It was authorized early in the 48th Congress in December 1883, when the committee was given jurisdiction over subjects relating to the improvements of rivers and harbors; it also had the responsibility of reporting the river and harbor bills to the floor.
With the establishment of the Committee on Rivers and Harbors on December 19, 1883, the Committee on Commerce relinquished its previous jurisdiction over appropriations for the improvement of rivers and harbors.
[3] Federal internal improvements for harbors date from 1792 with the Cape Henry Light,[4] and for rivers from 1824.
The latter beginning for rivers followed the landmark decision of the US Supreme Court granting Congress the power to regulate interstate navigation under the Commerce Clause in Gibbons v. Ogden; the work was initiated through the General Survey Act and the first rivers and harbors legislation passed shortly thereafter.
While the issue of federally funded improvements was still contentious, it was generally less so by the time the committee was formed.