Committees & Caucuses

Committee Assignments

House Committee on Ways and Means 

Rep. Sewell is a member of the House Committee on Ways and Means where she serves on the Subcommittee on Health, the Subcomittee on Trade, and the Subcommittee on Work and Welfare.

The Committee on Ways and Means is the oldest committee of the United States Congress, and is the chief tax-writing committee in the House of Representatives. 

The Committee derives a large share of its jurisdiction from Article I, Section VII of the U.S. Constitution which declares, "All Bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives."

First established as a select committee on July 24, 1789, it was discharged less than two months later. The committee was reappointed from the first session of the Fourth Congress in 1795, and was formally listed as a standing committee in the House Rules on January 7, 1802.

Until 1865, the jurisdiction of the committee (referred to as the Committee of Ways and Means before 1880) included the critically important areas of revenue, appropriations, and banking. Since 1865, the committee has continued to exercise jurisdiction over revenue and related issues such as tariffs, reciprocal trade agreements, and the bonded debt of the United States. Revenue-related aspects of the Social Security system, Medicare, and social services programs have come within Ways and Means' purview in the 20th century.

The roster of committee members who have gone on to serve in higher office is impressive. Eight Presidents and eight Vice Presidents have served on Ways and Means, as have 21 Speakers of the House of Representatives, and four Justices of the Supreme Court.

House Armed Services Committee

Rep. Sewell was appointed to the House Armed Services Committee for the 118th Congress where she serves on the Subcommittee on Military Personnel.

The Armed Services Committee was created by the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946, which merged the jurisdictions of the Committee on Military Affairs and the Committee on Naval Affairs. The Committee’s jurisdiction includes defense policy, ongoing military operations, the organization and reform of the Department of Defense and Department of Energy, counter-drug programs, acquisition and industrial base policy, technology transfer and export controls, joint interoperability, the Cooperative Threat Reduction program, Department of Energy nonproliferation programs, and detainee affairs and policy.

Committee on House Administration

Rep. Sewell was appointed to the Committee on House Administration for the 118th Congress where she serves as Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Elections.

The Committee on House Administration is charged with the oversight of federal elections and the day-to-day operations of the House of Representatives.

The Committee's jurisdiction over federal elections requires it to consider proposals to amend federal election law and to monitor congressional elections across the United States. The Committee was instrumental in the passage of the Help America Vote Act of 2002, which former Presidents Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter called the most meaningful improvement in election laws and voting safeguards in a generation. This law provided more than $3 billion dollars for the upgrades of voting equipment and procedures to make the voting process more accessible and to guard against fraud.

House Administration manages the daily operations that keep the House of Representatives running smoothly. The budget authorizations for expenses of House committees, and those for expenses of Members of Congress, are set by the Committee. Additionally, the Committee is responsible for oversight of House officers, including the administrative and technical functions of the House.

The security of the Capitol Complex has become an even higher priority since the devastating attacks of September 11, 2001. The House Administration Committee, which oversees security on the House side of the Capitol Complex, works closely with the Capitol Police to ensure that every effort is made to keep the Capitol Complex extremely secure while maintaining accessibility for the millions of constituents who visit every year.

Caucuses

Congressional Black Caucus, Voting Rights Task Force Chair

Since its establishment in 1971, the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) has been committed to using the full Constitutional power, statutory authority, and financial resources of the federal government to ensure that African Americans and other marginalized communities in the United States have the opportunity to achieve the American Dream. The Caucus is Chaired by Congresswoman Joyce Beatty. As part of this commitment, the CBC has fought for the past 48 years to empower these citizens and address their legislative concerns by pursuing a policy agenda that includes but is not limited to the following: 
  • reforming the criminal justice system and eliminating barriers to reentry;
  • combatting voter suppression;
  • expanding access to world-class education from pre-k through post-secondary level;
  • expanding access to quality, affordable health care and eliminating racial health disparities;
  • expanding access to 21st century technologies, including broadband;
  • strengthening protections for workers and expanding access to full, fairly-compensated employment;
  • expanding access to capital, contracts, and counseling for minority-owned businesses; and
  • promoting U.S. foreign policy initiatives in Africa and other countries that are consistent with the fundamental right of human dignity.
For the 117th Congress, the CBC has a historic 56 members of the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate, representing more than 82 million Americans, 25.3 percent of the total U.S. population, and more than 17 million African-Americans, 41 percent of the total U.S. African-American population. In addition, the CBC represents almost a fourth of the House Democratic Caucus. 

The CBC is engaged at the highest levels of Congress with members who serve in House leadership. Representative James E. Clyburn (D-SC) serves as the Majority Whip in the House of Representatives, Representative Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) serves as Chairman of the House Democratic Caucus and Representative Barbara Lee (D-CA) serves as co-chair of the House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee. In addition, five CBC members serve as chairs on full House committees, and 28 CBC members serve as chairs on House subcommittees. 

New Democrat Coalition, Health Care Task Force Co-Chair

As the largest Democratic caucus in the House of Representatives, the New Democrat Coalition is made up of 99 forward-thinking Democrats who are committed to pro-economic growth, pro-innovation, and fiscally responsible policies. New Democrats are a solutions oriented coalition seeking to bridge the gap between left and right by challenging outmoded partisan approaches to governing. New Democrats believe the challenges ahead are too great for Members of Congress to refuse to cooperate purely out of partisanship.  

Congressional Voting Rights Caucus, Co-Chair

The goal of the Congressional Voting Rights Caucus is to educate the public on the current voter suppression tactics in place in their home states, districts, and counties, inform constituencies on their rights as voters, and to create and advance legislation that blocks current and future suppressive and discriminatory tactics that deny American citizens the sacred right to vote.

Congresswoman Sewell's Caucus Memberships

  • Congressional Army Caucus
  • Congressional Arts Caucus
  • Congressional Automotive Caucus
  • Congressional Black Caucus
  • Congressional Caucus on Black Women and Girls
  • Congressional Caucus on Foster Youth 
  • Congressional Caucus on Korea
  • Congressional Cement Caucus 
  • Congressional Cybersecurity Caucus
  • Congressional Diabetes Caucus
  • Congressional Friends of Ecuador Caucus
  • Congressional HBCU Caucus
  • Congressional House Manufacturing Caucus
  • Congressional Kurdish-American Caucus
  • Congressional Municipal Finance Caucus
  • Congressional Out of Poverty Caucus
  • Congressional Peanut Caucus
  • Congressional Rural Caucus
  • Congressional Rural Healthcare Coalition 
  • Congressional Rural Veterans Caucus
  • Congressional STEAM Caucus
  • Congressional Steel Caucus
  • Congressional TRIO Caucus
  • Financial and Economic Literacy Caucus
  • House Rural Education Caucus
  • Special Operations Forces (SOF) Caucus
  • State Medicaid Expansion Caucus (SMEC)