United States Senate Committee on Appropriations

The United States 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 Senate Appropriations Committee is the largest committee in the U.S. Senate, with 30 members in the 114th Congress. 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 senators' appropriation requests. For example, in fiscal year 2005 per capita federal spending in Alaska, the home state of then-Chairman Ted Stevens, was $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 four percent of the overall spending in the $388 billion Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2005 passed by Congress.

Appropriations Committee

In the United States government, the Appropriations Committee can refer to either:

Appropriations Committee (Georgia Senate)

The Senate Appropriations Committee is a 28 member legislative body consisting of a chairman, a vice-chairman, a secretary, and 25 members. The Committee operates under a Senate mandate to propose legislation that allocates annual funds to state government agencies, departments, and organizations.

Scope and jurisdiction

Members of the Senate Appropriations Committee hold various assigned seats in 14 subcommittees organized to assist the committee in fulfilling its responsibilities, and to hold hearings as well as to approve legislation for a balanced budget.

Members

As of 2014, the members of the Senate Appropriations Committee are:

Appropriations Committee (Georgia House)

The House Appropriations Committee is an 11 member legislative body consisting of a chairman, seven subcommittee chairmans, a secretary, and two ex officio. The Committee operates under a House mandate to write and amended the state's fiscal year budgets for all state agencies and departments.

Scope and jurisdiction

The House Appropriations Committee is responsible for writing "the state’s amended and general fiscal year budgets for Georgia’s state agencies and departments." The committee also considers legislation that significantly impacts the state's revenue or the expenditures thereof.

Members

As of 2014, the members of the House Appropriations Committee are: