banking and Currency. The committee did gain jurisdiction over veterans’ benefits when it successfully passed the War Risk Insurance Act of 1917. The act shifted pensions from gratuities to benefits and which served as one of the first life insurance program created under the federal government.
In 1981, a Senate Resolution required the printing of the History of the Committee on Finance.[1]
[edit] Role
The role of the Committee on Finance is very similar to that of the House Committee on Ways and Means. The one exception in area of jurisdiction is that the Committee on Finance has jurisdiction over both Medicare and Medicaid, while the House Ways and Means Committee only has jurisdiction over Medicare. (The House Energy and Commerce Committee has jurisdiction over Medicaid.) The other diffence in terms of power is that all revenue raising measures must originate in the House giving the Ways and Means committee a slight edge in setting tax policy. In addition to having jurisdiction over legislation the Committee has extensive oversight powers. It has authority to investigate, review and evaluate existing laws, and the agencies that implement them.
Due to the Committee's wide jurisdiction, it is often considered an influential committee. A wide array of Senators with differing policy concerns seek membership on the Committee because of its role in setting tax, trade, and health policy.
[edit] Members, 110th Congress
The Committee is chaired by Democrat Max Baucus, of Montana, and the Ranking Minority Member is Republican Chuck Grassley of Iowa.
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[edit] Subcommittees
The Committee’s Subcommittees for the 110th Congress are: [2]
- Subcommittee on Health Care
- Chairman: Jay Rockefeller, D–West Virginia
- Ranking Member: Orrin Hatch, R–Utah
- Subcommittee on Taxation, IRS Oversight, and Long-Term Growth
- Chairman: Kent Conrad, D–North Dakota
- Ranking Member: Jon Kyl, R–Arizona
- Subcommittee on Energy, Natural Resources, and Infrastructure
- Chairman: Jeff Bingaman, D–New Mexico
- Ranking Member: Craig Thomas, R–Wyoming
- Subcommittee on Social Security, Pensions, and Family Policy
- Chairman: John Kerry, D–Massachusetts
- Ranking Member: Jim Bunning, R–Kentucky
- Subcommittee on International Trade and Global Competitiveness
- Chairman: Blanche Lincoln, D–Arkansas
- Ranking Member: Gordon Smith, R–Oregon
[edit] Chairmen of the Committee on Finance 1815 - Present
¹ Chaired a special session of the 29th Congress. His ten-day chairmanship of the committee is the shortest on record.
² Morrill holds the longest non-continuous service as Chairman, at eighteen years. Russell Long holds the longest continuous service as chairman, at sixteen years.
[edit] References
- ^ History of the Committee on Finance (pdf), via Finance.Senate.Gov
- ^ Finance Comm., “Finance Panel Announces New Subcommittees”(Feb. 28, 2007).
[edit] External links
- Finance.senate.gov Official website
- History of the Committee on Finance; United States Senate (pdf). 4th ed. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1981.
