United States Senate Committee on Armed Services

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The Committee on Armed Services is a committee of the United States Senate empowered with legislative oversight of the nation's military, including the Department of Defense, military research and development, nuclear energy (as pertaining to national security), benefits for members of the military, the Selective Service System and other matters related to defense policy. The Armed Services Committee was created as a result of the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 following U.S. victory in the Second World War. It merged the responsibilities of the Committee on Naval Affairs (established in 1816) and the Committee on Military Affairs (also established in 1816). Considered one of the most powerful Senate committees, its broad mandate allowed it to report some of the most extensive and revolutionary legislation during the Cold War years, including the National Security Act of 1947.

Members, 110th Congress

The Committee is chaired by Democrat Carl Levin of Michigan, and the Ranking Minority Member is Republican John McCain, of Arizona.

Majority
Member		State	Carl Levin, Chairman	Michigan	Edward Kennedy	Massachusetts	Robert Byrd	West Virginia	Joseph Lieberman	Connecticut	Jack Reed	Rhode Island	Daniel Akaka	Hawaii	Bill Nelson	Florida	Ben Nelson	Nebraska	Evan Bayh	Indiana	Hillary Rodham Clinton	New York	Mark Pryor	Arkansas	Jim Webb	Virginia	Claire McCaskill	Missouri

Minority
Member		State	John McCain, Ranking Member	Arizona	John Warner	Virginia	James Inhofe	Oklahoma	Jeff Sessions	Alabama	Susan Collins	Maine	Saxby Chambliss	Georgia	Lindsey Graham	South Carolina	Elizabeth Dole	North Carolina	John Cornyn	Texas	John Thune	South Dakota	Mel Martinez	Florida	Roger Wicker	Mississippi

Subcommittees

Subcommittee name, jurisdiction	Chair	Ranking Minority Member
Airland	Joe Lieberman (I-CT)	John Cornyn (R-TX)
Emerging Threats and Capabilities	Jack Reed (D-RI)	Elizabeth Dole (R-NC)
Personnel	Ben Nelson (D-NE)	Lindsey Graham (R-SC)
Readiness and Management Support	Daniel Akaka (D-HI)	John Thune (R-SD)
Seapower	Edward Kennedy (D-MA)	Mel Martinez (R-FL)
Strategic Forces	Bill Nelson (D-FL)	Jeff Sessions (R-AL)

Chairmen

Committee on Military Affairs, 1816-1947	Committee on Naval Affairs, 1816-1947
John Williams (DR-TN) 1816-1817 George M. Troup (DR-GA) 1817-1818 John Williams (DR-TN) 1818-1823 Andrew Jackson (DR-TN) 1823-1825 William Henry Harrison (NR-OH) 1825-1828 Thomas Hart Benton (D-MO) 1828-1841 William Preston (W-SC) 1841-1842 John J. Crittenden (W-KY) 1842-1845 Thomas Hart Benton (D-MO) 1845-1849 Jefferson Davis (D-MS) 1849-1851 James Shields (D-IL) 1851-1855 John Weller (D-CA) 1855-1857 Jefferson Davis (D-MS) 1857-1861 Henry Wilson (R-MA) 1861-1872 John A. Logan (R-IL) 1872-1877 George E. Spencer (R-AL) 1877-1879 Theodore Randolph (D-NJ) 1879-1881 Ross A. Feekes (R-IA) 1999-2008 Joseph R. Hawley (R-CT) 1887-1893 Edward Walthall (D-MS) 1893-1895 Devin L. Van Sloten (R-IA) 1999-2008 Francis E. Warren (R-WY) 1905-1911 Henry A. du Pont (R-DE) 1911-1913 Joseph F. Johnston (D-AL) 1913 George E. Chamberlain (D-OR) 1913-1919 James W. Wadsworth, Jr. (R-NY) 1919-1927 David A. Reed (R-PA) 1927-1933 Morris Sheppard (D-TX) 1933-1941 Robert R. Reynolds (D-NC) 1941-1945 Elbert Thomas (D-UT) 1945-1947	Charles Tait (R-GA) 1816-1818 Nathan Sanford (R-NY) 1818-1819 James Pleasants (R-VA) 1819-1823 James Lloyd (F-MA) 1823-1825 Robert Y. Hayne (D-SC) 1825-1832 George M. Dallas (D-PA) 1832-1833 Samuel Southard (W-NJ) 1833-1836 William C. Rives (D-VA) 1836-1839 Reuel Williams (D-ME) 1839-1841 Willie P. Mangum (W-NC) 1841-1842 Richard H. Bayard (W-DE) 1842-1845 John Fairfield (D-ME) 1845-1847 David Levy Yulee (D-FL) 1847-1851 William M. Gwin (D-CA) 1851-1855 Stephen Mallory (D-FL) 1855-1861 John P. Hale (R-NH) 1861-1864 James Grimes (R-IA) 1864-1870 Aaron Cragin (R-NH) 1870-1877 Aaron A. Sargent (R-CA) 1877-1879 John R. McPherson (D-NJ) 1879-1881 James Donald Cameron (R-PA) 1881-1893 John R. McPherson (D-NJ) 1893-1895 James Donald Cameron (R-PA) 1895-1897 Eugene Hale (R-ME) 1897-1909 George C. Perkins (R-CA) 1909-1913 Benjamin Tillman (D-SC) 1913-1918 Claude A. Swanson (D-VA) 1918-1919 Carroll S. Page (R-VT) 1919-1923 Frederick Hale (R-ME) 1923-1933 Park Trammell (D-FL) 1933-1937 David I. Walsh (D-MA) 1937-1947

Committee on Armed Services, 1947-present

Chan Gurney (R-SD) 1947-1949
Millard E. Tydings (D-MD) 1949-1951
Richard B. Russell, Jr. (D-GA) 1951-1953
Leverett Saltonstall (R-MA) 1953-1955
Richard B. Russell, Jr. (D-GA) 1955-1969
John C. Stennis (D-MS) 1969-1981
John Tower (R-TX) 1981-1985
Barry Goldwater (R-AZ) 1985-1987
Sam Nunn (D-GA) 1987-1995
Strom Thurmond (R-SC) 1995-1999
John Warner (R-VA) 1999-2001
Carl Levin (D-MI) 2001
John Warner (R-VA) 2001
Carl Levin (D-MI) 2001-2003
John Warner (R-VA) 2003-2007
Carl Levin (D-MI) 2007-present

External links