United States Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs

In 2011, Chair Joe Lieberman and Ranking Member Susan Collins address bipartisan suggestion on countermeasures toward domestic terrorism and Jihadist extremism in the United States.

The United States Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs is the chief oversight committee of the United States Senate. It has jurisdiction over matters related to the Department of Homeland Security and other homeland security concerns, as well as the functioning of the government itself, including the National Archives, budget and accounting measures other than appropriations, the census, the federal civil service, the affairs of the District of Columbia and the United States Postal Service. It was called the United States Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs before homeland security was added to its responsibilities in 2004.<ref name="auto">U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs official website</ref> It serves as the Senate's chief investigative and oversight committee. Its chair is the only Senate committee chair who can issue subpoenas without a committee vote.

History

While elements of the committee can be traced back into the 19th century, its modern origins began with the creation of the Committee on Expenditures in the Executive Departments on April 18, 1921. The Committee on Expenditures in the Executive Department was renamed the Committee on Government Operations in 1952, which was reorganized as the Committee on Governmental Affairs in 1978. After passage of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004, the committee became the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and added homeland security to its jurisdiction.<ref name="auto"/>

Committee Chair Joe Lieberman and Ranking Member Susan Collins talk with FEMA Administrator R. David Paulison.

Of the five current subcommittees, the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations is the oldest and most storied, having been created at the same time as the Committee on Government Operations in 1952. The Subcommittee on the Oversight of Government Management, the Federal Workforce, and the District of Columbia was established after the creation of the Committee on Governmental Affairs in 1978. The Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government Information, Federal Services and International Security was created in 2003.

Two ad hoc subcommittees were established in January 2007 to reflect the committee's expanded homeland security jurisdiction. They were the Subcommittee on Disaster Recovery and the Subcommittee on State, Local, and Private Sector Preparedness and Integration. The Subcommittee on Contracting was added in 2009. In 2011, the Disaster and State, Local, and Private Sector subcommittees were merged to form the Subcommittee on Disaster Recovery and Intergovernmental Affairs.

Over the years, the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and its predecessors have dealt with a number of important issues, including government accountability, congressional ethics, regulatory affairs, and systems and information security. In 2003, after the Homeland Security Act of 2002 established the Department of Homeland Security, the committee adopted primary oversight of the creation and subsequent policies, operations, and actions of the department.

In the past decade, the committee has focused particularly on the Department of Homeland Security's ability to respond to a major catastrophe, such as Hurricane Katrina; the rise of homegrown terrorism in the United States; and the vulnerabilities of the nation's most critical networks, those operating systems upon which our national defense, economy, and way of life depend, such as the power grid, water treatment facilities, transportation and financial networks, nuclear reactors, and dams.<ref name="auto"/>

In February 2014, staff working for committee ranking member Senator Tom Coburn issued a report raising concerns that some passwords protecting highly sensitive government data "wouldn't pass muster for even the most basic civilian email account."<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Jurisdiction

In accordance of Rule XXV(k) of the United States Senate, all proposed legislation, messages, petitions, memorials, and other matters relating primarily to the following subjects is referred to the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee:

1. Archives of the United States;
2. Budget and accounting measures, other than appropriations, except as provided in the Congressional Budget Act of 1974;
3. Census and collection of statistics, including economic and social statistics;
4. Congressional organization, except for any part of the matter that amends the rules or orders of the Senate;
5. Department of Homeland Security, as provided in S.Res.445.<ref>S.Res.445 (108th Congress)</ref>
6. Federal Civil Service;
7. Government information;
8. Intergovernmental relations;
9. Municipal affairs of the District of Columbia, except appropriations therefor;
10. Organization and management of United States nuclear export policy;
11. Organization and reorganization of the executive branch of Government;
12. Postal Service; and
13. Status of officers and employees of the United States, including their classification, compensation, and benefits.<ref name="Homeland Security">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }} Template:PD-notice</ref>

The committee also has the duty of:

1. receiving and examining reports of the Comptroller General of the United States and of submitting such recommendations to the Senate as it deems necessary or desirable in connection with the subject matter of such reports;
2. studying the efficiency, economy, and effectiveness of all agencies and departments of the Government;
3. evaluating the effects of laws enacted to reorganize the legislative and executive branches of the Government; and
4. studying the intergovernmental relationships between the United States and the States and municipalities, and between the United States and international organizations of which the United States is a member.<ref name="Homeland Security" />

Members, 119th Congress

The committee hears testimony on border security in 2019.

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Majority<ref>Template:USBill, Template:USBill (119th Congress)</ref>	Minority<ref>Template:USBill (119th Congress)</ref>
Template:Party shading/Republican valign="top" | Rand Paul, Kentucky, Chair Ron Johnson, Wisconsin James Lankford, Oklahoma Rick Scott, Florida Josh Hawley, Missouri Bernie Moreno, Ohio Joni Ernst, Iowa Ashley Moody, Florida (from January 24, 2025)	Template:Party shading/Democratic valign="top" | Gary Peters, Michigan, Ranking Member Maggie Hassan, New Hampshire Richard Blumenthal, Connecticut John Fetterman, Pennsylvania Andy Kim, New Jersey Ruben Gallego, Arizona Elissa Slotkin, Michigan

Subcommittees

citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Chair	Ranking Member
Investigations (Permanent)	Ron Johnson (R-WI)	Richard Blumenthal (D-CT)
Border Management, Federal Workforce, and Regulatory Affairs	James Lankford (R-OK)	John Fetterman (D-PA)
Disaster Management, District of Columbia, and Census	Josh Hawley (R-MO)	Andy Kim (D-NJ)

Chair

Committee on Expenditures in Executive Departments, 1921–1952

Name	Party	State	Start	End
Template:Sortname	Republican	IL	1921	1925
Template:Sortname	Republican	PA	1925	1927
Template:Sortname	Republican	KY	1927	1930
Template:Sortname	Republican	WV	1930	1931
Template:Sortname	Republican	OR	1931	1933
Template:Sortname	Democratic	IL	1933	1939
Template:Sortname	Democratic	IN	1939	1942
Template:Sortname	Democratic	AL	1942	1947
Template:Sortname	Republican	VT	1947	1949
Template:Sortname	Democratic	AR	1949	1952

Committee on Government Operations, 1952–1977

Name	Party	State	Start	End
Template:Sortname	Democratic	AR	1952	1953
Template:Sortname	Republican	WI	1953	1955
Template:Sortname	Democratic	AR	1955	1972
Template:Sortname	Democratic	NC	1972	1974
Template:Sortname	Democratic	CT	1974	1977

Committee on Governmental Affairs, 1977–2005

Name	Party	State	Start	End
Template:Sortname	Democratic	CT	1977	1981
Template:Sortname<ref name=rothglenn>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Republican	DE	1981	1987
Template:Sortname<ref name=rothglenn2>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Democratic	OH	1987	1995
Template:Sortname	Republican	DE	1995
Template:Sortname	Republican	AK	1995	1997
Template:Sortname	Republican	TN	1997	2001
Template:Sortname	Democratic	CT	2001
Template:Sortname	Republican	TN	2001
Template:Sortname	Democratic	CT	2001	2003
Template:Sortname	Republican	ME	2003	2005

Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, 2005–present

Name	Party	State	Start	End
Template:Sortname	Republican	ME	2005	2007
Template:Sortname	Independent Democrat	CT	2007	2013
Template:Sortname	Democratic	DE	2013	2015
Template:Sortname	Republican	WI	2015	2021
Template:Sortname	Democratic	MI	2021	2025
Template:Sortname	Republican	KY	2025	present

Ranking members

{{ safesubst:#invoke:Unsubst||date=__DATE__ |$B=Template:AmboxTemplate:Main other }}

Name	Party	State	Start	End
Template:Sortname	Republican	PA	???	1945
Template:Sortname	Republican	VT	1945	1947
Template:Sortname	Democratic	AR	1947	1949
Template:Sortname	Republican	WI	1949	1953
Template:Sortname	Democratic	AR	1953	1955
Template:Sortname	Republican	WI	1955	1959
Template:Sortname	Republican	SD	1963	1972
Template:Sortname	Republican	IL	1972	1981
Template:Sortname	Democratic	MO	1981	1987
Template:Sortname	Republican	DE	1987	1995
Template:Sortname	Republican	OH	1995	1999
Template:Sortname	Democratic	CT	1999	2001
Template:Sortname	Republican	TN	2001	2003
Template:Sortname	Democratic	CT	2003	2007
Template:Sortname	Republican	ME	2007	2013
Template:Sortname	Republican	OK	2013	2015
Template:Sortname	Democratic	DE	2015	2017
Template:Sortname	Democratic	MO	2017	2019
Template:Sortname	Democratic	MI	2019	2021
Template:Sortname	Republican	OH	2021	2023
Template:Sortname	Republican	KY	2023	2025
Template:Sortname	Democratic	MI	2025	present

Historical committee rosters

118th Congress

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Majority<ref>Template:USBill (118th Congress)</ref>	Minority<ref>Template:USBill (118th Congress)</ref>
Template:Party shading/Democratic valign="top" | Gary Peters, Michigan, Chair Tom Carper, Delaware Maggie Hassan, New Hampshire Kyrsten Sinema, ArizonaTemplate:Efn Jacky Rosen, Nevada Alex Padilla, California (until October 17, 2023) Jon Ossoff, Georgia Richard Blumenthal, Connecticut Laphonza Butler, California (from October 17, 2023) <ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Template:Party shading/Republican valign="top" | Rand Paul, Kentucky, Ranking Member Ron Johnson, Wisconsin James Lankford, Oklahoma Mitt Romney, Utah Rick Scott, Florida Josh Hawley, Missouri Roger Marshall, Kansas

Subcommittees

Subcommittee<ref>Peters & Portman Announce Chairs and Ranking Members of New Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Subcommittees</ref>	Chair	Ranking Member
Emerging Threats and Spending Oversight	Maggie Hassan (D-NH)	Mitt Romney (R-UT)
Government Operations and Border Management	Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ)	James Lankford (R-OK)
Investigations (Permanent)	Richard Blumenthal (D-CT)	Ron Johnson (R-WI)

117th Congress

citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Minority
Template:Party shading/Democratic valign="top" | Gary Peters, Michigan, Chair Tom Carper, Delaware Maggie Hassan, New Hampshire Kyrsten Sinema, Arizona Jacky Rosen, Nevada Alex Padilla, California Jon Ossoff, Georgia	Template:Party shading/Republican valign="top" | Rob Portman, Ohio, Ranking Member Ron Johnson, Wisconsin Rand Paul, Kentucky James Lankford, Oklahoma Mitt Romney, Utah Rick Scott, Florida Josh Hawley, Missouri

Subcommittees

Subcommittee<ref>Peters & Portman Announce Chairs and Ranking Members of New Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Subcommittees</ref>	Chair	Ranking Member
Emerging Threats and Spending Oversight	Maggie Hassan (D-NH)	Rand Paul (R-KY)
Government Operations and Border Management	Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ)	James Lankford (R-OK)
Investigations (Permanent)	Jon Ossoff (D-GA)	Ron Johnson (R-WI)

116th Congress

Majority	Minority
Template:Party shading/Republican valign="top" | Ron Johnson, Wisconsin, Chair Rob Portman, Ohio Rand Paul, Kentucky James Lankford, Oklahoma Mike Enzi, Wyoming Mitt Romney, Utah Rick Scott, Florida Josh Hawley, Missouri	Template:Party shading/Democratic valign="top" | Gary Peters, Michigan, Ranking Member Tom Carper, Delaware Maggie Hassan, New Hampshire Kamala Harris, California Kyrsten Sinema, Arizona Jacky Rosen, Nevada

Subcommittees

Subcommittee<ref>Johnson, Peters Announce Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Subcommittee Membership</ref>	Chair	Ranking Member
Federal Spending Oversight and Emergency Management	Rand Paul (R-KY)	Maggie Hassan (D-NH)
Investigations (Permanent)	Rob Portman (R-OH)	Tom Carper (D-DE)
Government Operations and Border Management	James Lankford (R-OK)	Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ)

See also

• List of United States Senate committees

External links

• Official Committee Website (Archive)
• Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. Legislation activity and reports, Congress.gov.
• U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO) Page for the Committee of Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs

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