House slashes committee expenses for 112th Congress

By Pete Kasperowicz - 03/18/11 11:00 AM ET

The House on Thursday approved a resolution that cuts committee expenses in the 112th Congress compared to the 111th.

Most cuts were on the order of 5 percent, although the Judiciary Committee received the 10 percent, $2 million cut in its budget. The House also eliminated the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming entirely — this committee had a $4.2 million budget in the last Congress.

The House also funded the Ethics Committee at $5.9 million, more than the $5.6 million Democrats gave to the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct in the prior Congress.

Limits for specific committees follow, along with comparisons to the previous Congress. Each of these totals are spending levels for 2011 and 2012 combined:

Agriculture Committee: $12.24 million (was $12.88 million)

Armed Services Committee: $15.1 million (was $15.8 million)

Budget Committee: $12.1 million (was $12.7 million)

Education and the Workforce: $16.7 million (was $17.6 million for Education and Labor)

Energy and Commerce: $22.4 million (was $23.6 million)

Financial Services: $17.4 million (was $18.3 million)

Foreign Affairs: $17.9 million (was $18.8 million)

Homeland Security: $16.9 million (was $17.8 million)

House Administration: $10.5 million (was $11.1 million)

Intelligence, Permanent Select Committee: $10.3 million (was $10.9 million)

Judiciary: $16.8 million (was $18.8 million)

Natural Resources: $15.8 million (was $16.6 million)