The oversight responsibilities of the Committee on Armed Services are conducted throughout the calendar year. They are instrumental in the committee's consideration of the annual defense authorization bill, which covers the breadth of the operations of the Department of Defense as well as the national security functions of the Department of Energy and other related areas. The annual national defense budget involves millions of military and civilian personnel, thousands of facilities, and hundreds of agencies, departments, and commands located throughout the world. Contingency operations related to the global war on terrorism will continue to expand the range of topics requiring committee oversight including strategic, operational, and budgetary issues of great scope and complexity.

The committee has jurisdiction over laws, programs, and agencies under permanent authority in numerous titles of the United States Code, including title 10 (Armed Forces), title 32 (National Guard), title 37 (Pay and Allowances of the Uniformed Services), title 41 (Public Contracts), title 42 (Atomic Energy), title 46 (Shipping), and title 50 (War and National Defense)...See more in the full 114th Oversight Plan below.