United States Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions

The United States Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) generally considers matters relating to these issues. Its jurisdiction extends beyond these issues to include several more specific areas, as defined by Senate rules.

Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee
Standing committee
Active

United States Senate
117th Congress
History
FormedJanuary 28, 1869
Leadership
ChairPatty Murray (D)
Ranking memberRichard Burr (R)
Structure
Political partiesMajority (11)
  •   Democratic (11)
Minority (11)
Jurisdiction
Oversight authorityDepartment of Education, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Labor
House counterpartHouse Committee on Education and Labor
Meeting place
428 Senate Dirksen Office Building, Washington, D.C.
Website
help.senate.gov
Rules

    While currently known as the HELP Committee, the first iteration of this committee was founded on January 28, 1869 as the Committee on Education. The committee name was changed to the Committee on Education and Labor on February 14, 1870, when petitions relating to labor were added to their jurisdiction from the Committee on Naval Affairs.

    The committee’s jurisdiction at the end of the 19th and early 20th centuries focused on issues relating to federal employees’ working conditions and federal education aid. Prominent issues considered by the committee in the 1910s and 1920s included the creation of a minimum wage, the establishments of a Department of Labor, a Department of Education, and a Children’s Bureau. During the 1930s, the committee took action on the National Labor Relations Act, the Walsh-Healey Public Contracts Act of 1936 and the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938.

    In 1944, the jurisdiction of the Public Health Service was transferred from the Commerce Committee over to the Committee on Education and Labor, resulting in the committee taking over issues relating to public health matters. The name of the committee changed during the 80th Congress to the Committee on Labor and Public Welfare, which was part of the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 (Public Law 79-601). As part of this bill, the jurisdiction of the committee was expanded to include the issues of rehabilitation, health, and education of veterans. Mine safety legislation was also added to the committee’s jurisdiction in 1949.

    During the Johnson Administration, the committee established itself as the principal committee for the legislation pertaining to the War on Poverty, as part of the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964. Through the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1970 (Public Law 91-510), certain issues pertaining to veterans were transferred to the newly created Committee on Veterans Affairs. In the 95th Congress, the Senate passed S. Res. 4 which renamed the committee to be the Committee on Human Resources. However, the name was again changed in the 96th Congress in S. Res. 30 to become the Committee on Labor and Human Resources. On March 18, 1992, the committee’s jurisdiction was updated to include all of the areas listed below. The current name of the Committee, the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, was created on January 19, 1999 in S. Res. 20.[1]

    Jurisdictional areas

    Under the Rule 25[2] of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the following subject matters fall under the jurisdiction of the Committee.[3]

    Members, 117th Congress
    Main article: 117th United States Congress
    Majority Minority

    Subcommittees
    Subcommittee Chair Ranking Member
    Children and Families
    Employment and Workplace Safety
    Primary Health and Retirement Security

    Historical members

    110th Congress
    Majority Minority
    Subcommittee Chair Ranking Member
    Subcommittee on Children and Families Chris Dodd (D-CT) Lamar Alexander (R-TN)
    Subcommittee on Employment and Workplace Safety Patty Murray (D-WA) Johnny Isakson (R-GA)
    Subcommittee on Retirement and Aging Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) Richard Burr (R-NC)

    111th Congress

    The Committee was chaired by Democrat Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts until his death on August 25, 2009. Under seniority rules, Acting Chairman Christopher Dodd was next in line, but chose instead to remain chairman of the Senate Banking Committee.[6] Tom Harkin, next in line for seniority, assumed the chairmanship on September 9, 2009, vacating his post as chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee.[7]

    Majority Minority

    Source: 2010 Congressional Record, Vol. 156, Page S6226 ,

    Subcommittee Chair Ranking Member
    Subcommittee on Children and Families Chris Dodd (D-CT) Lamar Alexander (R-TN)
    Subcommittee on Employment and Workplace Safety Patty Murray (D-WA) Johnny Isakson (R-GA)
    Subcommittee on Retirement and Aging Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) Richard Burr (R-NC)

    112th Congress

    The chairman of the committee is Democrat Tom Harkin of Iowa, and the Ranking Member is Republican Mike Enzi of Wyoming.

    Majority Minority

    Source: 2011 Congressional Record, Vol. 157, Page S557

    Subcommittee Chair Ranking Member
    Subcommittee on Children and Families Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) Richard Burr (R-NC)
    Subcommittee on Employment and Workplace Safety Patty Murray (D-WA) Johnny Isakson (R-GA)
    Subcommittee on Primary Health and Aging Bernie Sanders (I-VT)[5] Rand Paul (R-KY)

    113th Congress
    Majority Minority

    Source: 2013 Congressional Record, Vol. 159, Page S296 to 297

    Subcommittee Chair Ranking Member
    Children and Families Kay Hagan (D-NC) Michael Enzi (R-WY)
    Employment and Workplace Safety Bob Casey (D-PA) Johnny Isakson (R-GA)
    Primary Health and Aging Bernie Sanders (I-VT)[5] Richard Burr (R-NC)

    114th Congress
    Majority Minority

    Source [8]

    Source: 2015 Congressional Record, Vol. 161, Page S67 to 68

    Subcommittee Chair Ranking Member
    Children and Families Rand Paul (R-KY) Bob Casey Jr. (D-PA)
    Employment and Workplace Safety Johnny Isakson (R-GA) Al Franken (D-MN)
    Primary Health and Retirement Security Mike Enzi (R-WY) Bernie Sanders (I-VT)[5]

    [9]

    115th Congress
    Majority Minority

    116th Congress
    Main article: 116th United States Congress
    Majority Minority
    Subcommittee Chair Ranking Member
    Children and Families Rand Paul (R-KY) Bob Casey Jr. (D-PA)
    Employment and Workplace Safety Tim Scott (R-SC) Tammy Baldwin (D-WI)
    Primary Health and Retirement Security Mike Enzi (R-WY) Bernie Sanders (I-VT)[5]

    Defunct subcommittees

    The committee has had other subcommittees in the past, such as:

    • the Subcommittee on Migratory Labor during the 1950s through 1970s.
    • the Subcommittee on Health and Scientific Research during the 1970s.
    • the Subcommittee Investigating Violations of Free Speech and the Rights of Labor, informally known as the "La Follette Civil Liberties Committee"

    Chairmen

    Education 1869–1870

    Education and Labor, 1870 – 1947

    Labor and Public Welfare, 1947–1977

    Human Resources, 1977–1979

    Labor and Human Resources, 1979–1999

    Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, 1999–present

    See also

    References
    1. "U.S. Senate. Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. 1/19/1999- Organization Authority Record". National Archives.
    2. "Rule XXV - Standing Committees" (PDF). govinfo.gov. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
    3. "About". help.senate.gov. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
    4. Bernie Sanders is an Independent, but caucuses with Democrats on the committee.
    5. Sanders is an Independent, but caucuses with the Democrats and is treated a Democrat for the purposes of committee assignments.
    6. Paul Kane, Ben Pershing. "Dodd Decides Against Taking Over Senate Health Committee". Washington Post.
    7. "Life after Ted Kennedy: all eyes on Chris Dodd - politico.com". Retrieved February 19, 2010.
    8. "U.S. Senate: Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions". senate.gov. Retrieved January 8, 2017.
    9. "RULES OF PROCEDURE" (PDF). govinfo.gov. 2015. Retrieved July 9, 2019.
    10. Bernie Sanders is an Independent, but caucuses with Democrats on the committee.
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