A Brief
Guide to the 110th Congress
Senate Appropriations Committee
About
the Committee
The Senate Appropriations Committee is the
largest committee in the Senate. Its role is defined by the U.S.
Constitution, which requires "appropriations made by law"
prior to the expenditure of any money from the Federal treasury.
The Committee writes the legislation that allocates federal funds
to the numerous government agencies, departments, and organizations
on an annual basis. Appropriations are limited to the levels set
by a Budget Resolution, drafted by the Senate Budget Committee.
The Committee is also responsible for supplemental spending bills,
which are sometimes needed in the middle of a fiscal year to compensate
for emergency expenses.
The federal budget is divided into two main
categories: discretionary spending and mandatory spending. Twelve
subcommittees are tasked with drafting legislation to allocate
funds to government agencies within their jurisdictions. These
subcommittees are responsible for reviewing the President's budget
request, hearing testimony from government officials, and drafting
the spending plans for the coming fiscal year. The Interior, Environment
and Related Agencies Subcommittee includes oversight and legislative
responsibilities for the Department of the Interior. The work
of the subcommittees is passed on to the full Senate Appropriations
Committee, which may review and modify the bills and forward them
to the full Senate for consideration.
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 1st. If that target
is not met, 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.
Committee
Members
Click here
for the list of members on the Senate Appropriations Committee
as well as members of the Interior, Environment and Related Agencies
Subcommittee (PDF
format) .
For
More Information
Click here
for the Senate Appropriations Committee website.
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