Committees in Congress

1
Chapter 122

• Committees in Congress

2
Role of committees

• screen bills placed before Congress
• hold public hearings so that government officials
  and private citizens can offer opinions and/or
  expert testimony

3
Types of Committees

• standing committees
• select committees
• joint committees
• conference committees

4
Standing committees

• have jurisdiction over bills of a certain type
• are often divided into smaller subcommittees

5
Select committees

• conduct studies and investigations rather than
  consider legislation

6
Joint committees

• staffed by an equal number of members from both
  the House and Senate
• give full congressional overview of a complex
  subject
• -report on findings to the Congress and the
  public

7
Conference committees

• adjust differences between the House and Senate
  versions of bills
• -produce a version of the bill that is
  acceptable in both houses

8
Appropriate

• to provide the money necessary to enact
  legislation
• -failure to provide such funds can effectively
  kill a bill

9
House Rules Committee

• organizes the flow of legislation from committees
  to the House floor
• provides rules for the bill
• -when it will be considered
• -how long the debate may last
• -how to divide debate time

10
Committee assignment(s)

• Republican and Democratic parties both have a
  Steering Committee
• help make assignments
• try to assign members based on the expertise they
  could bring to the proceedings

11
Chairpersons

• usually achieve and/or maintain position based on
  seniority
• schedule meetings
• draw-up agendas
• decide which bills will be heard
• decides who goes on fact-finding trips

12
Recent reforms of committee procedures

• chairpersons now elected by secret ballot
• no member is allowed to chair more than one
  committee
• a majority of a committee can call special
  meetings

13
New committee procedures(continued)

• committee members who disagree with the
  chairperson can have time to present their views
  and call witnesses
• all meetings are to be open to the public

14
Subcommittees

• are increasingly more independent
• now draft major laws
• play a major role in managing bills on the floor
  of the House and Senate