Committees and Caucuses
Committees:
House Armed Services Committee
The House Armed Services Committee retains exclusive jurisdiction for: defense policy generally, ongoing military operations, the organization and reform of the Department of Defense and Department of Energy, counter-drug programs, security and humanitarian assistance (except special operations-related activities) of the Department of Defense, acquisition and industrial base policy, technology transfer and export controls, joint interoperability, the Cooperative Threat Reduction program, Department of Energy nonproliferation programs, detainee affairs and policy, and inter-agency reform as it pertains to the Department of Defense and the nuclear weapons programs of the Department of Energy. While subcommittees are provided jurisdictional responsibilities in subparagraph (2), the Committee retains the right to exercise oversight and legislative jurisdiction over all subjects within its purview under rule X of the Rules of the House of Representatives.
The Committee has seven standing subcommittees with the following jurisdictions:
- Air and Land Forces
- Military Personnel
- Readiness
- Seapower and Expeditionary Forces
- Strategic Forces
- Terrorism, Unconventional Threats and Capabilities
- Oversight and Investigations
Education and the Workforce Committee
The Education and the Workforce Committee oversees programs that affect hundreds of millions of Americans—from school teachers and small business owners to students and retirees. To serve our constituents and all Americans, the committee will work during the 112th Congress to build on vital reforms we set in motion during the past decade — pressing for parental empowerment and local control in education; modernization of outdated federal rules that stifle liberty and innovation; and dependable access to health care, retirement security, and training for American workers.
The Committee has four standing subcommittees with the following jurisdictions:
- Higher Education, Lifelong Learning, and Competitiveness
- Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions
- Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education
- Workforce Protections
House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence
The Committee has four standing subcommittees with the following jurisdictions:
- Intelligence Community Management
- Oversight
- Technical and Tactical Intelligence
- Terrorism, HUMINT, Analysis and Counterintelligence
Caucuses:
Congressional Gaming Caucus:
The mission of the Congressional Gaming Caucus is to educate and inform Members of Congress on the legislative and regulatory issues facing the gaming industry and its employees.
Congressional Travel & Tourism Caucus:
The Congressional Travel & Tourism Caucus’ mission is to formulate national policy that promotes travel to and within the United States.
The Congressional Travel & Tourism Caucus (CTTC) was founded in 1979, and from the very beginning, Members of the House of Representatives recognized the economic importance of travel and tourism within their communities and the vital need for a congressional advocacy organization to support this multi-faceted industry in Congress.
The economic benefit of travel and tourism extends to all 50 states and every congressional district. In fact, travel and tourism ranks in the top 10 industries in 48 states and Washington, DC. The US travel industry directly employs 7.4 million people and generates $1.9 billion in economic activity every day.
Doctors Caucus:
Using medical expertise and experience to shape and reform our nation’s health care system in a manner that puts patients and their well-being above all political aspirations and party lines.
Guard and Reserve Caucus:
The National Guard and Reserve Caucus was formed to serve on behalf of National Guard and Reserve members as their voice in the House on defense issues and to undertake the pursuit of common legislative objectives.
House GOP Israel Caucus:
The caucus connects Members and staff with leading Middle East policy analysts to deepen their understanding of the issues Israel faces amidst the ever-changing dynamic in the Middle East.
Additionally, the caucus collaborates with policy experts, academics, the Israel and Jewish communities and Members to host events that help open the dialogue on the pertinent issues in the Middle East. The Caucus often partners with the Democratic Israel Working Group in a bipartisan manner on Israel issues which concern people on both sides of the aisle.
Unmanned Systems Caucus:
The mission of the U.S. House Unmanned Systems Caucus is to educate Members of Congress and the public on the strategic, tactical, and scientific value of unmanned systems; actively support further development and acquisition of more systems, and to more effectively engage the civilian aviation community on unmanned system use and safety.
- Acknowledge the overwhelming value of these systems to the defense, intelligence, homeland security, law enforcement, and the scientific communities;
- Recognize the urgent need to rapidly develop and deploy more Unmanned Systems in support of ongoing civil, military, and law enforcement operations;
- Work with the military, industry, the Department of Homeland Security, NASA, the Federal Aviation Administration, and other stakeholders to seek fair and equitable solutions to challenges created by UAV operations in the U.S. National Air Space (NAS);
- Support our world-class industrial base that engineers, develops, manufactures, and tests unmanned systems creating thousands of American jobs;
- Support policies and budgets that promote a larger, more robust national security unmanned system capability.
Western Caucus:
The mission of the Western Caucus is to enhance, sustain, and preserve the West’s dynamic and unique culture, and to find innovative solutions that address the distinctive concerns facing western and rural communities. We believe economic growth and conservation are not mutually exclusive goals and can be accomplished by promoting balanced, common-sense reforms.
To accomplish this mission, the Western Caucus is committed to advancing the following key principles: protecting private property, strengthening local control, promoting economic growth, and increasing energy independence. As part of our advocacy of these principles we will focus on an agenda which will increase energy independence and security, protect and promote multiple use access to federal lands, help educate the public and eventually bring about common-sense reforms to outdated environmental statutes such as the National Environmental Policy Act and the Endangered Species Act, and to reevaluate and reorient current views and policies on federal land ownership.
