The Senate Armed Services Committee oversees defense, national security, and military matters in the US, including the Department of Defense, nuclear defense, and pay and benefits for the military. The committee has six subcommittees and investigates matters within its purview. It was created in 1946 and has jurisdiction over specific areas of national security and defense, including the Selective Service System. The committee also holds hearings on important military issues such as the war in Afghanistan and the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.
The Senate Armed Services Committee is a standing committee of the United States Senate with broad oversight of United States defense, national security, and military matters. The committee’s jurisdiction includes the Department of Defense; nuclear defense, aeronautics and space; the Selective Services System; and pay and benefits for the military. Six subcommittees help oversee these areas. The Senate Armed Services Committee and its subcommittees have the power to investigate matters within their purview. The hearings touched on major modern military issues, such as the war in Afghanistan and the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy regarding homosexual service members.
The Senate Armed Services Committee and similar committee in the House of Representatives were created by the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946. The act merged the Senate Military Affairs and Naval Affairs committees and marked the first time that the Senate had a panel responsible for overseeing national defense. The committee met for the first time on January 13, 1947, with 13 members. As of the 111th Congress, 27 senators served on the panel. The group is chaired by the majority party in the Senate, which also gets more seats in the commission and therefore more votes.
The charter of the Senate Armed Services Committee gave the group responsibility for “common defense” and, with it, the departments of defense, army, navy and air force. The committee authorizes defense projects managed by departments and holds confirmation hearings for department heads. Members also monitor each entity’s actions, both in war and peacetime, and can call commanders to answer questions about their jobs. In addition, the committee evaluates and approves plans for compensation, promotion and retirement for the military.
The committee also exercises control over specific areas of national security and defense. For example, the panel’s charter gave him oversight of the national security aspects of nuclear power. The group also has jurisdiction over aviation and space programs involving military operations or weapon systems.
Oversight of the Selective Service System is also the responsibility of the committee. The Selective Service System contains a database of American men eligible for military service if conscription is required. The committee helped pass the 1948 act that created the Selective Service. Like its power to question military commanders, committee members can also question Selective Service agency officials.
With broad responsibilities, the committee divides much of its work into subcommittees. As of the 111th Congress, the group had six subcommittees: Airland, Threats and Emerging Capabilities, Personnel, Management Readiness and Support, Seapower, and Strategic Forces. Subcommittees may hold their own more focused hearings, although the main issues are usually passed on to the entire group.
The Senate Armed Services Committee also held hearings on important military issues. The group investigated so-called “torture memos” discussing the harsh interrogation tactics used on terrorism suspects in the early 2000s. Walter Reed in Washington, DC The committee also held several hearings on the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy that bars homosexuals from openly serving in the military.
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