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. 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.

Contents
The Appropriations Process
Members, 110th Congress
Committee reorganization during the 110th Congress
Subcommittees
Chairmen of the Appropriations Committee, 1867-present
References
Further reading
See also
External link

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 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.

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

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." 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 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.
Subcommittees

Subcommittees of the US Senate Committee on Appropriations
Subcommittee Chair Ranking Minority Member
Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Herb Kohl, D-Wisconsin Robert Bennett, R-Utah
Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Barbara Mikulski, D-Maryland Richard Shelby, R-Alabama
Defense Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii Ted Stevens, R-Alaska
Energy and Water Byron Dorgan, D-North Dakota Pete Domenici, R-New Mexico
Financial Services and General Government Dick Durbin, D-Illinois Sam Brownback, R-Kansas
Homeland Security Robert Byrd, D-West Virginia Thad Cochran, R-Mississippi
Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Dianne Feinstein, D-California vacant
Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Tom Harkin, D-Iowa Arlen Specter, R-Pennsylvania
Legislative Branch Mary Landrieu, D-Lousiana Wayne Allard, R-Colorado
Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Tim Johnson, D-South Dakota Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas
State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Patrick Leahy, D-Vermont Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky
Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Patty Murray, D-Washington Kit Bond, R-Missouri

Chairmen of the Appropriations Committee, 1867-present


'Name''Party''State''Years'
Lot M. Morrill Republican Maine1867–1869
William P. Fessenden Republican Maine1869
Lot M. Morrill Republican Maine1869–1871
Cornelius Cole Republican California1871–1873
Lot M. Morrill Republican Maine1873–1876
William Windom Republican Minnesota1876–1879
Henry G. Davis Democratic West Virginia1879–1881
William B. Allison Republican Iowa1881–1893
Francis M. Cockrell Democratic Missouri1893–1895
William B. Allison Republican Iowa1895–1908
Eugene Hale Republican Maine1908–1911
Francis E. Warren Republican Wyoming1913–1919
Thomas S. Martin Democratic Virginia1913–1919
Francis E. Warren Republican Wyoming1919–1929
Wesley L. Jones Republican Washington1929–1932
William Windom Republican Minnesota1876–1879
Frederick Hale Republican Maine1932–1933
Carter Glass Democratic Virginia1933–1946
Kenneth D. McKellar Democratic Tennessee1946–1947
Styles Bridges Republican New Hampshire1947–1949
Kenneth D. McKellar Democratic Tennessee1949–1953
Styles Bridges Republican New Hampshire1953–1955
Carl Hayden Democratic Arizona1955–1969
Richard B. Russell Jr. Democratic Georgia1969–1971
Allen J. Ellender Democratic Louisiana1971–1972
John L. McClellan Democratic Arkansas1972–1977
Warren G. Magnuson Democratic Washington1977–1981
Mark O. Hatfield Republican Oregon1981–1987
John C. Stennis Democratic Mississippi1987–1989
Robert C. Byrd Democratic West Virginia1989–1995
Mark O. Hatfield Republican Oregon1995–1997
Theodore F. Stevens Republican Alaska1997–2001
Robert C. Byrd Democratic West Virginia2001
Theodore F. Stevens Republican Alaska2001
Robert C. Byrd Democratic West Virginia2001–2003
Theodore F. Stevens Republican Alaska2003–2005
W. Thad Cochran Republican Mississippi2005–2007
Robert C. Byrd Democratic West Virginia2007–

References


# Overview of the Committee's role
# Creation of the Senate Committee on Appropriations
# Buying Leadership Courtney Mabeus
# Call it Pork or Necessity, but Alaska Comes Out Far Above the Rest in Spending David E. Rosenbaum
# Senate, House Appropriations Set Subcommittee Plans for New Congress
# Senate Appropriations Subcommittee Rosters Set
# 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.[1]

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.

See also



U.S. House Committee on Appropriations

United States budget process

U.S. Senate Budget Committee

External link



U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations Official Website

Status of Appropriations Legislation

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