Congressional Committees Purpose of Committees To divide work
- Slides: 14
Congressional Committees
Purpose of Committees • To divide work of Congress into smaller specialized groups • To select bills that will be allowed to move forward • To hold public hearings and investigations
Committee Hearings
General Truths About All Committees • Party in power selects chairperson • Membership in each committee is divided in proportion to percentage of control in House/Senate • All committees have subcommittees
General Truths About All Committees • Members of Congress fight for certain chairperson positions. • Chairpersons often have great power. • Certain committees are more prestigious. • Each member of Congress can only serve on a limited number of committees.
General Truths About All Committees Unwritten Rule: Seniority System
Kinds of Committees • • • Standing Committees Subcommittees Select Committees Joint Committees Conference Committees
Standing Committees • They are permanent committees. • They represent major areas of government.
Subcommittees • Work with a smaller part of the larger committee’s responsibilities. • These subcommittees are usually permanent but change occasionally.
Subcommittee Example Ways and Means Committee • Health • Human Resources • Oversight • Select Revenue Measures • Social Security • Trade
Select Committees • Usually created to study one specific issue • Usually deal with some large issue of great concern • Usually temporary • Purpose: Investigate and report findings to House or Senate
Joint Committees • Have members from both House and Senate • Serve as study groups • Report findings to House and Senate • Limited authority since representing both House and Senate
Conference Committees • • Members from both House and Senate Temporary – for one bill only Only Job = Negotiate the final form of a bill Report the bill back to both House and Senate
Powerful Committees House • Rules • Ways and Means (taxation, tariffs and other revenue raising legislation) • Appropriations (where the money goes, how much) Senate • Foreign Relations • Finance (like the Ways and Means, but also deals with Social Security) • Appropriations
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