WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Jack Reed, a member of the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee, today announced that during this congressional session, he will be serving this session on seven of the panel’s 12 subcommittees.
The Appropriations subcommittees on which Reed will serve are:
• Military Construction, Veterans Administration and Related Agencies
This subcommittee provides funding for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, including veterans’ benefits and medical care, and for military construction projects. During the recuperation of U.S. Sen. Tim Johnson, D-S.D., Reed will serve as its temporary chairman.
• Labor, Health and Human Services and Education
This subcommittee provides funding for the U.S. Department of Labor, the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Education. It covers more than 300 programs – including Pell Grants to needy scholars and cancer research at the National Institutes of Health – providing, among other things, education, job training skills and health care.
• Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies
This subcommittee provides critical funding for scientific education, research and exploration, as well as for federal efforts to enhance crime-fighting nationwide. It is the main source of funding for the Department of Justice, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Department of Commerce, including the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). It also funds the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the National Science Foundation, among others.
• Energy and Water Development
This subcommittee provides funding for water-resources development programs and other activities of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Civil Works Program, the Department of Interior’s Bureau of Reclamation, the Department of Energy’s energy-efficiency and research activities and the National Nuclear Security Administration’s atomic-energy defense activities.
• Interior, Environment and Related Agencies
This subcommittee provides funding for environmental and cultural programs, and for health care for Native American tribes. It funds the U.S. Department of Interior (except the Bureau of Reclamation), the Forest Service, the Indian Health Service and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
• State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs
This subcommittee provides funding for security; foreign, economic and humanitarian assistance; and the operation, maintenance and support of the U.S. diplomatic corps and programs.
• Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration and Related Agencies
This subcommittee provides funding for a wide array of programs, mostly in the U.S. Department of Agriculture; these include agricultural research, natural resources conservation, farm income and supports, domestic food assistance, rural housing, economic and community development and various export and international activities of the USDA. It also funds the Food and Drug Administration.
The Appropriations Committee and its subcommittees have broad jurisdiction over federal spending bills, deciding which federal programs are funded and how much money they receive.
