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United States Senate Committee on Armed Services

Chairman Carl Levin (D-MI) and Ranking Member John Warner (R-VA) listen to Admiral Mike Mullen's confirmation hearing before the Armed Services Committee to become Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in July 2007; the Armed Services Committee is charged with overseeing the U.S. Senate's confirmation hearings for senior U.S. military.
Armed Services Committee senators Joe Lieberman, Carl Levin (chair), and John McCain listen to Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus deliver his opening remarks for the fiscal year 2010 budget request in June 2009.
The committee's Don't Ask, Don't Tell hearing on December 2, 2010; U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates greets Ranking member, John McCain.
The Committee on Armed Services' hearing on sexual assault in the military on June 4, 2013

The Committee on Armed Services, sometimes abbreviated SASC for Senate Armed Services Committee, is a committee of the United States Senate empowered with legislative oversight of the nation's military, including the Department of Defense, military research and development, nuclear energy (as pertaining to national security), benefits for members of the military, the Selective Service System and other matters related to defense policy. The Armed Services Committee was created as a result of the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 following the U.S. victory in World War II. The bill merged the responsibilities of the Committee on Naval Affairs, established in 1816, and the Committee on Military Affairs, also established in 1816.

Considered one of the most powerful Senate committees, its broad mandate allowed it to report some of the most extensive and revolutionary legislation during the Cold War years, including the National Security Act of 1947. The committee tends to take a more bipartisan approach than other committees, as many of its members formerly served in the military or have major defense interests located in the states they come from.[1] The committee's regular legislative product is the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which has been passed by Congress and signed into law annually since 1962.[2]

The current chair is Democrat Jack Reed of Rhode Island, and the Ranking Member is Republican Roger Wicker of Mississippi (2023).

Jurisdiction

According to the Standing Rules of the United States Senate, all proposed legislation, messages, petitions, memorials, and other matters relating to the following subjects are referred to the Armed Services Committee:[3]

  1. Aeronautical and space activities pertaining to or primarily associated with the development of weapons systems or military operations.
  2. Common defense.
  3. Department of Defense, the Department of the Army, the Department of the Navy, and the Department of the Air Force, generally.
  4. Maintenance and operation of the Panama Canal, including administration, sanitation, and government of the Canal Zone.
  5. Military research and development.
  6. National security aspects of nuclear energy.
  7. Naval petroleum reserves, except those in Alaska.
  8. Pay, promotion, retirement, and other benefits and privileges of members of the Armed Forces, including overseas education of civilian and military dependents.
  9. Selective service system.
  10. Strategic and critical materials necessary for the common defense.

Members, 118th Congress

Subcommittees

Chairs

Committee on Military Affairs, 1816–1947

Committee on Naval Affairs, 1816–1947

Committee on Armed Services, 1947–present

Historical committee rosters

111th Congress

Source: 2010 Congressional Record, Vol. 156, Page S6226

Subcommittees

112th Congress

Source: 2011 Congressional Record, Vol. 157, Page S557

Subcommittees

113th Congress

Source: 2013 Congressional Record, Vol. 159, Page S296

Subcommittees

114th Congress

115th Congress

116th Congress

117th Congress

Source:[12]

See also

Footnotes

  1. ^ Steinhauer, Jennifer. "With Chairmanship, McCain Seizes Chance to Reshape Pentagon Agenda", The New York Times (June 9, 2015). Retrieved June 10, 2015.
  2. ^ "History of the NDAA". February 3, 2017.
  3. ^ Rule XXV: Committees, Standing Rules of the United States Senate.
  4. ^ S.Res. 30 (118th Congress)
  5. ^ S.Res. 31 (118th Congress)
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i Independent Senator caucusing with Democrats
  7. ^ a b "Senate Armed Services Committee - Subcommittees, 118th Congress". Senate Armed Services Committee. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
  8. ^ Died August 8, 1913.
  9. ^ At the beginning of the 107th Congress in January 2001 the Senate was evenly divided. With a Democratic president and vice president still serving until January 20, the Democratic vice president was available to break a tie, and the Democrats thus controlled the Senate for 17 days, from January 3 to January 20. On January 3 the Senate adopted S. Res. 7 designating Democratic senators as committee chairmen to serve during this period and Republican chairmen to serve effective at noon on January 20, 2001.
  10. ^ On June 6, 2001, the Democrats took control of the Senate after Senator James Jeffords (VT) changed from the Republican Party to Independent and announced that he would caucus with the Democrats.
  11. ^ Died August 25, 2018.
  12. ^ "U.S. Senate: Committee on Armed Services". Senate.gov. Retrieved January 7, 2017.

External links

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