Title: The U.S. Congress and Global Health: A Primer | KFF
Headings: The U.S. Congress and Global Health: A Primer
The U.S. Congress and Global Health: A Primer
Structure
Chambers
Members
Committees
Caucuses
Role and Key Activities
Legislation
Authorization Bills
Appropriations Bills
Key Provisions and Reports
Oversight
Examples of Congressional Engagement
PEPFAR
West Africa Ebola Outbreak
Looking Ahead
Topics
Tags

Content: Although the organization of committees in each chamber is rooted in a 1946 law that originally laid out similar committees in each chamber, the committee structure has evolved over time, leading to more variation across committees and chambers. 4
There are more than ten congressional committees whose work relates to global health, 5 although a smaller subset of six committees has primary jurisdiction over most global health programs and funding. These six are: the House Committee on Foreign Affairs (HFAC), the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations (SFRC), the House Committee on Energy and Commerce (E&C Committee), the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP Committee); and the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations (Approps. Committees). See Table 2 for an overview of jurisdiction by committee. Also see Appendix A for an overview of key committees and subcommittees’ leadership as well as a listing of members serving on these during the 116th Congress. Caucuses
Members of Congress may also establish formal or informal groups of members, known as caucuses, focused on specific topics. 6 Caucuses may be bipartisan (drawing their membership from both Democrats and Republicans) and bicameral (including members from both chambers), but they do not have to be.