Overview of the Committee's
role
The Senate Appropriations Committee is the largest
committee in the U.S. Senate, consisting of 28 members
in the 109th 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 Federal treasury. The Committee, chaired
by Thad Cochran (R-Mississippi), writes the legislation
that allocates federal funds to the numerous government
agencies, departments, and organizations on an annual
basis. Appropriations are limited to the levels
set by a Budget Resolution, drafted by the Senate
Budget Committee.
Twelve
subcommittees are tasked with drafting legislation
to allocate funds to government agencies within
their jurisdictions. These subcommittees are responsible
for reviewing the President's budget request,
hearing testimony from government officials, and
drafting the spending plans for the coming fiscal
year. Their work is passed on to the full Senate
Appropriations Committee, which may review and
modify the bills and forward them to the full
Senate for consideration.
The
Committee is also responsible for supplemental
spending bills, which are sometimes needed in
the middle of a fiscal year to compensate for
emergency expenses.
The
Senate Appropriations Committee is located in
S-128 of the Capitol.
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