U.S. Congressional Committees for 118th Congress

The United States Congress consists of standing committees, which are responsible for reviewing legislation and overseeing specific areas of government policy. In the U.S. House of Representatives, there are 20 standing committees, while the U.S. Senate has 16 standing committees. Each committee is led by a chair and a ranking member, with the chair presiding over the full committee and the ranking member leading the minority members of the committee.

Committees play a key role in the legislative process, as they review bills and issues and make recommendations to the House and Senate for further consideration. For more details on committee rules for the U.S. House of Representatives click here and for the U.S. Senate, click here.

Current U.S. House Standing Committees

• Agriculture
• Appropriations
• Armed Services
• Budget
• Education and the Workforce
• Energy and Commerce
• Ethics
• Financial Services
• Foreign Affairs
• Homeland Security
• House Administration
• Judiciary
• Natural Resources
• Oversight and Accountability
• Rules
• Science, Space and Technology
• Small Business
• Transportation and Infrastructure
• Veterans’ Affairs
• Ways and Means

Current U.S. Senate Standing Committees

• Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry
• Appropriations
• Armed Services
• Banking, House and Urban Affairs
• Budget
• Commerce, Science and Transportation
• Energy and Natural Resources
• Environment and Public Works
• Finance
• Foreign Relations
• Health, Education, Labor and Pensions
• Homeland Security and Government Affairs
• Judiciary
• Rules and Administration
• Small Business and Entrepreneurship
• Veterans’ Affairs

To determine the composition of congressional committees, party leaders must first decide on the size of each committee and the proportion of Republicans and Democrats that will serve on them. The total number of committee slots for each party is generally proportional to the ratio between majority party and minority party members in the full chamber.

For instance, if the majority party in the U.S. Senate holds 60 seats and the minority party holds 40 seats, then the committee makeup would be roughly 60% majority party members and 40% minority party members. Each party also establishes a steering committee, which recommends committee assignments for members of that respective party.

The 118th Congress began on Jan. 3, 2023 and will end in early January 2025. For the next two years, Republicans are the majority party in the U.S. House and the U.S. Senate is controlled by the Democratic Party. With the new Congress now in full swing, the members of Iowa’s Congressional Delegation have received their respective committee assignments. See below for a list of each member's assignments.

Committee Assignments

Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, IA-1

• Committee on Energy and Commerce
• Committee on Veterans Affairs

Rep. Ashley Hinson, IA-2

• Committee on Appropriations

Rep. Zach Nunn, IA-3

• Committee on Agriculture
• Committee on Financial Services

Rep. Randy Feenstra, IA-4

• Committee on Agriculture
• Committee on Ways and Means

Sen. Chuck Grassley

• Committee on Agriculture Nutrition and Forestry
• Committee on the Budget
• Committee on Finance
• Committee on the Judiciary

Sen. Joni Ernst

• Committee on Agriculture Nutrition and Forestry
• Committee on Armed Services
• Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship (Ranking Member)

The Partnership's Public Policy team engages with local, state and federal officials to create public policy that generates economic growth, business prosperity and talent development in Greater Des Moines (DSM). The Partnership is a nonpartisan organization.