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House Appropriations Committee

The constitutional basis for the appropriations committee is Article I, Section 9 of the U.S. Constitution, which states that the federal government can only spend money that has been specifically appropriated by Congress. Until 1865, this power was combined with the power to assess taxes in the Ways and Means Committee. On December 11, 1865, the Appropriations Committee was established separately to deal with the outlays of the federal budget.