The House’s standing committees have different legislative jurisdictions. Each considers bills and issues and recommends measures for consideration by the House. Committees also have oversight responsibilities to monitor agencies, programs, and activities within their jurisdictions, and in some cases in areas that cut across committee jurisdictions.

The Committee of the Whole House is a committee of the House on which all representatives serve and which meets in the House Chamber for the consideration of measures from the Union calendar.

Before members are assigned to committees, each committee’s size and the proportion of Republicans to Democrats must be decided by the party leaders. The total number of committee slots allotted to each party is approximately the same as the ratio between majority party and minority party members in the full chamber.

Get answers to frequently asked questions about committees from the Clerk of the House.

Source: US House website

Mission:  
The Committee on Agriculture has general jurisdiction over federal agriculture policy and oversight of some federal agencies, and it can recommend funding appropriations for various governmental agencies, programs, and activities, as defined by House rules.

Senate counterpart:  Committee on Agriculture 

Subcommittees:

• Commodity Markets, Digital Assets and Rural Development
• Conservation, Research and Biotechnology
• Forestry
• General Farm Commodities, Risk Management, and Credit
• Livestock, Dairy and Poultry
• Nutrition, Foreign Agriculture and Horticulture

Chair: Glenn Thompson, Pennsylvania (R)
Ranking Member: David Scott, Georgia (D)

Staff Director Majority: Parish Braden
Staff Director Minority: Anne Simmons
Meeting Location: 1301 Longworth House Office Building; Washington, DC 20515 (202-225-2171)

Featured Video:  21st Century Food Systems – Aug. 3, 2021
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The House Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies is a standing subcommittee within the House Appropriations Committee. The United States House Committee on Appropriations and the United States Senate Committee on Appropriations have joint jurisdiction over all appropriations bills in the United States Congress. Each committee has 12 matching subcommittees, each of which is tasked with working on one of the twelve annual regular appropriations bills

Senate counterparts: Committee on Appropriations
Subcommittees:

• Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies
• Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies
• Defense
• Energy and Water Development
• Financial Services and General Government
• Homeland Security
• Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies
• Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies
• Legislative Branch
• Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies
• State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs
• Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies

Chair: Kay Granger, Texas (R)
Ranking Member: Rosa DeLauro, Connecticut (D)

Majority Staff Director: N/A
Minority Staff Director:  Christopher Bigelow
Meeting Location: 2362A Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515 (202) 225-2771

Featured Video:  Markup of FY22 Transportation, Housing & Urban Development & Energy & Water Dev. – 7/16/21
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The U.S. House Committee on Armed Services, commonly known as the House Armed Services Committee or HASC, is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. It is responsible for funding and oversight of the Department of Defense (DoD) and the United States Armed Forces, as well as substantial portions of the Department of Energy. Its regular legislative product is the National Defense Authorization Act, which has been passed by Congress and signed into law each year since 1962

Senate counterparts:   Committee on Armed Services (Senate)

Subcommittees:

• Cyber, Innovative Technologies and Information Systems
• Intelligence and Special Operations
• Military Personnel
• Readiness
• Seapower and Projection Forces
• Strategic Forces
• Tactical Air and Land Forces

Chair: Mac Thornberry, Texas
Ranking Member: Adam Smith, Washington

Majority Staff Director: Christopher Vieson
Minority Staff Director:  Brian Garrett
Meeting Location: 2216 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, DC 20515-6035. (202) 225-4151

Featured Video: Full Committee Hearing: “Department of the Air Force Fiscal Year 2022 Budget Request” – June 16, 2021
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The United States House Committee on the Budget, commonly known as the House Budget Committee, is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. Its responsibilities include legislative oversight of the federal budget process, reviewing all bills and resolutions on the budget, and monitoring agencies and programs funded outside of the budgetary process. The committee briefly operated as a select committee in 1919 and 1921, during the 66th and 67th United States Congresses, before being made a standing committee in 1974.

Senate counterpart: Budget Committee (Senate)

Chair: Jodey Arrington, Texas
Ranking Member: Brendan Boyle, Pennsylvania

Majority Staff Director: Gary Andres
Minority Staff Director: Gregory Waring
Meeting Location: 204 Cannon House Office Building Washington, D.C. 20515;  (202) 226-7270

Featured Video: Markup of: American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 – 2/22/21
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The Committee on Education and the Workforce is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. There are 50 members of this committee. Since 2023, the chair of the Education and the Workforce committee is Virginia Foxx of North Carolina.

Senate counterpart: Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

Subcommittees:

• Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education
• Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions
• Higher Education and Workforce Investment
• Workforce Protections

Chair: Virginia Foxx, North Carolina (R)
Ranking Member: Bobby Scott, Virginia (D)

Majority Staff Director: Cyrus Artz
Minority Staff Director: Veronique Pluviose
Meeting Location: 2176 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, DC 20515; 202-225-4527

Featured Video:  Examining the Policies and Priorities of the U.S. Department of Education – 6/24/21
Web Links

The Committee on Energy and Commerce serves as the principal guide for the House in matters relating to the promotion of commerce and to the public’s health and marketplace interests, with the relatively recent addition of energy considerations among them.

Senate counterparts: Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

Subcommittees:

•  Communications and Technology
• Energy, Climate and Grid Security
• Environment, Manufacturing and Critical Minerals
• Health
• Innovation, Data and Commerce
• Oversight and Investigations

Chair: Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Washington (R)
Ranking Member: Frank Pallone, New Jersey (D)

Majority Staff Director: N/A
Minority Staff Director: N/A
Meeting Location:

Featured Video: 
Disinformation Nation: Social Media’s Role in Promoting Extremism and Misinformation – March 25, 2021

The Ethics in Government Act (EIGA) designates the Committee on Ethics as the “supervising ethics office” for the House of Representatives and charges the Committee with duties and responsibilities for Financial Disclosure Statements (Title I) and for Outside Employment (Title V) with respect to Members, officers, and employees of the House of Representatives.

Senate counterpart: Select Committee on Ethics

Chair: Michael Guest, Mississippi (R)
Ranking Member: Susan Wild, Pennsylvania (D)

Chief Counsel, Staff Director:  Thomas Rust
Meeting Location: 1015 Longworth House Office Building (LHOB), Washington, DC  20515;
Phone: 202-225-7103 

Featured Video:  House Ethics Committee 02/02/21

The Committee on Financial Services, also referred to as the House Banking Committee, oversees the entire financial services industry, including the securities, insurance, banking and housing industries. The Financial Services Committee also oversees the work of the Federal Reserve, the United States Department of the Treasury, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and other financial services regulators.

Senate counterpart: Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs

Subcommittees:

• Capital Markets
• Digital Assets, Financial Technology and Inclusion
• Financial Institutions and Monetary Policy
• Housing and Insurance
• National Security, Illicit Finance, and International Financial Institutions

Chair: Patrick McHenry, North Carolina (R)
Ranking Member: Maxine Waters, California (D)

Majority Staff Director: Matt Hoffmann
Minority Staff Director: Charla Ouertatani
Meeting Location: 2129 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, DC 20515
(202) 225-7502

Featured Video: 
The Promises and Perils of Central Bank Digital Currencies – July 28, 2021

 The House Committee on Foreign Affairs has jurisdiction over bills, programs, and investigations concerning the foreign affairs of the United States.

Senate counterpart: Committee on Foreign Relations

Subcommittees:

• Africa
• Europe
• Indo-Pacific
• Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia
• Western Hemisphere
• Global Health, Global Human Rights and International Organizations
• Oversight and Accountability

Chair: Michael McCaul, Texas (R)
Ranking Member: Gregory Meeks, New York (D)

Majority Staff Director: Brendan Shields
Minority Staff Director: Sophia Lafargue
Meeting Location: HVC-210, Capitol Visitors Center, House Side, Second Floor, Room 210; (202) 226-8467

Featured Video: Secretary Blinken: The Biden Administration’s Priorities for U.S. Foreign Policy – March 10, 2021
Web Links

The committee conducts oversight and handles legislation (and resolutions) related to the security of the United States. The committee has authorization and policy oversight responsibilities over the Department of Homeland Security.

Senate counterpart: Senate Committee on Homeland Security 

Subcommittees:

• Border Security and Enforcement
• Counterterrorism, Law Enforcement and Intelligence
• Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection
• Emergency Management and Technology
• Oversight, Investigations and Accountability
• Transportation and Maritime Security

Chair: Mark Green, Tennessee (R)
Ranking Member: Bennie Thompson, Mississippi (D)

Majority Staff Director: Stephen Siao
Minority Staff Director:  Hope Goins
Meeting Location: H2-176 Ford House Office Building Washington, DC 20515;  (202) 226-8417

Featured Video:  The Cyber Talent Pipeline: Educating a Workforce to Match Today’s Threats – July 29, 2021
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The Committee on House Administration deals with the general administration matters of the United States House of Representatives.

Senate Counterpart: Committee on Rules and Administration

Subcommittees:

• Elections
• Modernization

Chair: Bryan Steil, Wisconsin
Ranking Member: Joseph Morelle, New York

Majority Staff Director: Tim Monahan
Minority Staff Director: Jamie Fleet
Meeting Location: 1309 Longworth House Office Building, Washington D.C. 20515; Phone: 202-225-8281

Featured Video: Press Conference on Report: “Voting in America: Ensuring Free and Fair Access to the Ballot” – August 6, 2021
Web Links

Oversee the administration of justice within the federal courts, administrative agencies and Federal law enforcement entities. The Judiciary Committee is also the committee responsible for impeachments of federal officials.

Senate counterpart:  Committee on the Judiciary

Subcommittees:

• Administrative State, Regulatory Reform and Antitrust
• The Constitution and Limited Government
• Courts, Intellectual Property and the Internet
• Crime and Federal Government Surveillance
• Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement
• Responsiveness and Accountability to Oversight

Chair: Jim Jordan, Ohio
Ranking Member: Jerry Nadler, New York

Majority Staff Director: Christopher Hixon
Minority Chief of Staff: Amy Rutkin
Meeting Location: 2138 Rayburn House Building, Washington, DC  20515; Phone: (202) 225-6906

Featured Video: 
Oversight of the Voting Rights Act: Potential Legislative Reforms – August 16, 2021
Web Links

The House Committee on Natural Resources considers legislation about American energy production, mineral lands and mining, fisheries and wildlife, public lands, oceans, Native Americans, irrigation and reclamation.

Senate Counterpart:  Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

Subcommittees:

• Energy and Mineral Resources
• Federal Lands
• Indian and Insular Affairs
• Oversight and Investigations
• Water, Wildlife and Fisheries

Chair: Bruce Westerman, Arkansas,
Ranking Member: Raúl Grijalva, Arizona

Majority Staff Director: Vivian Moeglein
Minority Staff Director: Lora Snyder
Meeting Location:  Committee on Natural Resources, 1324 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515; (202) 225-2761

Featured Video:  The President’s FY22 Budget Priority for the Territories: Medicaid, SSI, and SNAP Parity – July 28, 2021
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The Committee on Oversight and Reform is the main investigative committee in the U.S. House of Representatives. It has authority to investigate the subjects within the Committee’s legislative jurisdiction as well as “any matter” within the jurisdiction of the other standing House Committees.

Subcommittees: 

• Cyber Security, Information Technology and Government Innovation
• Economic Growth, Energy Policy and Regulatory Affairs
• Government Operations and the Federal Workforce
• Health Care and Financial Services
• National Security, the Border, and Foreign Affairs

Chair: James Comer, Kentucky (R)
Ranking Member: Jamie Raskin, Maryland (D)

Majority Staff Director: Mark Marin
Minority Staff Director: Karen McAfee
Meeting Location: 2157 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515; Phone: (202) 225-5074

Featured Video: Democracy in Danger: The Assault on Voting Rights in Texas – July 29, 2021
Web Links

The Rules Committee has two broad categories of jurisdiction: special orders for the consideration of legislation (known as “special rules” or “rules”) and original jurisdiction matters. A special rule provides the terms and conditions of debate on a measure or matter, consideration of which constitutes the bulk of the work of the Rules Committee. The Committee also considers original jurisdiction measures, which commonly represent changes to the standing rules of the House, or measures that contain special rules, such as the expedited procedures in trade legislation.

The Committee has the authority to do virtually anything during the course of consideration of a measure, including deeming it passed. The Committee can also include a self- executed amendment which could rewrite just parts of a bill, or the entire measure. In essence, so long as a majority of the House is willing to vote for a special rule, there is little that the Rules Committee cannot do.

Senate Counterpart: Rules Committee (Senate)

Subcommittees:

• Legislative and Budget Process
• Rules and the Organization of the House

Chair: Tom Cole, Oklahoma (R)
Ranking Member: Jim McGovern, Massachusetts (D)

Majority Staff Director: Kelly Dixon Chambers
Minority Staff Director: Donald Sisson
Meeting Location: H-312, The Capitol, Washington, D.C. 20515; Phone: (202) 225-9191

Featured Video: Rules Committee Meeting on H.R. 4373, H.R. 4346 and H.R. 4505 Part 2 – July 28, 2021
Web Links

Mission:
To oversee all non-defense federal scientific research and development. More specifically, the committee has complete jurisdiction over the following federal agencies: NASA, NSF, NIST, and the OSTP. The Committee also has authority over R&D activities at the Department of Energy, the EPA, FAA, NOAA, the DOT, the NWS, the DHS and the U.S. Fire Administration.

Senate Counterpart: Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

Subcommittees:

• Energy
• Environment
• Investigations and Oversight
• Research and Technology
• Space and Aeronautics

Chair: Frank Lucas, Oklahoma (R)
Ranking Member: Zoe Lofgren, California (D)

Majority Staff Director: Janie Thompson
Minority Staff Director: Josh Mathis
Meeting Location: 2321 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515; Phone: 202-225-6371

Featured Video: Building Back the U.S. Research Enterprise: COVID Impacts and Recovery – Feb. 25, 2021
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On December 4, 1941, the U. S. House of Representatives created the first House Select Committee on Small Business.  The select committee was established in response to a growing number of small business activists and organizations advocating for more protections and better government policies for America’s small businesses. While it had no legislative authority, the select committee became popular with House members and was reauthorized each Congress until January 5, 1975, when it was made a permanent standing committee. House members then granted the new standing committee with certain areas of legislative jurisdiction and oversight functions, increasing its scope and influence.

Senate Counterpart: Senate Committee on Small Business & Entrepreneurship 

Subcommittees:

• Contracting and Infrastructure
• Economic Growth, Tax and Capital Access
• Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Workforce Development
• Oversight, Investigations and Regulations
• Rural Development, Energy and Supply Chains

Chair: Roger Williams, Texas
Ranking Member: Nydia Velázquez, New York

Majority Staff Director: Ben Johnson
Minority Staff Director: Harrington, Ellen
Meeting Location: 2361 RAYBURN HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING (RHOB), WASHINGTON, D.C. 20515; PHONE (202) 225-5821
Web Links

Focusing on transportation, including civil aviation, railroads, water transportation, transportation safety (except automobile safety and transportation security functions of the Department of Homeland Security), transportation infrastructure, transportation labor, and railroad retirement and unemployment (except revenue measures related thereto)

Senate Counterpart: Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

Subcommittees:

• Aviation
• Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation
• Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management
• Highways and Transit
• Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials
• Water Resources and Environment

Chair: Sam Graves, Missouri, 
Ranking Member: Rick Larsen, Washington

Majority Staff Director: Jack Ruddy
Minority Staff Director: Katherine W Dedrick
Meeting Location: 2165 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515; Phone: (202) 225-9446

Featured Video: Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Members’ Day Hearing – April 14, 2021
Web Links

The Committee has jurisdiction over veterans’ measures generally, including veterans’ hospitals, medical care, treatment compensation, vocational rehabilitation, and education, as well as over pensions of all the wars of the United States (general and special), the readjustment of servicemembers to civil life, and servicemembers’ civil relief. To ensure veterans receive these crucial services and benefits,

Senate Counterpart: Committee on Veteran Affairs’

Subcommittees:

• Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs
  
• Economic Opportunity
• Health
• Oversight and Investigations
• Technology Modernization

Chair: Mike Bost, Illinois (R)
Ranking Member: Mark Takano, California (D)

Majority Staff Director: Jon Clark
Minority Staff Director: Matt Reel
Meeting Location: 364 Cannon House Office Building Washington, D.C. 20003
Office:(202) 225-3527

Featured Video: Aging in Place: Examining Veterans’ Access to Home and Community Based Services – July 27, 2021
Web Links

The Committee on Ways and Means is the chief tax-writing committee of the United States House of Representatives. The Committee has jurisdiction over all taxation, tariffs, and other revenue-raising measures, as well as a number of other programs including Social Security, unemployment benefits, Medicare, the enforcement of child support laws, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and foster care and adoption programs.

Subcommittees:

• Health
• Oversight
• Select Revenue Measures
• Social Security
• Trade
• Worker and Family Support

Chair: Jason T. Smith, Missouri
Ranking Member: Richard Neal, Massachusetts

Majority Staff Director: Patrick Dumas
Minority Staff Director: Brandon Casey
Meeting Location: 1139 Longworth HOB, Washington D.C. 20515; (202) 225-3625

Featured Video: Oversight Subcommittee Hearing on Expanding Housing Access to All Americans – July 14, 2021
Web Links

The Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence oversees the United States Intelligence Community, though it does share some jurisdiction with other committees in the House, including the Armed Services Committee for some matters dealing with the Department of Defense and the various branches of the U.S. military.

Senate Counterpart: Select Committee on Intelligence

Subcommittees:

• Central Intelligence Agency Subcommittee
• National Intelligence Enterprise Subcommittee
• Defense Intelligence & Overhead Architecture Subcommittee
• National Security Agency & Cyber Subcommittee
• Oversight & Investigations Subcommittee

Chair: Mike Turner, OH-10 (R)
Ranking Member: Jim Himes, CT-04 (D)

Deputy Staff Director: Michael Calcagni
Minority Staff Director: Jeffrey Lowenstein
Meeting Location: Capitol Visitor Center HVC-304 US Capitol Building Washington, DC 20515-6415;  (202) 225-4121- Majority and (202) 225-7690 Minority

Featured Video: Open Hearing on World Wide Threats – April 15, 2021
Web Links

The Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party (often called the House Select Committee on China) is a committee established by the United States House of Representatives in January 2023.

The committee’s purpose is to investigate and analyze the political, economic, and security competition between the United States and China, focusing on the role of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in that competition.

The Committee is chaired by Representative Mike Gallagher (R-WI) with Raja Krishnamoorthi (D) as the Ranking Member.