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 Senate Appropriations Committee is the largest committee in the U.S. Senate, consisting of 29 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]

[edit] The Appropriations Process

Committee Chairman Robert Byrd (D-WV) shakes hands with Secretary of Defense Robert Gates while Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) look on. The hearing was held to discuss further funding for the War in Iraq.

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 jurisdiction 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 unforeseen 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, as 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.

[edit] Committee reorganization during the 110th Congress

At the outset of the 110th Congress, Chairman Robert Byrd and Chairman Dave 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 subcommittees 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 consolidates 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

[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.
7. ^  Ranking Minority Member Larry Craig of Idaho temporarily stepped down from his position on August 29, 2007 at the request of Senate Republican leaders, due to an Ethics investigation.[8]

[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

• U.S. House Committee on Appropriations
• United States budget process
• U.S. Senate Budget Committee
• United States Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies

[edit] External links

• U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations Official Website
• Status of Appropriations Legislation