Summary

The U.S. House Committee on Armed Services, commonly known as the House Armed Services Committee, 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.

The Armed Services Committee was created by the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946, which consolidated the functions of two predecessor committees: the Committee on Military Affairs and the Committee on Naval Affairs, which were established as standing committees in 1822. Another predecessor, the Committee on the Militia, was created in 1835 and existed until 1911 when it was abolished and its jurisdiction transferred to the Committee on Military Affairs. When Republicans took control of the House of Representatives in 1994, the committee was renamed the Committee on National Security. It was later renamed the Committee on Armed Services.

jurisdiction

"The Committee retains jurisdiction of all subjects listed in clause 1(c) of rule X of the Rules of the House of Representatives and retains exclusive jurisdiction for: defense policy generally, ongoing military operations, the organization and reform of the Department of Defense and Department of Energy, counter-drug programs, acquisition and industrial base policy, technology transfer and export controls, joint interoperability, the Cooperative Threat Reduction program, Department of Energy nonproliferation programs, and detainee affairs and policy.

While subcommittees are provided jurisdictional responsibilities in sub-paragraph (2), the Committee retains the right to exercise oversight and legislative jurisdiction over all subjects within its purview under rule X of the Rules of the House of Representatives."