In addition to voting on issues that come before the full Senate, Senator Cornyn participates in numerous committee and subcommittee hearings when the Senate is in session. Committee and subcommittee hearings give Senator Cornyn and his colleagues the chance to consider the "nuts and bolts" of legislation before it moves to the floor of the full Senate. Most importantly, these meetings allow him to work on issues important to the people of Texas. He is a member of four important Senate committees and Chairman of the Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Property Rights:

Armed Services Committee

The Committee on Armed Services has jurisdiction over all aspects of national defense and homeland security; the Department of Defense, the Department of the Army, the Department of the Navy, and the Department of the Air Force; military research and development; national security aspects of nuclear energy; 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; aeronautical and space activities peculiar to or primarily associated with the development of weapons systems or military operations as well as strategic and critical materials necessary for the common defense.

• Chairman — Emerging Threats and Capabilities Subcommittee
• Readiness and Management Support Subcommittee
• Strategic Forces Subcommittee

Judiciary Committee

The Committee on the Judiciary is responsible for overseeing the nomination process of all federal judges for circuit and district courts as well as justices nominated to the Supreme Court. Other key areas of responsibility of the committee are immigration and naturalization, state and territorial boundary lines and civil liberties. The Committee also oversees all federal courts, including civil and criminal courts. The Judiciary Committee has one of the broadest jurisdictions in the Senate, ranging from criminal justice to antitrust and intellectual property law.

• Chairman — Immigration, Border Security, and Citizenship Subcommittee
• Constitution, Civil Rights, and Property Rights Subcommittee
• Corrections and Rehabilitation Subcommittee
• Intellectual Property Subcommittee
• Terrorism, Technology, and Homeland Security Subcommittee

Budget Committee

The Senate Committee on the Budget is responsible for drafting Congress' annual budget plan and monitoring action on the budget for the Federal Government. In addition, the Budget Committee has jurisdiction over the operation of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). The budget resolution prepared by the Budget Committee sets out a broad blueprint for the government as a whole, whereas the Finance Committee and the Appropriations Committee prepare the legislation that actually enacts specific tax and spending policies.

Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee

U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) will continue to chair the Small Business Committee in the 109th Congress. Originally established as the Special Committee to Study and Survey Problems of Small Business Enterprises on October 8, 1940, the committee's functions were transferred to the Select Committee on Small Business in 1950, and became a standing committee on March 25, 1981. The committee has jurisdiction over the Small Business Administration, as well as survey and research of American small business enterprises.

Joint Economic Committee

The Joint Economic Committee was established as a result of the Employment Act of 1946. The legislation created both the President's Council of Economic Advisers and the Joint Economic Committee. The panels are tasked with reviewing economic conditions, and with recommending improvements and policies. Chairmanship of the Committee alternates between the Senate and House every Congress. The Chairman of the Committee for the 108th Congress was U.S. Sen. Robert Bennett (R-Utah); the vice chairman was U.S. Rep. Jim Saxton (R-N.J.).