United States Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions


The United States Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions generally considers matters relating to these issues. Its jurisdiction extends beyond these issues to include several more specific areas, as defined by Senate rules.
While currently known as the HELP Committee, the first iteration of this committee was founded on January 28, 1869 as the Committee on Education. The committee name was changed to the Committee on Education and Labor on February 14, 1870, when petitions relating to labor were added to their jurisdiction from the Committee on Naval Affairs.
The committee’s jurisdiction at the end of the 19th and early 20th centuries focused on issues relating to federal employees’ working conditions and federal education aid. Prominent issues considered by the committee in the 1910s and 1920s included the creation of a minimum wage, the establishments of a Department of Labor, a Department of Education, and a Children’s Bureau. During the 1930s, the committee took action on the National Labor Relations Act, the Walsh-Healey Public Contracts Act of 1936 and the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938.
In 1944, the jurisdiction of the Public Health Service was transferred from the Commerce Committee over to the Committee on Education and Labor, resulting in the committee taking over issues relating to public health matters. The name of the committee changed during the 80th Congress to the Committee on Labor and Public Welfare, which was part of the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946. As part of this bill, the jurisdiction of the committee was expanded to include the issues of rehabilitation, health, and education of veterans. Mine safety legislation was also added to the committee’s jurisdiction in 1949.
During the Johnson Administration, the committee established itself as the principal committee for the legislation pertaining to the War on Poverty, as part of the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964. Through the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1970, certain issues pertaining to veterans were transferred to the newly created Committee on Veterans Affairs. In the 95th Congress, the Senate passed S. Res. 4 which renamed the committee to be the Committee on Human Resources. However, the name was again changed in the 96th Congress in S. Res. 30 to become the Committee on Labor and Human Resources. On March 18, 1992, the committee’s jurisdiction was updated to include all of the areas listed below. The current name of the Committee, the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, was created on January 19, 1999 in 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.
MajorityMinority

  • Patty Murray, Washington, Ranking Member
  • Bernie Sanders, Vermont
  • Bob Casey, Jr., Pennsylvania
  • Tammy Baldwin, Wisconsin
  • Chris Murphy, Connecticut
  • Elizabeth Warren, Massachusetts
  • Tim Kaine, Virginia
  • Maggie Hassan, New Hampshire
  • Tina Smith, Minnesota
  • Doug Jones, Alabama
  • Jacky Rosen, Nevada
  • Subcommittees

    SubcommitteeChairRanking Member
    Children and FamiliesRand Paul Bob Casey Jr.
    Employment and Workplace SafetyTim Scott Tammy Baldwin
    Primary Health and Retirement SecurityMike Enzi Bernie Sanders

    Source:

    Historical members

    Members, 110th Congress

    SubcommitteeChairRanking Member
    Subcommittee on Children and FamiliesChris Dodd Lamar Alexander
    Subcommittee on Employment and Workplace SafetyPatty Murray Johnny Isakson
    Subcommittee on Retirement and AgingBarbara Mikulski Richard Burr

    Members, 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 chose instead to remain chairman of the Senate Banking Committee. Tom Harkin, next in line for seniority, assumed the chairmanship on September 9, 2009, vacating his post as chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee.
    MajorityMinority

  • Mike Enzi, Wyoming, Ranking Member
  • Judd Gregg, New Hampshire
  • Lamar Alexander, Tennessee
  • Richard Burr, North Carolina
  • Johnny Isakson, Georgia
  • John McCain, Arizona
  • Orrin Hatch, Utah
  • Lisa Murkowski, Alaska
  • Tom Coburn, Oklahoma
  • Pat Roberts, Kansas
  • Source:,
    SubcommitteeChairRanking Member
    Subcommittee on Children and FamiliesChris Dodd Lamar Alexander
    Subcommittee on Employment and Workplace SafetyPatty Murray Johnny Isakson
    Subcommittee on Retirement and AgingBarbara Mikulski Richard Burr

    Members, 112th Congress

    The chairman of the committee is Democrat Tom Harkin of Iowa, and the Ranking Member is Republican Mike Enzi of Wyoming.
    MajorityMinority

    • Tom Harkin, Iowa, Chairman
    • Barbara Mikulski, Maryland
    • Jeff Bingaman, New Mexico
    • Patty Murray, Washington
    • Bernie Sanders, Vermont
    • Bob Casey, Jr., Pennsylvania
    • Kay Hagan, North Carolina
    • Jeff Merkley, Oregon
    • Al Franken, Minnesota
    • Michael Bennet, Colorado
    • Sheldon Whitehouse, Rhode Island
    • Richard Blumenthal, Connecticut
  • Mike Enzi, Wyoming, Ranking Member
  • Lamar Alexander, Tennessee
  • Richard Burr, North Carolina
  • Johnny Isakson, Georgia
  • Rand Paul, Kentucky
  • Orrin Hatch, Utah
  • John McCain, Arizona
  • Pat Roberts, Kansas
  • Lisa Murkowski, Alaska
  • Mark Kirk, Illinois
  • Source:
    SubcommitteeChairRanking Member
    Subcommittee on Children and FamiliesBarbara Mikulski Richard Burr
    Subcommittee on Employment and Workplace SafetyPatty Murray Johnny Isakson
    Subcommittee on Primary Health and AgingBernie Sanders Rand Paul

    Members, 113th Congress

    MajorityMinority

    • Patty Murray, Washington, Chair
    • Barbara Mikulski, Maryland
    • Tom Harkin, Iowa
    • Bernie Sanders, Vermont
    • Bob Casey, Jr., Pennsylvania
    • Kay Hagan, North Carolina
    • Al Franken, Minnesota
    • Michael Bennet, Colorado
    • Sheldon Whitehouse, Rhode Island
    • Tammy Baldwin, Wisconsin
    • Chris Murphy, Connecticut
    • Elizabeth Warren, Massachusetts
  • Lamar Alexander, Tennessee, Ranking member
  • Mike Enzi, Wyoming
  • Richard Burr, North Carolina
  • Johnny Isakson, Georgia
  • Rand Paul, Kentucky
  • Orrin Hatch, Utah
  • Pat Roberts, Kansas
  • Lisa Murkowski, Alaska
  • Mark Kirk, Illinois
  • Tim Scott, South Carolina
  • Source: to 297
    SubcommitteeChairRanking Member
    Children and FamiliesKay Hagan Michael Enzi
    Employment and Workplace SafetyBob Casey Johnny Isakson
    Primary Health and AgingBernie Sanders Richard Burr

    Members, 114th Congress

    MajorityMinority

    • Lamar Alexander, Tennessee, Chair
    • Mike Enzi, Wyoming
    • Richard Burr, North Carolina
    • Johnny Isakson, Georgia
    • Rand Paul, Kentucky
    • Susan Collins, Maine
    • Lisa Murkowski, Alaska
    • Mark Kirk, Illinois
    • Tim Scott, South Carolina
    • Orrin Hatch, Utah
    • Pat Roberts, Kansas
    • Bill Cassidy, Louisiana
  • Patty Murray, Washington, Ranking Member
  • Barbara Mikulski, Maryland
  • Bernie Sanders, Vermont
  • Bob Casey Jr., Pennsylvania
  • Al Franken, Minnesota
  • Michael Bennet, Colorado
  • Sheldon Whitehouse, Rhode Island
  • Tammy Baldwin, Wisconsin
  • Chris Murphy, Connecticut
  • Elizabeth Warren, Massachusetts
  • Source
    Source: to 68
    SubcommitteeChairRanking Member
    Children and FamiliesRand Paul Bob Casey Jr.
    Employment and Workplace SafetyJohnny Isakson Al Franken
    Primary Health and Retirement SecurityMike Enzi Bernie Sanders

    Members, 115th Congress

    MajorityMinority

    • Lamar Alexander, Tennessee, Chair
    • Mike Enzi, Wyoming
    • Richard Burr, North Carolina
    • Johnny Isakson, Georgia
    • Rand Paul, Kentucky
    • Susan Collins, Maine
    • Bill Cassidy, Louisiana
    • Todd Young, Indiana
    • Orrin Hatch, Utah
    • Pat Roberts, Kansas
    • Lisa Murkowski, Alaska
    • Tim Scott, South Carolina
  • Patty Murray, Washington, Ranking Member
  • Bernie Sanders, Vermont
  • Bob Casey Jr., Pennsylvania
  • Michael Bennet, Colorado
  • Al Franken, Minnesota
  • Tammy Baldwin, Wisconsin
  • Chris Murphy, Connecticut
  • Elizabeth Warren, Massachusetts
  • Tim Kaine, Virginia
  • Maggie Hassan, New Hampshire
  • Tina Smith, Minnesota
  • Doug Jones, Alabama
  • Defunct subcommittees

    The committee has had other subcommittees in the past, such as:

    Education 1869–1870