United States Senate Committee on Civil Service
Encyclopedia
United States Senate Committee on Civil Service is a defunct committee of the United States Senate
.
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 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 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 committee ceased to exist in February 1977, under S. Res. 4 of the 95th Congress
when its functions were transferred to the Committee on Governmental Affairs.
In there were select or special committees pertaining to the Civil Service:
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
.
The first standing Senate committee with jurisdiction over the civil service
Civil service
The term civil service has two distinct meanings:* A branch of governmental service in which individuals are employed on the basis of professional merit as proven by competitive examinations....
was the United States Senate Committee on Civil Service and Retrenchment
Retrenchment
Retrenchment is an act of cutting down or reduction, particularly of public expenditure.-Political usage:The word is familiar in this, its most general sense, from the motto of the Gladstonian Liberal party in British politics, "Peace, Retrenchment and Reform."The manifesto for 1906 Liberal...
, which was established on December 4, 1873, following unanimous approval of a resolution introduced by Henry B. Anthony
Henry B. Anthony
Henry Bowen Anthony was a United States newspaperman and political figure. He served as the editor and later part owner of the Providence Journal and later was the 21st Governor of Rhode Island between 1849 and 1851, as a member of the Whig Party.The son of William Anthony and Mary Kennicut...
of Rhode Island
Rhode Island
The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
. On April 18, 1921, the committee was renamed the United States Senate Committee on Civil Service.
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
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
and the government's gathering of statistics, and the National Archives
National Archives and Records Administration
The National Archives and Records Administration 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...
. The act also transferred to the committee jurisdiction over the postal service
United States Postal Service
The United States Postal Service is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for providing postal service in the United States...
. On April 17, 1947, as specified by of the 80th United States Congress
80th United States Congress
The Eightieth 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, 1947 to January 3, 1949, during the third and fourth...
, 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 committee ceased to exist in February 1977, under S. Res. 4 of the 95th Congress
95th United States 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 first two years...
when its functions were transferred to the Committee on Governmental Affairs.
In there were select or special committees pertaining to the Civil Service:
- United States Senate Select Committee to Investigate the Operation of the Civil Service, 1888-1889 (50th Congress50th United States CongressThe 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...
) - United States Senate Select Committee to Examine the Several Branches in the Civil Service, 1875-1921 (43rd43rd United States CongressThe 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...
-67th Congresses67th United States CongressThe 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...
) - United States Special Committee to Investigate the Administration of the Civil Service System, 1938-1941 (75th75th United States CongressThe Seventy-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, 1937 to January 3, 1939, during the first two years...
-76th Congresses76th United States CongressThe Seventy-sixth 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, 1939 to January 3, 1941, during the seventh and...
)
Chairmen of the Committee on Civil Service and Retrenchment, 1873-1921
- George WrightGeorge G. WrightGeorge Grover Wright was a pioneer lawyer, Iowa Supreme Court justice, law professor, and Republican United States Senator from Iowa....
(R-IA) 1873-1875 - Powell ClaytonPowell ClaytonPowell Clayton was an engineer, a Union Army general in the American Civil War, the first Reconstruction Governor of the State of Arkansas, and Ambassador to Mexico during the administrations of William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt.-Early life:Clayton was born in Bethel, Pennsylvania, to John...
(R-AR) 1875-1877 - James G. BlaineJames G. BlaineJames Gillespie Blaine was a U.S. Representative, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, U.S. Senator from Maine, two-time Secretary of State...
(R-ME) 1877 - Henry Teller (R-CO) 1877-1879
- M. C. Butler (D-SC) 1879-1881
- Joseph HawleyJoseph Roswell HawleyJoseph Roswell Hawley was the 42nd Governor of Connecticut, a U.S. politician in the Republican and Free Soil parties, a Civil War general, and a journalist and newspaper editor. He served two terms in the United States House of Representatives and was a four-term U.S...
(R-CT) 1881-1887 - Jonathan ChaceJonathan ChaceJonathan Chace was a United States Representative and Senator from Rhode Island. Born at Fall River, Massachusetts, he son of Harvey Chace and the grandson of Oliver Chace. In 1854, he married Jane C. Moon, and they had children: Anna H., Elizabeth M. and Susan A....
(R-RI) 1887-1889 - Edward O. Wolcott (R-CO) 1889-1893
- Wilkinson CallWilkinson CallWilkinson Call was a U.S. Senator from Florida who served as a Democrat from 1879 to 1897.Call was a nephew of Florida Governor Richard K. Call and cousin of Arkansas Senator James D...
(D-FL) 1893-1894 - Thomas JarvisThomas JarvisThomas Jarvis was Deputy Governor of North Carolina from 1690 to 1694....
(D-NC) 1894-1895 - Jeter C. Pritchard (R-NC) 1895-1899
- Lucien BakerLucien BakerLucien Baker was a United States Senator from Kansas.Baker was born near Cleveland, Ohio and moved with his parents to Morenci, Michigan...
(R-KS) 1899-1901 - George C. Perkins (R-CA) 1901-1909
- Albert Cummins (R-IA) 1909-1913
- Atlee PomereneAtlee PomereneAtlee Pomerene was a Democratic Party politician from Ohio. He represented Ohio in the United States Senate from 1911 until 1923.-Early life and career:...
(D-OH) 1913-1917 - Kenneth McKellarKenneth McKellarKenneth Douglas McKellar was an American politician from Tennessee who served as a United States Representative from 1911 until 1917 and as a United States Senator from 1917 until 1953...
(D-TN) 1917-1919 - Thomas SterlingThomas SterlingThomas Sterling was an American politician. A Republican, he served in the United States Senate from 1913 to 1925.-Early life:Sterling, , was born near Amanda, Ohio...
(R-SD) 1919-1921
Chairmen of the Committee on Civil Service, 1921-1947
- Thomas SterlingThomas SterlingThomas Sterling was an American politician. A Republican, he served in the United States Senate from 1913 to 1925.-Early life:Sterling, , was born near Amanda, Ohio...
(R-SD) 1921-1923 - Robert Nelson Stanfield (R-OR) 1923-1925
- James Couzens (R-MI) 1925-1926
- Porter H. DalePorter H. DalePorter Hinman Dale was a member of both the United States House of Representatives and later the United States Senate from Vermont.-Early life and career:Dale was born in Island Pond, Vermont in 1867....
(R-VT) 1926-1933 - William J. BulowWilliam J. BulowWilliam John Bulow was an American politician and a lawyer. He was the first Democratic Governor of South Dakota, receiving the highest vote ever received by a Democratic candidate for governor up to that time,, and then went on to serve as a member of the United States Senate.-Biography:Bulow...
(D-SD) 1933-1943 - Kenneth McKellarKenneth McKellarKenneth Douglas McKellar was an American politician from Tennessee who served as a United States Representative from 1911 until 1917 and as a United States Senator from 1917 until 1953...
(D-TN) 1943-1944 - Sheridan DowneySheridan DowneySheridan Downey was a lawyer and a Democratic U.S. Senator from California from 1939 to 1950.-Early life:...
(D-CA) 1944-1947
Sources
- Chapter 15. Records of the Committee on Post Office and Civil Service and Related Committees, 1816-1968 Guide to the Records of the U.S. Senate at the National Archives (Record Group 46)