United States House Committee on Appropriations

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The Committee on Appropriations, or Appropriations Committee (often referred to as simply "Appropriations", as in "He's on Appropriations") is a committee of the United States House of Representatives. It is in charge of setting the specific expenditures of money by the government of the United States. As such, it is one of the most powerful of the committees, and its members are seen as influential.

1 History of the Appropriations Committee
2 Role of the Appropriations Committee
3 Current Members
4 Chairmen of the House Committee on Appropriations, 1865-present
5 See also
6 External link

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History of the Appropriations Committee

The constitutional basis for the Appropriations Committee comes from Article one, Section nine, Clause seven of the U.S. Constitution, which states that:

No money shall be drawn from the treasury, but in consequence of appropriations made by law; and a regular statement and account of receipts and expenditures of all public money shall be published from time to time.

This clearly delegated the power of appropriating money to Congress, but was vague beyond that. Originally, the power of appropriating was taken by the Committee on Ways and Means, but the United States Civil War placed a large burden on the Congress, and at the end of that conflict, a reorganization occurred.

The Committee was created on December 11, 1865, when the House separated the tasks of the Committee on Ways and Means into three parts. The passage of legislation affecting taxes remained with Ways and Means. The power to regulate banking was transferred to the Committee on Banking and Commerce. The power to appropriate money--to control the federal pursestrings--was given to the newly-created Appropriations Committee.

At the time the membership of the committee stood at nine; it currently has 65 members. The power of the committee has only grown since its founding; many of its members and chairmen have gone on to even higher posts. For example, three of them--Samuel Randall (D-PA), Joseph Cannon (R-IL), and Joseph Byrns (D-TN)--have gone on to become the Speaker of the House, and one, James Garfield, has gone on to become President.

The root of the Committee's power is its ability to disburse funds, and thus as the federal budget has risen, so has the Appropriations Committee. The first budget of the U.S., in 1789, was for $639,000--a hefty sum for the time, but a much smaller amount relative to the economy than the federal budget would later become. By the time the Appropriations committee was founded, the Civil War and inflation had raised expenditures to roughly $1.3 billion, increasing the clout of Appropriations. Expenditures continued to follow this pattern--rising sharply during wars before settling down--for over 100 years.

Another important development for Appropriations occurred in the presidency of Warren G. Harding. Harding was the first President to deliver a budget proposal to Congress (see United States budget process).

In the early 1970s, the Appropriations committee faced a crisis. President Richard Nixon began "impounding" funds, not allowing them to be spent, even when Congress had specifically appropriated money for a cause. This was essentially a line-item veto. Numerous court cases were filed by outraged interest groups and members of Congress. Eventually, the sense that Congress needed to regain control of the budget process led to the adoption of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974, which finalized the budget process in its current form.

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Role of the Appropriations Committee

The Appropriations committee is widely recognized by political scientists as one of the "power committees", since it holds the power of the purse. Openings on the Appropriations committee are often hotly demanded, and are doled out as rewards. Much of the power of the committee comes from the inherent utility of controlling spending.

Since Congress is elected from single-member districts, the status of a member's district is the best indicator as to whether or not he or she will be reelected. One way to achieve popularity in one's district is to bring federal spending, thus creating jobs and raising economic performance. This type of spending is often derided by critics as pork barrel spending, while those who engage in it generally defend it as necessary and appropriate expenditure of government funds. The members of the Appropriations committee can do this better than most, and as such the appointment is regarded as a plum. This help can also be directed towards other members, increasing the stature of committee members in the House and helping them gain support for leadership positions or other honors.

The committee tends to be less partisan than other committees or the House overall. While the minority party will offer amendments during committee consideration, appropriations bills often get significant bipartisan support, both in committee and on the House floor. This atmosphere can be attributed to the fact that all committee members have a compelling interest in ensuring legislation will contain money for their own districts.

In addition, the ability to appropriate money is useful to lobbyists and interest groups; as such, being on Appropriations makes it easier to collect campaign contributions (see campaign finance).

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Current Members

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Chairmen of the House Committee on Appropriations, 1865-present

	Name	Party	State	Years
Thaddeus Stevens	Republican	Pennsylvania	1865–1868
Elihu B. Washburne	Republican	Illinois	1868–1869
Henry L. Dawes	Republican	Illinois	1869–1871
James A. Garfield	Republican	Ohio	1871–1875
Samuel J. Randall	Democrat	Pennsylvania	1875–1876
William S. Holman	Democrat	Indiana	1876–1877
John D. C. Atkins	Democrat	Tennessee	1877–1881
Frank Hiscock	Republican	New York	1881–1883
Samuel J. Randall	Democrat	Pennsylvania	1883–1889
Joseph G. Cannon	Republican	Illinois	1889–1891
William S. Holman	Democrat	Indiana	1891–1893
Joseph D. Sayers	Democrat	Texas	1893–1895
Joseph G. Cannon	Republican	Illinois	1895–1903
James A. Hemenway	Republican	Indiana	1903–1905
James A. Tawney	Republican	Minnesota	1905–1911
John J. Fitzgerald	Democrat	New York	1911–1917
J. Swager Sherley	Democrat	Kentucky	1917–1919
James W. Good	Republican	Iowa	1919–1921
Martin B. Madden	Republican	Illinois	1921–1928
Daniel R. Anthony, Jr.	Republican	Kansas	1928–1929
William R. Wood	Republican	Indiana	1929–1931
Joseph W. Byrns	Democrat	Tennessee	1931–1933
James P. Buchanan	Democrat	Texas	1933–1937
Edward T. Taylor	Democrat	Colorado	1937–1941
Clarence Cannon	Democrat	Missouri	1941–1947
John Taber	Republican	New York	1947–1949
Clarence Cannon	Democrat	Missouri	1949–1953
John Taber	Republican	New York	1953–1955
Clarence Cannon	Democrat	Missouri	1955–1964
George H. Mahon	Democrat	Texas	1964–1979
Jamie L. Whitten	Democrat	Mississippi	1979–1993
William H. Natcher	Democrat	Kentucky	1993–1994
David R. Obey	Democrat	Wisconsin	1994–1995
Bob Livingston	Republican	Louisiana	1995–1999
C.W. Bill Young	Republican	Florida	1999–2005
Jerry Lewis	Republican	California	2005–present