Armed Services Committee, House

The House Armed Services Committee has jurisdiction over most aspects of U.S. national defense. Along with its Senate counterpart, the House committee each year prepares the legislation that sets the upper limits on how much the Defense Department can spend for weapons, troops, and military facilities.

U.S.U.S. Reuters

Congress agreed to authorize $393 billion for defense in fiscal 2003—the largest increase in military spending since Ronald Reagan's presidency. The enormous size of the defense budget makes Armed Services one of the most important and powerful committees in the House.

Committee members spend much of their time reviewing requests for funding of new and existing weapons programs submitted by military and civilian officials in the Pentagon. The committee largely determines the size, strength, and fighting ability of the nation's armed forces. The committee does not, however, have complete control over spending for defense. The Budget Committee sets an overall limit on the amount of money available for defense each year, and the Appropriations Committee determines the exact dollar amounts for individual defense programs. But the Armed Services Committee plays the most important role in determining how the money will be spent. (See Appropriations Committee, House; Budget Committee, House.)

The committee is also a significant arena for debate over issues of strategic defense. In recent decades committee members were deeply involved in controversies over nuclear arms control, as well as proposals for new nuclear missiles and an antimissile defense program. The committee took the lead in the House in shaping the U.S. defense program following the disintegration of the Soviet Union. During George W. Bush's administration, the panel addressed questions about the war in Afghanistan and concerns about Iraq's possession of weapons of mass destruction.

The members of Armed Services traditionally have been conservative and strongly pro-defense. Both Democratic and Republican members have worked closely over the years with Pentagon officials and supported their budget requests, sometimes at levels considerably [Page p24]higher than those favored by a majority of the House. The committee's strong tradition of bipartisanship was rocked somewhat in the early 1990s when Democrats solidified their control of the committee and began forcing through more partisan bills. But after a few years of liberal chairs, Republicans took control of the House in 1995, and the panel tilted back toward the right.

History