The United States House Committee on Appropriations is a committee of the United States House of Representatives that is responsible for passing appropriation bills along with its Senate counterpart.^[1] The bills passed by the Appropriations Committee regulate expenditures of money by the government of the United States. As such, it is one of the most powerful committees, and its members are seen as influential.

Quick Facts Standing committee, History ...

House Appropriations Committee

Standing committee
Active United States House of Representatives 118th Congress
Committee logo
History
Formed	December 11, 1865
Leadership
Chair	Tom Cole (R) Since April 10, 2024
Ranking member	Rosa DeLauro (D) Since January 3, 2023
Vice chair	Vacant (R) Since April 10, 2024
Structure
Seats	61
Political parties	Majority (34)   Republican (34) Minority (27)   Democratic (27)
Jurisdiction
Policy areas	Appropriations bills, Discretionary spending, Rescission bills
Oversight authority	Federal government of the United States
Senate counterpart	Senate Committee on Appropriations
Website
appropriations.house.gov

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The constitutional basis for the Appropriations Committee comes from Article one, Section nine, Clause seven of the U.S. Constitution, which says:

No money shall be drawn from the treasury, but in consequence of appropriations made by law; and a regular statement and account of receipts and expenditures of all public money shall be published from time to time.

This clearly delegated the power of appropriating money to Congress, but was vague beyond that. Originally, the power of appropriating was taken by the Committee on Ways and Means, but the United States Civil War placed a large burden on the Congress, and at the end of that conflict, a reorganization occurred.^{[vague][citation needed]}

This section does not cite any sources. (April 2021)

The Appropriations committee is widely recognized by political scientists as one of the "power committees",^{[citation needed]} since it holds the power of the purse. Openings on the Appropriations committee are often hotly demanded, and are doled out as rewards. It is one of the "exclusive" committees of the House, meaning its members typically sit on no other committee. Under House Rules, an exception to this is that five Members of the Appropriations Committee must serve on the House Budget Committee—three for the majority and two for the minority. Much of the power of the committee comes from the inherent utility of controlling spending. Its subcommittee chairs are often called "Cardinals", likening them to the most senior members of the Catholic Church, because of the power they wield over the budget.

Since the House is elected from single-member districts, securing financing for projects in the district can help a member to be reelected as the funds can create jobs and raise economic performance. This type of spending is derided by critics as pork barrel spending, while those who engage in it generally defend it as necessary and appropriate expenditure of government funds. The members of the Appropriations committee can do this better than most, and better direct funding towards another member's district, increasing the stature of committee members in the House and helping them gain support for their priorities, including seeking leadership positions or other honors.

The committee tends to be less partisan than other committees or the House overall. While the minority party will offer amendments during committee consideration, appropriations bills often get significant bipartisan support, both in committee and on the House floor. This atmosphere can be attributed to the fact that all committee members have a compelling interest in ensuring legislation will contain money for their own districts. Conversely, because members of this committee can easily steer money to their home districts, it is considered very difficult to unseat a member of this committee at an election—especially if he or she is a "Cardinal".

In addition, the ability to appropriate money is useful to lobbyists and interest groups; as such, being on Appropriations makes it easier to collect campaign contributions (see: campaign finance).

The Appropriations Committee has one of the largest jurisdictions of any federal committee. Under Rule 10 of the House rules, the committee's jurisdiction is defined as:

1. Appropriation of the revenue for the support of the Government
2. Rescissions of appropriations contained in appropriations Acts
3. Transfers of unexpected balances
4. Bills and joint resolutions reported by other committees that provide new entitlement authority as defined in section 3(9) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 and referred to the committee under clause 4(a)(2)

Resolutions electing members: H.Res. 14 (Chair), H.Res. 15 (Ranking Member), H.Res. 56 (R), H.Res. 60 (D), H.Res. 913 (R), H.Res. 1133 (New chair)

• 2015 United States federal appropriations