Committee Chairman Carl Levin (D-MI) and former Chairman 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 the prime scene of discussion regarding U.S. military in the Senate.
The Committee on Armed Services 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 U.S. victory in the Second World War. It 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.
Jurisdiction[]
According to the Senate Rules Committee, all proposed legislation, messages, petitions, memorials, and other matters relating to the following subjects are referred to the Armed Services Committee:[1]
- Aeronautical and space activities pertaining to or primarily associated with the development of weapons systems or military operations.
- Common defense.
- 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 reserves, 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.
- Strategic and critical materials necessary for the common defense.
Members, 113th Congress[]
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In June 2009, 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.
| Majority | Minority |
|---|---|
|
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Source: 2013 Congressional Record, Vol. 159, Page S296
Subcommittees[]
| Subcommittee Name | Chair | Ranking Member | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airland | Joe Manchin (D-WV) | Roger Wicker (R-MS) | ||
| Emerging Threats and Capabilities | Kay Hagan (D-NC) | Deb Fischer (R-NE) | ||
| Personnel | Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) | Lindsey Graham (R-SC) | ||
| Readiness and Management Support | Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) | Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) | ||
| Seapower | Jack Reed (D-RI) | John McCain (R-AZ) | ||
| Strategic Forces | Mark Udall (D-CO) | Jeff Sessions (R-AL) | ||
Chairmen[]
Committee on Military Affairs, 1816–1947[]
| Chairman | Party | State | Years | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Williams | DR | TN | 1816–1817 | |
| George M. Troup | DR | GA | 1817–1818 | |
| John Williams | DR | TN | 1818–1823 | |
| Andrew Jackson | DR | TN | 1823–1825 | |
| William Henry Harrison | NR | OH | 1825–1828 | |
| Thomas Hart Benton | D | MO | 1828–1841 | |
| William Preston | W | SC | 1841–1842 | |
| John J. Crittenden | W | KY | 1842–1845 | |
| Thomas Hart Benton | D | MO | 1845–1849 | |
| Jefferson Davis | D | MS | 1849–1851 | |
| James Shields | D | IL | 1851–1855 | |
| John Weller | D | CA | 1855–1857 | |
| Jefferson Davis | D | MS | 1857–1861 | |
| Henry Wilson | R | MA | 1861–1872 | |
| John A. Logan | R | IL | 1872–1877 | |
| George E. Spencer | R | AL | 1877–1879 | |
| Theodore Randolph | D | NJ | 1879–1881 | |
| John A. Logan | R | IL | 1881–1886 | |
| Joseph R. Hawley | R | CT | 1887–1893 | |
| Edward Walthall | D | MS | 1893–1895 | |
| Joseph R. Hawley | R | CT | 1895–1905 | |
| Francis E. Warren | R | WY | 1905–1911 | |
| Henry A. du Pont | R | DE | 1911–1913 | |
| Joseph F. Johnston | D | AL | 1913 | |
| George E. Chamberlain | D | OR | 1913–1919 | |
| James W. Wadsworth, Jr. | R | NY | 1919–1927 | |
| David A. Reed | R | PA | 1927–1933 | |
| Morris Sheppard | D | TX | 1933–1941 | |
| Robert R. Reynolds | D | NC | 1941–1945 | |
| Elbert Thomas | D | UT | 1945–1947 | |
[]
| Chairman | Party | State | Years | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charles Tait | R | GA | 1816–1818 | |
| Nathan Sanford | R | NY | 1818–1819 | |
| James Pleasants | R | VA | 1819–1823 | |
| James Lloyd | F | MA | 1823–1825 | |
| Robert Y. Hayne | D | SC | 1825–1832 | |
| George M. Dallas | D | PA | 1832–1833 | |
| Samuel Southard | W | NJ | 1833–1836 | |
| William C. Rives | D | VA | 1836–1839 | |
| Reuel Williams | D | ME | 1839–1841 | |
| Willie P. Mangum | W | NC | 1841–1842 | |
| Richard H. Bayard | W | DE | 1842–1845 | |
| John Fairfield | D | ME | 1845–1847 | |
| David Levy Yulee | D | FL | 1847–1851 | |
| William M. Gwin | D | CA | 1851–1855 | |
| Stephen Mallory | D | FL | 1855–1861 | |
| John P. Hale | R | NH | 1861–1864 | |
| James Grimes | R | IA | 1864–1870 | |
| Aaron Cragin | R | NH | 1870–1877 | |
| Aaron A. Sargent | R | CA | 1877–1879 | |
| John R. McPherson | D | NJ | 1879–1881 | |
| James Donald Cameron | R | PA | 1881–1893 | |
| John R. McPherson | D | NJ | 1893–1895 | |
| James Donald Cameron | R | PA | 1895–1897 | |
| Eugene Hale | R | ME | 1897–1909 | |
| George C. Perkins | R | CA | 1909–1913 | |
| Benjamin Tillman | D | SC | 1913–1918 | |
| Claude A. Swanson | D | VA | 1918–1919 | |
| Carroll S. Page | R | VT | 1919–1923 | |
| Frederick Hale | R | ME | 1923–1933 | |
| Park Trammell | D | FL | 1933–1937 | |
| David I. Walsh | D | MA | 1937–1947 | |
Committee on Armed Services, 1947–present[]
| Chairman | Party | State | Years | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chan Gurney | Republican | South Dakota | 1947–1949 | |
| Millard E. Tydings | Democratic | Maryland | 1949–1951 | |
| Richard B. Russell | Democratic | Georgia | 1951–1953 | |
| Leverett Saltonstall | Republican | Massachusetts | 1953–1955 | |
| Richard B. Russell | Democratic | Georgia | 1955–1969 | |
| John C. Stennis | Democratic | Mississippi | 1969–1981 | |
| John Tower | Republican | Texas | 1981–1984 | |
| Barry Goldwater | Republican | Arizona | 1985–1987 | |
| Sam Nunn | Democratic | Georgia | 1987–1995 | |
| Strom Thurmond | Republican | South Carolina | 1995–1999 | |
| John Warner | Republican | Virginia | 1999–2001 | |
| Carl Levin | Democratic | Michigan | 2001 | |
| John Warner | Republican | Virginia | 2001 | |
| Carl Levin | Democratic | Michigan | 2001–2003 | |
| John Warner | Republican | Virginia | 2003–2007 | |
| Carl Levin | Democratic | Michigan | 2007–present | |
See also[]
Footnotes[]
External links[]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to United States Senate Armed Services Committee. |
- United States Senate Armed Services Committee Website
- Department of Defense
- Armed Forces Retirement Home
- Selected Service System
- Four Torture Memos Released April 16, 2009, in response to FOIA suit by ACLU Senate Armed Services Committee Report on Torture released April 22, 2009.
- Senate Armed Services Committee member profiles collected news and commentary at The Washington Post
The original article can be found at United States Senate Committee on Armed Services and the edit history here.