PROFILBARU.COM

Senate Finance Committee
Standing committee
Active; ; United States Senate; 118th Congress
History
Formed	December 10, 1816
Leadership
Chair	Ron Wyden (D) ; Since February 3, 2021
Ranking member	Mike Crapo (R) ; Since February 3, 2021
Structure
Seats	27 members
Political parties	Majority (14) Democratic (14); Minority (13) Republican (13);
Jurisdiction
Policy areas	Children's Health Insurance Program, Customs, Deposit of public moneys, Duties, Federal trust funds, Healthcare finance, International trade, Mandatory spending, Medicare, Medicaid, National debt, Ports of entry, Public pensions, Revenue measures for territorial possessions, Revenue sharing, Social Security, Taxation, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, Trade agreements, Unemployment insurance
Oversight authority	Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, Bureau of the Fiscal Service, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Department of the Treasury, Federal Employees Retirement System, Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board, Internal Revenue Service, Joint Committee on Taxation, Office of the United States Trade Representative, Social Security Administration, Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, United States Customs and Border Protection
House counterpart	House Committee on Ways and Means
Meeting place
	215 Dirksen Senate Office Building; Washington, D.C.
Website
	www.finance.senate.gov
Rules
	Rule XXV.1.(i), Standing Rules of the Senate; Rules of the Committee on Finance;

The United States Senate Committee on Finance (or, less formally, Senate Finance Committee) is a standing committee of the United States Senate. The committee concerns itself with matters relating to taxation and other revenue measures generally, and those relating to the insular possessions; bonded debt of the United States; customs, collection districts, and ports of entry and delivery; deposit of public moneys; general revenue sharing; health programs under the Social Security Act (notably Medicare and Medicaid) and health programs financed by a specific tax or trust fund; national social security; reciprocal trade agreements; tariff and import quotas, and related matters thereto; and the transportation of dutiable goods.^[1] It is considered to be one of the most powerful committees in Congress.^[2]

History

The Committee on Finance is one of the original committees established in the Senate. First created on December 11, 1815, as a select committee and known as the Committee on Finance and an [sic] Uniform National Currency, it was formed to alleviate economic issues arising from the War of 1812. On December 10, 1816, the Senate officially created the Committee on Finance as a standing committee. Originally, the committee had power over tariffs, taxation, banking and currency issues and appropriations. Under this authority the committee played an influential role in the most heated topics of the era, including numerous tariff issues and the Bank War.^[3] The committee was also influential in the creation of the Department of Interior in 1849.^[4] Under the chairmanship of William Pitt Fessenden, the committee played a decisive role during the Civil War. Appropriating all funds for the war effort as well as raising enough funds to finance the war through tariffs and the nation's first income tax. Additionally, the committee produced the Legal Tender Act of 1862, the nation's first reliance on paper currency.^[5]

In 1865 the House of Representatives created an Appropriations Committee to relieve the burden from the Committee on Ways and Means. The Senate followed this example by forming the Senate Appropriations Committee in 1867.^[3]

Despite the loss of one of its signature duties, the committee continued to play a prominent role in the major issues of the nation. The committee was at the center of the debate over the silver question in the latter half of the 19th Century. Passage of the Bland–Allison Act and the Sherman Silver Purchase Act were attempts to remedy the demand for silver, though the silver cause would eventually fail by the end of the century.^[6] The committee also continued to play a role in the debate over income taxes. The repeal of the Civil War income taxes in the 1870s would eventually be raised in 1894 with the passage of a new income tax law. The Supreme Court's decision in Pollock v. Farmers' Loan & Trust Co., 157 U.S. 429 (1895) ruled the income tax as unconstitutional, since it was not based on apportionment. The fight for an income tax finally culminated with the Payne–Aldrich Tariff Act of 1909. In order to pass the new tariff Senate leaders, including Chairman Nelson Aldrich, allowed for a Constitutional Amendment to be passed. Four years later the 16th Amendment was officially ratified and in 1913 the nation's first peacetime income tax was instituted.^[7]

Around that same time the committee lost jurisdiction over banking and currency issues to the newly created Committee on Banking and Currency. The committee did gain jurisdiction over veterans’ benefits when it successfully passed the War Risk Insurance Act of 1917. The act shifted pensions from gratuities to benefits and served as one of the first life insurance programs created under the federal government.^[3]

The Finance Committee continued to play an increasingly important role in the lives of the nation's veterans. The committee helped consolidate the veteran bureaucracy by streamlining the various responsibilities into a Veterans' Bureau, which would ultimately become the Veterans' Administration. In 1924, the committee passed a "Bonus Bill" that compensated World War I veterans for their service.^[8] This series of improved veteran benefits reached a crescendo in 1944 with the passage of the Servicemen's Readjustment Act. Senator Bennett "Champ" Clark, who served as the chairman of the Subcommittee on Veterans, assured smooth sailing of the bill through the Senate. The bill not only ended the usual demands from returning veterans that had been seen in nearly every war the US had participated in, but also provided more generous benefits than veterans had previously received, including funds for continuing education, loans and unemployment insurance.^[9]

Not all Finance Committee legislation was as well received as the G.I. Bill. At the beginning of the Great Depression the committee passed the Smoot–Hawley Tariff Act. The act greatly increased tariffs and had a negative effect on the nation's economy. Following traditional economic practices the members of the committee, including Chairman Reed Smoot, felt that protection of American businesses was required in order to buoy them during the dire economic times. The effort backfired and the economic situation worsened. The Smoot-Hawley Tariff would eventually be replaced by the Reciprocal Tariff Act of 1934 which authorized the president to negotiate trade agreements. This act not only set up the trade policy system as it exists today but also effectively transferred trade making policy from the Congress to the president.^[10]

The committee also played an important role in two major acts created under the New Deal. The committee received jurisdiction over the National Industrial Recovery Act because of tax code changes in the bill. The new bureaucracy was President Franklin D. Roosevelt's attempt to stimulate the economy and promote jobs for unemployed Americans while also regulating businesses. The National Recovery Administration would ultimately fail as it lost public support, but the act served as a springboard for the Wagner Act and the National Labor Board.^[11]

Probably the largest and most lasting pieces of legislation shaped by the Finance Committee during the New Deal was the 1935 Social Security Act. Once again, the committee received jurisdiction owing to the payroll taxes that would be enacted to pay for the new program. The act was the first effort by the federal government to provide benefits to the elderly and the unemployed, leading to enhanced economic welfare for many elderly Americans.^[12]

In 1981, a Senate Resolution required the printing of the history of the Committee on Finance.^[3]

Role

The role of the Senate Committee on Finance is very similar to that of the House Committee on Ways and Means. The one exception in terms of authority is that the Finance Committee has jurisdiction over both Medicare and Medicaid, while the House Ways and Means Committee only has jurisdiction over Medicare. (The House Energy and Commerce Committee has jurisdiction over Medicaid.) The other difference in terms of power is that all revenue raising measures must originate in the House, giving the Ways and Means Committee a slight edge in setting tax policy.

In addition to having jurisdiction over legislation, the Committee on Finance has extensive oversight powers. It has authority to investigate, review and evaluate existing laws, and the agencies that implement them.

Jurisdiction

In accordance of Rule XXV of the United States Senate, all proposed legislation, messages, petitions, memorials, and other matters relating to the following subjects are referred to the Senate Committee on Finance:

Bonded debt of the United States, except as provided in the Congressional Budget Act of 1974;
Customs, collection districts, and ports of entry and delivery;
Deposit of public moneys;
General revenue sharing;
Health programs under the Social Security Act and health programs financed by a specific tax or trust fund;
National social security;
Reciprocal trade agreements;
Revenue measures generally, except as provided in the Congressional Budget Act of 1974;
Revenue measures relating to the insular possessions;
Tariffs and import quotas, and matters related thereto; and,
Transportation of dutiable goods.^[1]

Given its broad remit with regards to taxation, mandatory spending, international trade, Social Security, Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, interest on the national debt, and healthcare finance—including Medicare, Medicaid, and the Children's Health Insurance Program—the Senate Committee on Finance is arguably one of the most influential standing committees in either house of Congress.^[13]^[14] A wide array of senators with differing policy interests seek membership on the committee due to its broad role in setting fiscal, tax, trade, health, and social policy.

Members, 118th Congress

Majority^[15]	Minority^[16]
Ron Wyden, Oregon, Chairman Debbie Stabenow, Michigan Maria Cantwell, Washington Tom Carper, Delaware Ben Cardin, Maryland Sherrod Brown, Ohio Michael Bennet, Colorado Bob Casey, Pennsylvania Mark Warner, Virginia Sheldon Whitehouse, Rhode Island Maggie Hassan, New Hampshire Catherine Cortez Masto, Nevada Elizabeth Warren, Massachusetts	Mike Crapo, Idaho, Ranking Member Chuck Grassley, Iowa John Cornyn, Texas John Thune, South Dakota Tim Scott, South Carolina Bill Cassidy, Louisiana James Lankford, Oklahoma Steve Daines, Montana Todd Young, Indiana John Barrasso, Wyoming Ron Johnson, Wisconsin Thom Tillis, North Carolina Marsha Blackburn, Tennessee

Subcommitteess

Subcommittee^[17]	Chair	Ranking Member
Energy, Natural Resources, and Infrastructure	Debbie Stabenow (D-MI)	James Lankford (R-OK)
International Trade, Customs, and Global Competitiveness	Tom Carper (D-DE)	John Cornyn (R-TX)
Health Care	Ben Cardin (D-MD)	Steve Daines (R-MT)
Social Security, Pensions, and Family Policy	Sherrod Brown (D-OH)	Thom Tillis (R-NC)
Taxation and IRS Oversight	Michael Bennet (D-CO)	John Thune (R-SD)
Fiscal Responsibility and Economic Growth	Maggie Hassan (D-NH)	Chuck Grassley (R-IA)

Chairs

Chairman	Party	State	Years
George W. Campbell	Democratic-Republican	Tennessee	1815–1818
John Wayles Eppes	Democratic-Republican	Virginia	1818–1819
Nathan Sanford	Democratic-Republican	New York	1819–1821
John Holmes	Democratic-Republican	Maine	1821–1822
Walter Lowrie	Democratic-Republican	Pennsylvania	1822–1823
Samuel Smith	Democratic-Republican	Maryland	1823–1832
	Crawford Democratic-Republican
	Jacksonian
John Forsyth	Jacksonian	Georgia	1832–1833
Daniel Webster	Anti-Jacksonian	Massachusetts	1833–1836
Silas Wright	Jacksonian	New York	1836–1841
Silas Wright	Democratic	New York	1836–1841
Henry Clay	Whig	Kentucky	1841
George Evans	Whig	Maine	1841–1845
Levi Woodbury^[18]	Democratic	New Hampshire	1845
John C. Calhoun	Democratic	South Carolina	1845–1846
Dixon H. Lewis	Democratic	Alabama	1846–1847
Charles G. Atherton	Democratic	New Hampshire	1847–1849
Daniel S. Dickinson	Democratic	New York	1849–1850
Robert M. T. Hunter	Democratic	Virginia	1850–1861
James A. Pearce	Democratic	Maryland	1861
William P. Fessenden	Republican	Maine	1861–1864
John Sherman	Republican	Ohio	1864–1865
William P. Fessenden	Republican	Maine	1865–1867
John Sherman	Republican	Ohio	1867–1877
Justin Smith Morrill	Republican	Vermont	1877–1879
Thomas F. Bayard, Sr.	Democratic	Delaware	1879–1881
Justin Smith Morrill	Republican	Vermont	1881–1893
Daniel W. Voorhees	Democratic	Indiana	1893–1895
Justin Smith Morrill^[19]	Republican	Vermont	1895–1898
Nelson W. Aldrich	Republican	Rhode Island	1898–1911
Boies Penrose	Republican	Pennsylvania	1911–1913
Furnifold M. Simmons	Democratic	North Carolina	1913–1919
Boies Penrose	Republican	Pennsylvania	1919–1921
Porter J. McCumber	Republican	North Dakota	1921–1923
Reed Smoot	Republican	Utah	1923–1933
Pat Harrison	Democratic	Mississippi	1933–1941
Walter F. George	Democratic	Georgia	1941–1947
Eugene D. Millikin	Republican	Colorado	1947–1949
Walter F. George	Democratic	Georgia	1949–1953
Eugene D. Millikin	Republican	Colorado	1953–1955
Harry F. Byrd	Democratic	Virginia	1955–1965
Russell B. Long	Democratic	Louisiana	1965–1981
Bob Dole	Republican	Kansas	1981–1985
Bob Packwood	Republican	Oregon	1985–1987
Lloyd Bentsen	Democratic	Texas	1987–1993
Daniel Patrick Moynihan	Democratic	New York	1993–1995
Bob Packwood	Republican	Oregon	1995
William V. Roth, Jr.	Republican	Delaware	1995–2001
Max Baucus	Democratic	Montana	2001
Chuck Grassley	Republican	Iowa	2001
Max Baucus	Democratic	Montana	2001–2003
Chuck Grassley	Republican	Iowa	2003–2007
Max Baucus	Democratic	Montana	2007–2014
Ron Wyden	Democratic	Oregon	2014–2015
Orrin Hatch	Republican	Utah	2015–2019
Chuck Grassley	Republican	Iowa	2019–2021
Ron Wyden	Democratic	Oregon	2021–present

Historical committee rosters

117th Congress

Majority	Minority
Ron Wyden, Oregon, Chairman Debbie Stabenow, Michigan Maria Cantwell, Washington Bob Menendez, New Jersey Tom Carper, Delaware Ben Cardin, Maryland Sherrod Brown, Ohio Michael Bennet, Colorado Bob Casey, Pennsylvania Mark Warner, Virginia Sheldon Whitehouse, Rhode Island Maggie Hassan, New Hampshire Catherine Cortez Masto, Nevada Elizabeth Warren, Massachusetts	Mike Crapo, Idaho, Ranking Member Chuck Grassley, Iowa John Cornyn, Texas John Thune, South Dakota Richard Burr, North Carolina Rob Portman, Ohio Pat Toomey, Pennsylvania Tim Scott, South Carolina Bill Cassidy, Louisiana James Lankford, Oklahoma Steve Daines, Montana Todd Young, Indiana Ben Sasse, Nebraska John Barrasso, Wyoming

Subcommittees

Subcommittee	Chair	Ranking Member
Energy, Natural Resources, and Infrastructure	Debbie Stabenow (D-MI)	James Lankford (R-OK)
International Trade, Customs, and Global Competitiveness	Tom Carper (D-DE)	John Cornyn (R-TX)
Health Care	Ben Cardin (D-MD)	Steve Daines (R-MT)
Social Security, Pensions, and Family Policy	Sherrod Brown (D-OH)	Thom Tillis (R-NC)
Taxation and IRS Oversight	Michael Bennet (D-CO)	John Thune (R-SD)
Fiscal Responsibility and Economic Growth	Maggie Hassan (D-NH)	Chuck Grassley (R-IA)

116th Congress

Majority	Minority
Chuck Grassley, Iowa, Chairman Mike Crapo, Idaho John Cornyn, Texas John Thune, South Dakota Richard Burr, North Carolina Rob Portman, Ohio Pat Toomey, Pennsylvania Tim Scott, South Carolina Bill Cassidy, Louisiana James Lankford, Oklahoma Steve Daines, Montana Todd Young, Indiana Ben Sasse, Nebraska	Ron Wyden, Oregon, Ranking Member Debbie Stabenow, Michigan Maria Cantwell, Washington Bob Menendez, New Jersey Tom Carper, Delaware Ben Cardin, Maryland Sherrod Brown, Ohio Michael Bennet, Colorado Bob Casey, Pennsylvania Mark Warner, Virginia Sheldon Whitehouse, Rhode Island Maggie Hassan, New Hampshire Catherine Cortez Masto, Nevada

Subcommittees

Subcommittee	Chair	Ranking Member
Energy, Natural Resources, and Infrastructure	Tim Scott (R-SC)	Michael Bennet (D-CO)
Fiscal Responsibility and Economic Growth	Bill Cassidy (R-LA)	Maggie Hassan (D-NH)
Health Care	Pat Toomey (R-PA)	Debbie Stabenow (D-MI)
International Trade, Customs, and Global Competitiveness	John Cornyn (R-TX)	Bob Casey Jr. (D-PA)
Taxation and IRS Oversight	John Thune (R-SD)	Mark Warner (D-VA)
Social Security, Pensions, and Family Policy	Rob Portman (R-OH)	Sherrod Brown (D-OH)

Source^[20]

115th Congress

Majority	Minority
Orrin Hatch, Utah, Chairman Chuck Grassley, Iowa Mike Crapo, Idaho Pat Roberts, Kansas Mike Enzi, Wyoming John Cornyn, Texas John Thune, South Dakota Richard Burr, North Carolina Johnny Isakson, Georgia Rob Portman, Ohio Pat Toomey, Pennsylvania Dean Heller, Nevada Tim Scott, South Carolina Bill Cassidy, Louisiana	Ron Wyden, Oregon, Ranking Member Debbie Stabenow, Michigan Maria Cantwell, Washington Bill Nelson, Florida Bob Menendez, New Jersey Tom Carper, Delaware Ben Cardin, Maryland Sherrod Brown, Ohio Michael Bennet, Colorado Bob Casey, Pennsylvania Mark Warner, Virginia Claire McCaskill, Missouri

References

^ ^a ^b "Jurisdiction". The United States Senate Committee on Finance. 1887. Retrieved May 31, 2019. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
^ Faler, Brian (November 2, 2014). "The rise of Ron Wyden". Politico. Retrieved June 11, 2023.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "History of the Committee on Finance United States Senate". Government Printing Office.
^ Simms, Henry Harrison. Life of Robert M.T. Hunter: A Study in Sectionalism and Secession. Richmond: William Byrd Press, 1935
^ Jellison, Charles A. Fessenden of Maine, Civil War Senator. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 1962.
^ Sherman, John. Recollections of Forty Years in The House, Senate, and Cabinet: An Autobiography. 2 vols. 1895. Reprint. New York: Greenwood Press, 1968.
^ Stephenson, Nathaniel W. Nelson W. Aldrich: A Leader In American Politics. 1930. Reprint. New York: Kennikat Press, 1971.
^ The Provision of Federal Benefits for Veterans. House Committee Print 171, 84th Congress, 1st Session, December 28, 1955
^ Bennett, Michael. When Dreams Come True: The G.I. Bill and the Making of Modern America. Washington: Potomac Books, Inc., 1999.
^ Dobson, John. Two Centuries of Tariffs: The Background and Emergence of the U.S. International Trade Commission. Washington:U.S. Government Printing Office, 1976.
^ Ratner, Sidney. Taxation and Democracy in America. Octagon Books, 1980.
^ Swain, Martha H. Pat Harrison: The New Deal Years. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 1978.
^ "Powerful Senate committee invites pharma executives to testify". Reuters. February 4, 2019 – via www.reuters.com.
^ "Senate Committee on Finance". GovTrack.us.
^ S.Res. 30 (118th Congress)
^ S.Res. 31 (118th Congress)
^ "Wyden, Crapo Announce Senate Finance Subcommittee Assignments". United States Senate Committee on Finance. February 9, 2023. Retrieved March 9, 2024.
^ Chaired a special session of the 29th Congress. His ten-day chairmanship of the committee is the shortest on record.
^ Morrill holds the longest non-continuous service as Chairman, at eighteen years. Russell Long holds the longest continuous service as chairman, at sixteen years.
^ "The United States Senate Committee on Finance". www.finance.senate.gov. Retrieved February 11, 2017.