United States House Committee on Rivers and Harbors

Last updated

The House Committee on Rivers and Harbors was a U.S. House committee from 1883 until 1946. It was authorized early in the 48th Congress in December 1883, when the committee was given jurisdiction over subjects relating to the improvements of rivers and harbors; it also had the responsibility of reporting the river and harbor bills to the floor. These functions previously had been handled by the Committee on Commerce. [1]

United States House of Representatives lower house of the United States Congress

The United States House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they comprise the legislature of the United States.

48th United States Congress

The Forty-Eighth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1883, to March 4, 1885, during the last two years of the administration of U.S. President Chester A. Arthur. The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the Tenth Census of the United States in 1880. The Senate had a Republican majority, and the House had a Democratic majority.

Rivers and Harbors Act may refer to one of many pieces of legislation and appropriations passed by the United States Congress since the first such legislation in 1824. At that time Congress appropriated $75,000 to improve navigation on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers by removing sandbars, snags, and other obstacles. Like when first passed, the legislation was to be administered by the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), under its Chief Engineer and the Secretary of War.

The committee's jurisdiction changed over time with many additional considerations and jurisdictions and some reductions. The Rivers and Harbors committee, as well as other committees related to public works were terminated by the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946, with their successor being House Committee on Public Works, [2] and currently the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.

The Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 was the most comprehensive reorganization of the United States Congress in history to that date.

The United States House Committee on Public Works was a U.S. House committee, established in 1947 by the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946, that had jurisdiction over infrastructure within the United States. It was dissolved in 1968 and superseded by the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.

The U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives.

History and jurisdiction

With the establishment of the Committee on Rivers and Harbors on December 19, 1883, the Committee on Commerce relinquished its previous jurisdiction over appropriations for the improvement of rivers and harbors. [3] Federal internal improvements for harbors date from 1792 with the Cape Henry Light, [4] and for rivers from 1824. The latter beginning for rivers followed the landmark decision of the US Supreme Court granting Congress the power to regulate interstate navigation under the Commerce Clause in Gibbons v. Ogden; the work was initiated through the General Survey Act and the first rivers and harbors legislation passed shortly thereafter. While the issue of federally funded improvements was still contentious, it was generally less so by the time the committee was formed.

Internal improvements is the term used historically in the United States for public works from the end of the American Revolution through much of the 19th century, mainly for the creation of a transportation infrastructure: roads, turnpikes, canals, harbors and navigation improvements. This older term carries the connotation of a political movement that called for the exercise of public spirit as well as the search for immediate economic gain. Improving the country's natural advantages by developments in transportation was, in the eyes of George Washington and many others, a duty incumbent both on governments and on individual citizens.

The Commerce Clause describes an enumerated power listed in the United States Constitution. The clause states that the United States Congress shall have power "To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes." Courts and commentators have tended to discuss each of these three areas of commerce as a separate power granted to Congress. It is common to see the individual components of the Commerce Clause referred to under specific terms: the Foreign Commerce Clause, the Interstate Commerce Clause, and the Indian Commerce Clause.

Gibbons v. Ogden, 22 U.S. 1 (1824), was a landmark decision in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that the power to regulate interstate commerce, granted to Congress by the Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution, encompassed the power to regulate navigation. The case was argued by some of America's most admired and capable attorneys at the time. Exiled Irish patriot Thomas Addis Emmet and Thomas J. Oakley argued for Ogden, while U.S. Attorney General William Wirt and Daniel Webster argued for Gibbons.

Related Research Articles

Intracoastal Waterway inland waterway along the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts of the United States

The Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) is a 3,000-mile (4,800 km) inland waterway along the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts of the United States, running from Boston, Massachusetts, southward along the Atlantic Seaboard and around the southern tip of Florida, then following the Gulf Coast to Brownsville, Texas. Some sections of the waterway consist of natural inlets, saltwater rivers, bays, and sounds, while others are artificial canals. It provides a navigable route along its length without many of the hazards of travel on the open sea.

United States congressional committee Legislative working groups of the United States federal government

A congressional committee is a legislative sub-organization in the United States Congress that handles a specific duty. Committee membership enables members to develop specialized knowledge of the matters under their jurisdiction. As "little legislatures", the committees monitor on-going governmental operations, identify issues suitable for legislative review, gather and evaluate information, and recommend courses of action to their parent body. Woodrow Wilson once wrote, "it is not far from the truth to say that Congress in session is Congress on public exhibition, whilst Congress in its committee rooms is Congress at work." It is neither expected nor possible that a member of Congress be an expert on all matters and subject areas that come before Congress. Congressional committees provide valuable informational services to Congress by investigating and reporting about specialized subjects.

United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation Standing committee of the United States Senate

The United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation is a standing committee of the United States Senate. It is empowered with legislative oversight of the Coast Guard and Merchant Marine, interstate commerce, communications, the Internet, highways, aviation, rail, shipping, transportation security, oceans, fisheries, climate change, natural disasters, science, sports, tourism, consumer protection, economic development, technology, competitiveness, product safety, insurance, and standards and measurement. The committee also has jurisdiction over coastal zone management, inland waterways, the Panama Canal and other interoceanic canals, and commerce aspects of Continental Shelf lands.

Candice Miller American politician

Candice Sue Miller is an American politician who was the U.S. Representative for Michigan's 10th congressional district from 2003 to 2017. She is former Michigan Secretary of State, Macomb County Treasurer, and Harrison Township Supervisor. She is a member of the Republican Party. In November 2016, she was elected Macomb County Public Works commissioner, defeating 6-term incumbent Anthony Marrocco.

Navigability body of water, such as a river, canal or lake, is navigable if it is deep, wide and slow enough for a vessel to pass or walk

A body of water, such as a river, canal or lake, is navigable if it is deep, wide and slow enough for a vessel to pass or walk. Preferably there are few obstructions such as rocks or trees to avoid. Bridges must have sufficient clearance. High water speed may make a channel unnavigable. Waters may be unnavigable because of ice, particularly in winter. Navigability depends on context: A small river may be navigable by smaller craft, such as a motorboat or a kayak, but unnavigable by a cruise ship. Shallow rivers may be made navigable by the installation of locks that increase and regulate water depth, or by dredging.

The Committee on Education and Labor is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives.

60th United States Congress

The Sixtieth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from March 4, 1907, to March 4, 1909, during the last two years of Theodore Roosevelt's presidency. The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the Twelfth Census of the United States in 1900. Both chambers had a Republican majority.

49th United States Congress

The Forty-ninth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1885, to March 4, 1887, during the first two years of Grover Cleveland's first presidency. The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the Tenth Census of the United States in 1880. The Senate had a Republican majority, and the House had a Democratic majority.

The United States House Committee on Commerce was a standing committee of the U.S. House from 1819 until 1892; it was established when the previous Committee on Commerce and Manufactures, which has existed since 1795, was split into two different committees. The committee existed until 1891, when its name was changed to the Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce.

The U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Transportation and Infrastructure is one of four subcommittees of the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. The subcommittee's jurisdiction includes:

History of turnpikes and canals in the United States

The history of turnpikes and canals in the United States began with work attempted and accomplished in the original thirteen colonies, predicated on European technology. After gaining independence, the United States grew westward, crossing the Appalachian Mountains with the admission of new states and then doubling in size with the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. The only means of transportation at the time between the coastal states and interior lands remained on water, by canoe, boat and ship, or over land on foot and by pack animal. Recognizing the success of Roman roads in unifying that empire, political and business leaders in the United States began to construct roads and canals to connect the disparate parts of the nation.

The United States House Committee on Territories was a committee of the United States House of Representatives from 1825 to 1946. Its jurisdiction was reporting on a variety to topics related to the territories, including legislation concerning them, and their admission as new states.

The United States House Committee on Roads and Canals was a U.S. House committee, which was initially established as a select committee in 1815 and subsequently became a standing committee between 1831 and 1869. Roads and canals were an initial and integral sector of domestic improvements for transportation. Previously from 1795 to 1815, federal government support for internal improvements was under the jurisdiction of the Committee on Commerce and Manufactures. Considered closely related to increasing the value of domestic commerce and funded by protective tariffs on it, the general subject of internal improvements was one of the most contentious issues in the young republic, despite the near-universal acceptance of the need for such development.

The General Survey Act was a law passed by the United States Congress in April 1824, which authorized the president to have surveys made of routes for transport roads and canals "of national importance, in a commercial or military point of view, or necessary for the transportation of public mail." While such infrastructure of national scope had been discussed and shown wanting for years, its passage shortly followed the landmark Supreme Court ruling, Gibbons v. Ogden, which first established federal authority over interstate commerce including navigation by river. The president assigned responsibility for the surveys to the Corps of Engineers (USACE).

References

  1. ↑ Records of the Committee on Rivers and Harbors (1883-1946) History and Jurisdiction, National Archives
  2. ↑ Chapter 17. Records of the Public Works Committees, National Archives
  3. ↑ Records of the Committee on Commerce (1819-1892) History and Jurisdiction, National Archives
  4. ↑ Jurisdiction, Transportation and Infrastructure Committee
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.