Congressional Committees

What is a Congressional Committee?

• A group of representatives or senators assigned to become experts in a particular policy area

• Each rep or senator sits on more than one committee

• Leadership assigns members to committees– Seniority– Personal expertise– Political need

Standing Committees

• Partisan committee with members from each party

• Consider legislation within their policy area

• Most subdivided into subcommittees, which are focused on a particular sub-policy area

• How many committees are in the House? Senate?

Standing Committees• Who serves on these

committees?– In house, only house members– In senate, only senate members

• How many people serve on committees?– In House, smallest committee has

10 members (Standards of Official Conduct) while largest has73 (Transportation)

– In Senate, smallest has 15 (Indian Affairs) while largest has 30 (Appropriations)

• How long do they last? Permanent committees

Joint Committees

• Serve either a temporary or permanent purpose

• Some act in an investigative role, issuing periodic reports (ex – Joint Economic Committee)

• Others perform / oversee more routine, non-partisan duties (ex – Joint Cmmte on Printing or Library)

• Never a legislative committee

Joint Committees

• How many are there? Four• Who serves on these

committees? – BOTH house and senate

members

• How long do they last? – Permanent (Existing

cmmtes)– Temporary (Joint Committee

on Atomic Energy: 1945-77)

From Joint Economic CommitteeWebsite (link here)

Select (Special) Committees

• Panels set up for a specific purpose, usually for a limited time

• Must be renewed each Congress, unless a “permanent select cmmte”

• Most are formed to investigate a current matter (ex – Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities”) (Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming)

Select (Special) Committees• How many are there?

Varies – currently six• Who serves on these

committees?– House OR Senate

members, but not both

• How long do they last?– Usually until they issue a

report– OR when Congress ends

(unless permanent select)

Rules Committee

• “Traffic Cop” of House• Unique to House• Process– After bill leaves a standing

committee– Rules Committee sets the

“rules” for floor debate (time of debate on bill; allow amendments; etc)

Rules Committee

• Who serves on the Rules Committee?– Appointed by Speaker,

Minority Leader

• Gives lots of power to Speaker

• How many are there? One

• How long does it last? Permanent