Members of Congress serve on a number of committees. Each committee specializes in specific issues and reviews legislation pertaining to those issues. After bills are introduced, they are referred to the committees having jurisdiction over the issues the legislation addresses. Most House committees are further divided into subcommittees. Legislation is first reviewed by a subcommittee, where testimony is presented and the bills are amended. Subcommittee members then vote on the amended bill. If it passes in subcommittee, the legislation is then eligible for consideration by the full committee. If the full committee passes the legislation, it is then eligible for consideration by the full House of Representatives. Only a fraction of bills that get introduced each year are considered by a subcommittee. A smaller percentage of those bills are considered by the full House of Representatives.

Now in her seventh term serving the 13th Congressional District, Congresswoman Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick’s hard work and thoughtful political style have earned her the confidence and respect of her peers, who have appointed her to the powerful House Appropriations Committee. She is the only Michigan Democrat on this important committee, which authorizes spending for all levels of the federal government. The Congresswoman has secured more than a half billion dollars to revitalize the state of Michigan, with emphasis on the 13th District.

Congresswoman Kilpatrick is the first African American woman and the second woman to serve on the Defense Subcommittee. The Defense bill is the largest appropriations bill in the federal government. The Defense Subcommittee has jurisdiction over the Departments of the Army, Navy (including Marine Corps), Air Force, Office of the Secretary of Defense, Central Intelligence Agency, Intelligence Community Staff, and Defense Agencies. The subcommittee has $512.7 billion authorized in total spending for fiscal year 2009. Energy, healthcare, housing, education, and research and development funding is also included in the Defense bill.

The Transportation/Housing and Urban Development Subcommittee has jurisdiction over the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Department of Transportation, the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board, the Federal Maritime Commission, the National Transportation Safety Board, the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation, the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness, and the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. The subcommittee appropriated $103.6 billion in total spending for fiscal year 2008.