United States Senate Committee on Armed Services
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The Committee on Armed Services is a committee of the United States Senate empowered with legislative oversight of the nation's military, including the Department of Defense, military research and development, nuclear energy (as pertaining to national security), benefits for members of the military, the Selective Service System and other matters related to defense policy. The Armed Services Committee was created as a result of the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 following U.S. victory in the Second World War. It merged the responsibilities of the Committee on Naval Affairs (established in 1816) and the Committee on Military Affairs (also established in 1816). Considered one of the most powerful Senate committees, its broad mandate allowed it to report some of the most extensive and revolutionary legislation during the Cold War years, including the National Security Act of 1947.
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[edit] Members, 110th Congress
The Committee is chaired by Democrat Carl Levin of Michigan, and the Ranking Minority Member is Republican John McCain, of Arizona.
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[edit] Subcommittees
The Committee on Armed Services is divided into six subcommittees.
- Subcommittee on Airland, with jurisdiction over army and air force operations, bases and appropriations.
- Chairman: Joe Lieberman (ID-CT)
- Ranking Member: John Cornyn (R-TX)
- Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities, with jurisdicatin over non-traditional threats, such as terrorism and weapons of mass destruction.
- Chairman: Jack Reed (D-RI)
- Ranking Member: Elizabeth Dole (R-NC)
- Subcommittee on Personnel, with jurisdication over all matters relating to active and reserve military personnel, including pay rates, benefits, training programs, and military justice.
- Chairman: Ben Nelson (D-NE)
- Ranking Member: Lindsey Graham (R-SC)
- Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support, with jurisdiction over military readiness, logistics, environmental issues, business operations and working capital funds, real property maintenance, military construction, Base Realignment and Closure, Armed Forces Retirement Home, readiness procurement and depots and shipyards.
- Chairman: Daniel Akaka (D-HI)
- Ranking Member: John Ensign (R-NV)
- Subcommittee on Seapower, with jurisdiction over matters relating to the United States Navy, United States Marine Corps and reserve forces.
- Chairman: Edward Kennedy (D-MA)
- Ranking Member: John Thune (R-SD)
- Subcommittee on Strategic Forces, with jurisdication over nuclear weapons programs, defense space programs, national defense, and nuclear deterrence.
- Chairman: Bill Nelson (D-FL)
- Ranking Member: Jeff Sessions (R-AL)
[edit] Chairmen
[edit] Chairmen of the Senate Committee on Military Affairs, 1816-1947
- John Williams (R-TN) 1816-1817
- George M. Troup (R-GA) 1817-1818
- John Williams (R-TN) 1818-1823
- Andrew Jackson (R-TN) 1823-1825
- William Henry Harrison (NR-OH) 1825-1828
- Thomas Hart Benton (D-MO) 1828-1841
- William Preston (W-SC) 1841-1842
- John J. Crittenden (W-KY) 1842-1845
- Thomas Hart Benton (D-MO) 1845-1849
- Jefferson Davis (D-MS) 1849-1851
- James Shields (D-IL) 1851-1855
- John Weller (D-CA) 1855-1857
- Jefferson Davis (D-MS) 1857-1861
- Henry Wilson (R-MA) 1861-1872
- John A. Logan (R-IL) 1872-1877
- George E. Spencer (R-AL) 1877-1879
- Theodore Randolph (D-NJ) 1879-1881
- John A. Logan (R-IL) 1881-1886
- Joseph R. Hawley (R-CT) 1887-1893
- Edward Walthall (D-MS) 1893-1895
- Joseph R. Hawley (R-CT) 1895-1905
- Francis E. Warren (R-WY) 1905-1911
- Henry A. du Pont (R-DE) 1911-1913
- Joseph F. Johnston (D-AL) 1913
- George E. Chamberlain (D-OR) 1913-1919
- James W. Wadsworth, Jr. (R-NY) 1919-1927
- David A. Reed (R-PA) 1927-1933
- Morris Sheppard (D-TX) 1933-1941
- Robert R. Reynolds (D-NC) 1941-1945
- Elbert Thomas (D-UT) 1945-1947
[edit] Chairmen of the Senate Committee on Naval Affairs, 1816-1947
- Charles Tait (R-GA) 1816-1818
- Nathan Sanford (R-NY) 1818-1819
- James Pleasants (R-VA) 1819-1823
- James Lloyd (F-MA) 1823-1825
- Robert Y. Hayne (D-SC) 1825-1832
- George M. Dallas (D-PA) 1832-1833
- Samuel Southard (W-NJ) 1833-1836
- William C. Rives (D-VA) 1836-1839
- Reuel Williams (D-ME) 1839-1841
- Willie P. Mangum (W-NC) 1841-1842
- Richard H. Bayard (W-DE) 1842-1845
- John Fairfield (D-ME) 1845-1847
- David Levy Yulee (D-FL) 1847-1851
- William M. Gwin (D-CA) 1851-1855
- Stephen Mallory (D-FL) 1855-1861
- John P. Hale (R-NH) 1861-1864
- James Grimes (R-IA) 1864-1870
- Aaron Cragin (R-NH) 1870-1877
- Aaron A. Sargent (R-CA) 1877-1879
- John R. McPherson (D-NJ) 1879-1881
- James Donald Cameron (R-PA) 1881-1893
- John R. McPherson (D-NJ) 1893-1895
- James Donald Cameron (R-PA) 1895-1897
- Eugene Hale (R-ME) 1897-1909
- George C. Perkins (R-CA) 1909-1913
- Benjamin Tillman (D-SC) 1913-1918
- Claude A. Swanson (D-VA) 1918-1919
- Carroll S. Page (R-VT) 1919-1923
- Frederick Hale (R-ME) 1923-1933
- Park Trammell (D-FL) 1933-1937
- David I. Walsh (D-MA) 1937-1947
[edit] Chairmen of the Senate Committee on Armed Services, 1947-present
- Chan Gurney (R-SD) 1947-1949
- Millard E. Tydings (D-MD) 1949-1951
- Richard B. Russell, Jr. (D-GA) 1951-1953
- Leverett Saltonstall (R-MA) 1953-1955
- Richard B. Russell, Jr. (D-GA) 1955-1969
- John C. Stennis (D-MS) 1969-1981
- John Tower (R-TX) 1981-1985
- Barry Goldwater (R-AZ) 1985-1987
- Sam Nunn (D-GA) 1987-1995
- Strom Thurmond (R-SC) 1995-1999
- John Warner (R-VA) 1999-2001
- Carl Levin (D-MI) 2001
- John Warner (R-VA) 2001
- Carl Levin (D-MI) 2001-2003
- John Warner (R-VA) 2003-2007
- Carl Levin (D-MI) 2007-
[edit] External links
- Senate Armed Services Committee
- Department of Defense
- Armed Forces Retirement Home
- Selected Service System
