Committees

Committee Descriptions

Committee on Armed Services:

The Committee on Armed Services handles legislation concerning and has jurisdiction over issues related to: Aeronautical and space activities peculiar to or primarily associated with the development of weapons systems or military operations; the common defense; the Department of Defense; the Department of the Army, the Department of the Navy, and the Department of the Air Force, generally; maintenance and operation of the Panama Canal, including administration, sanitation, and government of the Canal Zone; military research and development; national security aspects of nuclear energy; naval petroleum, except those in Alaska; pay, promotion, retirement, and other benefits and privileges of members of the Armed Forces, including overseas education of civilian and military dependents; selective service system; and strategic and critical materials necessary for the common defense.

The Committee also conducts comprehensive study and review of matters relating to the common defense policy of the United States

Committee on Environment and Public Works:

The Committee on Environment and Public Works handles legislation concerning and has jurisdiction over issues related to: Air pollution, Construction and maintenance of highways; Environmental aspects of Outer Continental Shelf lands; Environmental effects of toxic substances, other than pesticides; Environmental policy; Environmental research and development; Fisheries and wildlife; Flood control and improvements of rivers and harbors, including environmental aspects of deepwater ports; Noise pollution; Nonmilitary environmental regulation and control of nuclear energy; Ocean dumping; Public building and improved grounds of the United States generally, including Federal buildings in the District of Columbia; Public works, bridges, and dams; Regional economic development; Solid waste disposal and recycling; Water Pollution; Water resources.

The Committee also studies and reviews, on a comprehensive basis, matters relating to environmental protection and resource utilization and conservation, and reports thereon from time to time.

Committee on Foreign Relations:

The Committee on Foreign Relations handles legislation concerning and has jurisdiction over issues related to Acquisition of land and buildings for embassies and legations in foreign countries; Boundaries of the United States; Diplomatic service, Foreign economic, military, technical, and humanitarian assistance; Foreign loans; International activities of the American National Red Cross and the International Committee of the Red Cross; International aspects of nuclear energy, including nuclear transfer policy; International conferences and congresses; International law as it relates to foreign policy; Intervention abroad and declarations of war; Measures to foster commercial intercourse with foreign nations and the safeguard American business interests abroad; National security and international aspects of trusteeships of the United States; Oceans and international environmental and scientific affairs as they relate to foreign policy; Protection of United States citizens abroad and expatriation; Relations of the United States with foreign nations generally; Treaties and executive agreements; United Nations and its affiliated organizations; World Bank group, the regional development banks, and other international organizations established primarily for development assistance purposes.

The Committee also studies and reviews, on a comprehensive basis, matters relating to the national security policy, foreign policy, and international economic policy as it relates to foreign policy of the United States, and matter relating to food, hunger, and nutrition in foreign countries, and reports thereon from time to time.

The Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions:

The Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions handles legislation concerning and has jurisdiction over issues related to: Measures relating to education, labor, health, and public welfare; Aging; Agricultural colleges; Arts and humanities; Biomedical research and development; Child labor, Convict labor and the entry of goods made by convicts into interstate commerce; Domestic activities of the American National Red Cross; Equal Employment Opportunity; Individuals with disabilities; Labor standards and labor statistics; mediation and arbitration of labor disputes; Occupational safety and health, including the welfare of miners; Private pension plans; Public health; Railway labor and retirement; Regulation of foreign laborers; Student loans; Wages and hours of labor.

The Committee also studies and reviews, on a comprehensive basis, matters relating to health, education and training, and public welfare, and reports thereon from time to time.

The Committee on the Judiciary:

The Committee on the Judiciary handles legislation and has jurisdiction over issues related to: Bankruptcy, mutiny, espionage, and counterfeiting; Civil liberties; Constitutional amendments; Federal courts and judges; Government information; Holidays and celebrations; Immigration and neutralization; Interstate compacts generally; Judicial proceedings, civil and criminal, generally; Local courts in the territories and possessions; Measures relating to claims against the United States; National penitentiaries; Patent Office; patents, copyrights, and trademarks; Protection of trade and commerce against unlawful restraints and monopolies; Revision and codification of the statutes of the United States; State and territorial boundary lines.