1999, by S. Res. 20. Jurisdictional areas Under the Rule 25 of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the following subject matters fall under the jurisdiction of the Committee. Measures relating to education, labor, health, and public welfare Aging Agricultural colleges Arts and humanities Biomedical research and development Child labor Convict labor and the entry of goods made by convicts into interstate commerce Domestic activities of the American Red Cross Equal employment opportunity Gallaudet University, Howard University, and St. Elizabeths Hospital in Washington, D.C. Individuals with disabilities Labor standards and labor statistics Mediation and arbitration of labor disputes Occupational Safety and Health Administration, including the welfare of miners. Mine Safety and Health Administration Private pension plans Public health Railway labor and retirement Regulation of foreign laborers Student loans Wages and hours of labor, including the federal minimum wage Members, 118th Congress Historical members 110th Congress 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 Dodd chose instead to remain chairman of the Senate Banking Committee. Tom Harkin, next in line by seniority, assumed the chairmanship on September 9, 2009, vacating his post as chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee. Republican Mike Enzi of Wyoming continued to serve as Ranking Member. Source: , 112th Congress Source: 113th Congress Source: to 297 114th Congress Source Source: to 68 115th Congress 116th Congress 117th Congress 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" Chairpersons Education 1869–1870 James Harlan (R-IA) 1869 Charles D. Drake (R-MO) 1869–1870 Education and Labor, 1870 – 1947 Frederick Sawyer (R-SC) 1870–1873 James W. Flanagan (R-TX) 1873–1875 Orris S. Ferry (R-CT) 1875 John J. Patterson (R-SC) 1875–1877 Ambrose Burnside (R-RI) 1877–1879 James E. Bailey (D-TN) 1879–1881 Henry W. Blair (R-NH) 1881–1891 Joseph M. Carey (R-WY) 1891–1893 James H. Kyle (PO-SD) 1893–1895 George Shoup (R-ID) 1895–1897 James H. Kyle (PO-SD) 1897–1901 Louis McComas (R-MD) 1901–1905 Boies Penrose (R-PA) 1905 Jonathan P. Dolliver (R-IA) 1905–1909 William E. Borah (R-ID) 1909–1913 Hoke Smith (D-GA) 1913–1919 William S. Kenyon (R-IA) 1919–1922 William E. Borah (R-ID) 1922–1924