Congress, already divided between the House and Senate, becomes further departmentalized at the committee level. Standing committees are simply those that are permanent. The party with the majority in the chamber of Congress earns the chairmanship and majorities on the chamber’s committees. The top spot for the committee member of the minority party is called the Ranking Member.
Committees are divided to utilize specializations and knowledge of its members as it pertains to a certain area of focus, as well as view legislation before to debate, amend, or table it before the legislation can advance to the floor of the chamber for a vote from all representatives.
While standing committees are permanent, there are several other types of committees and caucuses that serve numerous purposes in Washington. Each committee also has certain subcommittees that are composed of members of the committee at large. Last week, we looked at Agriculture, Appropriations, Armed Services, Budget, and Education and the Workforce – five of the House’s twenty standing committees. This week, we’ll look at the next five.
Energy and Commerce
This committee is at “the forefront of all issues and policies powering America’s economy, including our global competitive edge in energy, technology, and health care,” according to their website. The committee is divided into six subcommittees.
The Communications and Technology Subcommittee has oversight of electronic foreign and interstate electric communications, including voice, video, audio, and data, wired and wireless, transmitted by telecommunications, commercial or private mobile service, broadcast, cable, satellite, microwave, and other modes. It also handles matters of emergency and public safety communications, cybersecurity, privacy, and jurisdiction related to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), National Telecommunications and Information Administration, and the Office of Emergency Communications in the Department of Homeland Security (DOH).
The Energy, Climate, and Grid Security Subcommittee handles the National Energy Policy (NPE), energy infrastructure and security, energy-related agencies and commissions, and all laws, programs, and government activities affecting energy matters. NPE focuses on fossil fuels, renewable energy, nuclear energy, energy conservation, and utility issues relating to energy generation, marketing, reliability, transmission, siting, production, efficiency, cybersecurity, and ratemaking. Infrastructure oversight pertains to pipelines, the strategic petroleum reserves, nuclear facilities, and national grid cybersecurity.
The Subcommittee on Environment, Manufacturing, and Critical Materials handles matters of soil, air, noise, and water contamination, physical and cybersecurity emergency environmental responses, as well as standards and policies on hazardous air pollutants, Mobile Source Standards for aircraft, fuels and fuel additives, and regulation of solid, hazardous, and nuclear wastes, including mining, oil, gas, coal, nuclear, and combustion waste.
The Health Subcommittee has oversight of private and public health insurance, as they pertain to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Medicare, Medicaid, and CHIP. It also governs matters of biomedical research and development, hospital construction, mental health, health information technology, medical malpractice, the 340B drug discount program, and the regulation of food, drugs, and cosmetics.
The Innovation, Data, and Commerce Committee handles interstate and foreign commerce, consumer protection, data security, motor vehicle safety, and regulation of commercial practices in tandem with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). It also handles matters of product liability, regulation of travel and tourism, and commerce regulation with foreign nations, states, and Indian Tribes.
The Oversight and Investigations Committee conducts oversight and investigations of any matter related to the jurisdiction of the full committee.
The committee has fifty-two members: twenty-nine Republicans and twenty-three Democrats. Cathay McMorris Rodgers (R, WA-05) serves as Chair and Frank Pallone (D, NJ-06) serves as Ranking Member.
Ethics
The Ethics Committee is unique among House committees in that it is the only committee that has a purely bipartisan makeup: five Republicans and five Democrats. The evenly split is to ensure neither party has full control or veto power over the committee’s functions and investigations. Members are limited to three terms on the committee unless a fourth term is served as Chair. All committee staff are nonpartisan. Instead of being divided into subcommittees, the Ethics Committee functions with three main responsibilities.
The Office of Advice and Education serves to provide ethics training to Representatives, officers, and employees of the committee. Advisory functions of the committee are handled confidentially. Committee rules prevent an Advice and Education inquiry from being transformed into an investigation.
The second function of the committee is Investigations. The committee is tasked with investigating and adjudicating any alleged violations of House rules or statutes by Representatives, officers, and employees.
Finally, the third function is to review financial disclosure statements filed by Representatives, candidates, senior staff, and shared staff.
Equally divided between the parties, Michael Guest (R, MS-03) serves as Chair and Susan Wild (D, PA-07) serves as Ranking Member. Andrew Garbarino (R-Bayport) is one of the five Republicans who serve on the committee. The committee rose to prominence with the investigations into former Congressman George Santos (R-Queens).
Financial Services
The Financial Services Committee has oversight of issues pertaining to the economy, banking system, housing, insurance, securities, and exchanges. The committee also has jurisdiction over monetary policy, international finance, and efforts to combat terrorist financing. The committee has oversight of the Federal Reserve Board and individual reserve banks, the Treasury, and the production and distribution of currency.
The committee is divided into six subcommittees: Capital Markets; Financial Institutions and Monetary Policy; Digital Assets, Financial Technology, and Inclusion; National Security, Illicit Finance, and International Financial Institutions; Oversight and Investigations; and Housing and Insurance.
The committee has fifty-two members: twenty-nine Republicans and twenty-three Democrats. Patrick McHenry (R, NC-10) serves as Chair and Maxine Waters (D, CA-43) serves as Ranking Member. French Hill (R, AR-02) serves as Vice Chair. Congressman Garbarino serves on the committee and is Vice Chair of the Capital Markets Subcommittee and serves on the Housing and Insurance Subcommittee.
Foreign Affairs
The Foreign Affairs Committee has oversight related to foreign assistance, the Peace Corps, national security developments affecting foreign policy, strategic planning and agreements, war powers, treaties, executive agreements, deployment and use of the U.S. Armed Forces, peacekeeping, enforcement of United Nations sanctions, arms control and disarmament issues, promotion of democracy, embassy security, and public diplomacy, including international communication, information policy, international education, and cultural programs. The committee is divided into seven subcommittees, most pertaining to the continents of the world: Africa; Europe; Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations; Indo-Pacific; Middle East, North Africa, and Central Asia; Oversight and Accountability; and Western Hemisphere.
The subcommittees handle matters between the U.S. and foreign countries, legislation concerning assistance outside the Foreign Assistance Act, boundary issues, international claims, human rights practices in certain countries, loans and financial relations, identification and development of options for meeting future problems and issues relating to U.S. interests in said countries, and facility base rights and access.
Oversight and Accountability has oversight and investigation of matters within the jurisdiction of the full committee.
The committee is composed of fifty-one members: twenty-seven Republicans and twenty-three Democrats. Michael McCaul (R, TX-10) serves as Chair and Gregory Meeks (D, NY-05) serves as Ranking Member.
Homeland Security
The Homeland Security Committee handles matters relating to border security and enforcement, cybersecurity and infrastructure protection, oversight, investigations, and accountability, counterterrorism, law enforcement, intelligence, emergency management and technology, and transportation and maritime security. The committee has six subcommittees.
The Subcommittee on Border Security and Enforcement has oversight of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). The subcommittee focuses on border and port security in the northern and southern land, air, and maritime domains, international aspects of border security, DHS policies and operations that facilitate legal trade and travel, CBP staffing and resource allocations, and ICE and USCIS border security activities.
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection Subcommittee has oversight of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and cybersecurity missions and operations under the DHS. It focuses on protecting the federal network, strengthening critical infrastructure security and resilience, advancing cooperation between the federal government and non-federal owners and operators of critical infrastructure. Congressman Garbarino currently chairs this subcommittee.
The Subcommittee on Emergency Management and Technology, chaired by Anthony D’Esposito (R-Island Park), focuses on emergency preparedness, response, mitigation, resilience, recovery, DHS grant programs, homeland security research and development, and protecting against and mitigating weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and health security threats. Congressman Nick LaLota (R, NY-01) serves on this subcommittee.
The Counterterrorism, Law Enforcement, and Intelligence Subcommittee maintains oversight of the U.S. Secret Service (USSS) and other federal security agencies. It focuses on the DHS’ effectiveness in providing homeland security and fulfilling counterterrorism missions, as well as its operations and preparedness. It also has oversight of DHS’ ability to identify and deter threats through collection, analysis, and dissemination of homeland security information and intelligence across federal, state, local, and private sector partners, as well as the protection of federal facilities, training, resources, and support for law enforcement, and strengthening protective, investigation, and cyber missions of the USSS.
The Oversight, Investigations, and Accountability Subcommittee focuses on organization, administration, and management of the DHS, policies, processes, and programs of DHS for contracts, acquisitions, human capital, civil rights and liberties, and privacy, as well as the strategy, policy, and planning efforts of DHS for its offices and components.
The Transportation and Maritime Security Subcommittee has oversight of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and the U.S. Coast Guard. It focuses on enhancing security of U.S. transportation systems, security of passengers, cargo, airports, and aircraft, the security of mass transit, railroads, highways, and pipelines, as well as Coast Guard port and maritime security operations. Congressman LaLota serves on this subcommittee.
The committee has thirty-three members: eighteen Republicans and fifteen Democrats. Mark Green (R, TN-07) serves as Chair and Bennie Thompson (D, MS-02) serves as Ranking Member. This committee contains all members of cultural Long Island’s four congressional districts: Nick LaLota, Andrew Garbarino, Anthony D’Esposito, and Tom Suozzi (D-Glen Cove).
