United States Senate Committee on the Budget
The United States Senate Committee on the Budget was established by the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974. It is responsible for drafting Congress's annual budget plan and monitoring action on the budget for the Federal Government. The committee has jurisdiction over the Congressional Budget Office. The committee briefly operated as a special committee from 1919 to 1920 during the 66th Congress, before being made a standing committee in 1974.[1]
Standing committee | |
---|---|
Active United States Senate 118th Congress | |
History | |
Formed | 1974 |
Leadership | |
Chair | Sheldon Whitehouse (D) Since February 2, 2023 |
Ranking member | Chuck Grassley (R) Since February 2, 2023 |
Structure | |
Seats | 21 |
Political parties | Majority (11)
|
Jurisdiction | |
Policy areas | Budgetary policy and process, Fiscal policy, Government spending, Public debt, Tax expenditures |
Oversight authority | Congressional Budget Office |
House counterpart | House Budget Committee |
Meeting place | |
608 Dirksen Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510 | |
Website | |
www | |
Rules | |
The current Chair is Rhode Island Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, and the Ranking Member is Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley.
Contrasted with other committees
The Budget Committee should not be confused with the Finance Committee and the Appropriations Committee, both of which have different jurisdictions: The Finance Committee is analogous to the Ways and Means Committee in the House of Representatives; it has legislative jurisdiction in the areas of taxes, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and some other entitlements. The Appropriations Committee has legislative jurisdiction over appropriations bills, which provide funding for government programs.
While the budget resolution prepared by the Budget Committee sets out a broad blueprint for the Congress with respect to the total levels of revenues and spending for the government as a whole, these other Committees prepare bills for specific tax and spending policies.
118th Congress
Majority[2] | Minority[3] |
---|---|
|
|
Chairs, 1975–present
Chairs | Party | State | Years | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Edmund S. Muskie | Democratic | Maine | 1975–1980 | |
Ernest F. Hollings | Democratic | South Carolina | 1980–1981 | |
Pete Domenici | Republican | New Mexico | 1981–1987 | |
Lawton Chiles | Democratic | Florida | 1987–1989 | |
James Sasser | Democratic | Tennessee | 1989–1995 | |
Pete Domenici | Republican | New Mexico | 1995–2001 | |
Kent Conrad | Democratic | North Dakota | 2001[lower-alpha 2] | |
Pete Domenici | Republican | New Mexico | 2001 | |
Kent Conrad | Democratic | North Dakota | 2001–2003[lower-alpha 3] | |
Don Nickles | Republican | Oklahoma | 2003–2005 | |
Judd Gregg | Republican | New Hampshire | 2005–2007 | |
Kent Conrad | Democratic | North Dakota | 2007–2013 | |
Patty Murray | Democratic | Washington | 2013–2015 | |
Mike Enzi | Republican | Wyoming | 2015–2021 | |
Bernie Sanders | Independent[lower-alpha 1] | Vermont | 2021–2023 | |
Sheldon Whitehouse | Democratic | Rhode Island | 2023–present |
Historical membership rosters
117th Congress
Majority | Minority |
---|---|
|
|
Source:[4]
116th Congress
Majority | Minority |
---|---|
|
|
115th Congress
Majority | Minority |
---|---|
|
|
114th Congress
Majority | Minority |
---|---|
|
|
113th Congress
Majority | Minority |
---|---|
|
|
112th Congress
Majority | Minority |
---|---|
|
|
111th Congress
Majority | Minority |
---|---|
|
|
110th Congress
Majority | Minority |
---|---|
|
|
109th Congress
Majority | Minority |
---|---|
|
|
Notes
- Senator is formally an independent but caucuses with the Democrats.
- 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.
- 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.
References
- Walter Stubbs (1985), Congressional Committees, 1789–1982: A Checklist, Greenwood Press, pp. 16–17
- S.Res. 30 (118th Congress)
- S.Res. 31 (118th Congress)
- "Committee Members | U.S. Senate Committee on the Budget".