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The Committee System in Congress

The Committee System in Congress. 1. Standing Committees. a. Standing committees are permanent committees to which all bills are sent b. There are 19 standing committees in the House and 16 in the Senate

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The Committee System in Congress

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  1. The Committee System in Congress

  2. 1. Standing Committees a. Standing committees are permanent committees to which all bills are sent b. There are 19 standing committees in the House and 16 in the Senate c. The committee acts as a gatekeeper. About 10,000 bills are proposed every year, only 10% actually become law d. The standing committees hear testimony from the public on all sides of the issue (interest groups, other legislators and the general public can testify at these hearings) e. Committee members then vote to decide if the bill should be sent to the full chamber for debate and vote. f. Each representative is usually a member of 2 standing committees

  3. 2. House Rules Committee a. This committee manages the flow of bills for action by the full House and schedules bills for consideration b. The Senate doesn’t need a rules committee because there are only 100 Senators, therefore less bills proposed

  4. 3. Select Committees a. These committees are set up for a special purpose and limited time. Members are appointed by either the Speaker of the House of President of the Senate b. The Watergate Committee in 1973 was set up to investigate President Nixon’s role in the break in c. There was a select committee set up to investigate Enron

  5. 4. Joint Committee Composed of members from both houses to deal with issues of common concern; some are permanent such as the joint committee on the Library of Congress while others are temporary

  6. 5. Conference Committee A temporary committee composed of members from both houses, organized to resolve differences in similar bills passed by both houses so that the wording can be exactly the same before it is sent to the president for his signature.

  7. Important Standing Committees

  8. House of Representatives (All money [revenue] bills begin here) 1. House Ways and Means Comm.-oversees issues and bills on taxation (bring in revenue) 2. House Appropriations Comm.-oversees issues and bills on federal spending (budget starts here) 3. House Foreign Affairs Comm.-oversees issues and bills on matters dealing with other countries 4. House Judiciary Comm.-oversees issues and bills on legal and court matters, including the impeachment of the president (acts as a grand jury during impeachment)

  9. Senate 1. Senate Commerce Committee-issues and bills on interstate and foreign trade, transportations and communication 2. Senate Foreign Relations Comm.-issues and bills on matters dealing with other countries 3. Senate Armed Services Committee-issues and bills on the expenditures of the departments of government with the largest budgets (Dept. of Defense)

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