Michael Guest

The House Committee on Appropriations is responsible for legislation allocating federal funds prior to expenditure from the treasury. Appropriations are generally limited to the levels set by the Budget Resolution drafted by the House Committee on the Budget. The Committee is also responsible for supplemental spending bills, which are sometimes needed in the middle of a fiscal year to compensate for emergency expenses.

The House Committee on Homeland Security has jurisdiction over matters related to national defense. It has six subcommittees on border and maritime security; counterterrorism and intelligence; cybersecurity and infrastructure protection; emergency preparedness, response, and communications; oversight and management efficiency; and transportation and protective security. The Committee was created in 2002 in the aftermath of the September 11th, 2001 attacks.

The House Committee on Ethics has the jurisdiction to administer travel, gift, financial disclosure, outside income, and other regulations; advise members and staff; issue advisory opinions and investigate potential ethics violations. The Committee is the only standing committee of the House whose membership is evenly divided between each political party. The Committee includes five members of each party. Also, unlike other committees, the day-to-day work of the Committee on Ethics is conducted by a staff that is nonpartisan by rule.