Armed Services Committee, Senate

Like its House counterpart, the Senate Armed Services Committee has responsibility for most aspects of U.S. national defense. Because it has authority over the vast array of Defense Department programs, the committee usually is considered to be among the most influential committees in the Senate. (See Armed Services Committee, House.)

The work of the Armed Services Committee revolves around the annual Defense Department authorization bill. This measure must be reported and passed each year to give the Defense Department authority to spend money. Once it has been passed, Congress may approve appropriations bills for purchase of weapons, military operations, and construction of military facilities.

The Senate committee resembles the House Armed Services panel in many ways. Their jurisdictions are basically the same, with the exception of the Senate panel's jurisdiction over defense-related executive nominations. The two committees also have a similar political approach to defense issues. The Senate committee historically has had a pro-defense majority, which has tended to give strong support to Pentagon requests for funding of proposed new weapons systems.

Senate Armed Services has faced challenges to its authority over defense spending similar to those that have confronted the House committee in recent decades. The development of the congressional budget process and a newly assertive attitude on the part of the Appropriations Committee posed threats to the Armed Services panel's control over the amount of money available for defense spending. (See Appropriations Committee, Senate.)

The Senate Armed Services Committee for the most part did not face the kind of political problems that often plagued its House counterpart during the 1970s and 1980s. Senate committee members generally proposed defense policies and spending levels that enjoyed broad support in the Senate. This was in marked contrast to the House, where Armed Services Committee proposals often were opposed by a majority of Democrats in the whole House. But with the demise of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s, even the Senate committee felt increased pressure from Democrats to make deep cuts in the defense budget. A decade later, however, defense budgets jumped dramatically as fears about terrorism took root after the September 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington.

History