The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, which along with the United States House of Representatives—the lower chamber—comprises the legislature of the United States. The Senate chamber is located in the north wing of the Capitol, in Washington, D.C.
U.S. Senate Post Office and Civil Service Committee (L-R): Senators Ted Stevens (R-AK), Ranking Member Hiram Fong (R-HI), Chairman Gale McGee (D-WY), Ralph Yarborough (D-TX), Jennings Randolph (D-WV), and Frank Moss (D-UT).
The first standing Senate committee with jurisdiction over the civil service was the United States Senate Committee on Civil Service and Retrenchment, which was established on December 4, 1873, following unanimous approval of a resolution introduced by Henry B. Anthony of Rhode Island. On April 18, 1921, the committee was renamed the United States Senate Committee on Civil Service.
The civil service is independent of government and is also composed mainly of career bureaucrats hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil servant or public servant is a person employed in the public sector on behalf of a government department or agency. A civil servant or public servant's first priority is to represent the interests of citizens. The extent of civil servants of a state as part of the "civil service" varies from country to country. In the United Kingdom, for instance, only Crown employees are referred to as civil servants whereas county or city employees are not.
Retrenchment is an act of cutting down or reduction, particularly of public expenditure.
Henry Bowen Anthony was a United States newspaperman and political figure. He served as editor and was later part owner of the Providence Journal. He was the 21st Governor of Rhode Island, serving between 1849 and 1851 as a member of the Whig Party. Near the end of the 1850s, he was elected to the Senate by the Rhode Island Legislature and was re-elected 4 times. He would be twice elected to the Senate's highest post as President pro tempore during the Grant Administration, and served until his death in 1884.
The Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 retained the Committee on Civil Service and established the committee's jurisdiction over all the aspects of civil service, the Census Bureau and the government's gathering of statistics, and the National Archives. The act also transferred to the committee jurisdiction over the postal service. On April 17, 1947, as specified by S. 99 of the 80th United States Congress, the committee's name was changed from the Committee on Civil Service to the United States Senate Committee on Post Office and Civil Service.
The Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 was the most comprehensive reorganization of the United States Congress in history to that date.
The United States Census Bureau is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the U.S. Department of Commerce and its director is appointed by the President of the United States.
The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an independent agency of the United States government charged with preserving and documenting government and historical records and with increasing public access to those documents, which comprise the National Archives. NARA is officially responsible for maintaining and publishing the legally authentic and authoritative copies of acts of Congress, presidential directives, and federal regulations. The NARA also transmits votes of the Electoral College to Congress.
The Ninety-fifth 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 January 3, 1977, to January 3, 1979, during the final weeks of the administration of U.S. President Gerald Ford and the first two years of the administration of U.S. President Jimmy Carter.
The Fiftieth 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, 1887, to March 4, 1889, during the third and fourth 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 Forty-third 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, 1873, to March 4, 1875, during the fifth and sixth years of Ulysses S. Grant's presidency. The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the Ninth Census of the United States in 1870. Both chambers had a Republican majority.
The Sixty-seventh 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, 1921, to March 4, 1923, during the first two years of Warren Harding's presidency. The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the Thirteenth Census of the United States in 1910. Both chambers had a Republican majority.
Chairmen of the Committee on Civil Service and Retrenchment, 1873-1921
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Jeter Connelly Pritchard was a United States Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and of the United States Circuit Courts for the Fourth Circuit and previously was an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia.
The United States Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources has jurisdiction over matters related to energy and nuclear waste policy, territorial policy, native Hawaiian matters, and public lands.
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.
The Senate Committee on Rules and Administration is responsible for the rules of the United States Senate, administration of congressional buildings, and with credentials and qualifications of members of the Senate, including responsibility for dealing with contested elections.
The Senate Committee on Indian Affairs is a committee of the United States Senate charged with oversight in matters related to the Native American, Native Hawaiian, and Alaska Native peoples. A Committee on Indian Affairs existed from 1820 to 1947, after which it was folded into the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs. A new Native Affairs Committee was created in 1977, initially as a select committee, as a result of the detachment of indigenous affairs from the new Committee on Energy and National Resources, which had succeeded the old Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs. The committee was initially intended to be temporary, but was made permanent in 1984. The committee tends to include senators from Western and Plains states, who have more Native American constituents.
This committee of the United States Senate was created November 4, 1807. On January 2, 1947 its functions were transferred to the Committee on Rules and Administration.
The United States Senate Committee on Claims was among the first standing committees established in the Senate. It dealt generally with issues related to private bills and petitions. After reforms in the 1880s that created judicial and administrative remedies for petitioners, it declined in importance, and was abolished in 1947.
Richard Harvey Cain was a minister, abolitionist, and United States Representative from South Carolina from 1873–1875 and 1877-1879. After the Civil War, he was appointed by Bishop Daniel Payne as a missionary of the African Methodist Episcopal Church in South Carolina.
The Forty-fourth 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, 1875, to March 4, 1877, during the seventh and eighth years of Ulysses S. Grant's presidency. The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the Ninth Census of the United States in 1870. For the first time since the American Civil War, the House had a Democratic majority. The Senate maintained a Republican majority.
The Forty-fifth 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, 1877, to March 4, 1879, during the first two years of Rutherford Hayes's presidency. The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the Ninth Census of the United States in 1870. The Senate had a Republican majority, and the House had a Democratic majority.
The Forty-sixth 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, 1879, to March 4, 1881, during the last two years of Rutherford Hayes's presidency.
The Forty-seventh 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, 1881, to March 4, 1883, during the first and only year of James Garfield's presidency, and the first two years of his successor, Chester Arthur's tenure. The apportionment of seats in this House of Representatives was based on the Ninth Census of the United States in 1870. The House had a Republican majority; the Senate was evenly divided.
The United States Senate Committee on Rules is a defunct Congressional committee, replaced by the United States Senate Committee on Rules and Administration.
Thomas Sterling was an American lawyer, U.S. Senator, and the first dean of the University of South Dakota College of Law.
Henry Eben Burnham was a United States Senator from New Hampshire. Born in Dunbarton, New Hampshire, he attended the public schools and Kimball Union Academy and married Hannah Elizabeth Patterson. Burnham graduated from Dartmouth College in 1865, studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1868 and commenced practice in Manchester. He engaged in banking and insurance and was member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives in 1873-1874, was treasurer of Hillsborough County from 1875 to 1877, was judge of probate for Hillsborough County from 1876 to 1879, and was a member of the State constitutional convention of 1889. He was chairman of the Republican State convention in 1888, served as a ballot-law commissioner from 1892 to 1900, and was elected as a Republican to the U.S. Senate in 1901.
The United States Senate Committee on Patents was a committee of the United States Senate. It was established September 7, 1837 as the "Committee on Patents and the Patent Office" when the Senate approved a resolution of Henry Hubbard of Kentucky. Prior to this, legislation and other matters relating to patents and the Patent Office were referred to the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary.
The Senate Committee on Railroads is a defunct committee of the United States Senate. It succeeded the Committee on the Pacific Railroad on March 12, 1873. The committee reviewed legislation and matters related to railroad transportation on the United States. The committee existed until April 8, 1921, when it was abolished due to inactivity. The committee's role waned after the 50th Congress (1887-89) as other Senate committees acquired legislative jurisdiction over railroad matters. The United States Senate Committee on Interstate Commerce, in particular, focused on regulating railroad rates and assuring safety of railroad passengers and crews. A separate Committee on Pacific Railroads also operated from 1893-1921, investigating the financial status of the Union Pacific Railroad.
The Committee on Indian Depredations was a standing committee of the United States Senate from 1893 to 1921. It was superseded by a select committee which operated from 1889 to 1895.
