Institutions of American

Government

Module 4.1: CongressSection 6: Committee Assignment

Lesson Objectives

• Describe the tension between centralization and decentralization in legislative bodies

• Explain the purpose of committees• Contrast the committee assignment

process in the US Congress with the same process in the Texas Legislature

Decentralization

– Diffusion of power across an entire legislative body– Sometimes called the ‘democratic’ tendency– Focus on committees and subcommittees

Question #1

• Decentralization in legislative bodies is sometimes called

a. The democratic impulseb. The republican principlec. The autocratic impulsed. The oligarchic impulse

Why Divide into Committees?

• Consider this:– In the USHR there are 435 voting members– Each member represents a constituency

• Representatives receive proposals from constituents

• > 1 per day in session?– Sessions generally last about 200 days– The Math (if only 1 per day):

• 435 X 200= 87000 proposals could find their way into the USHR

Advantages of Committees• Expertise

– Committee members become experts in a policy area– Seniority system allows members to gain familiarity with policy

areas• Division of labor

– Multiple measures can be considered at once• Interest

– Allows legislators to sit on committees that deal with issues of interest to their constituents

• Open Forum– Operates as a ‘safety valve’ for public debate and controversy since

committees cannot enact legislation by themselves• Access

– Citizens may more easily persuade a standing or select committee than the Committee of the Whole

• Pigeonholes– “Hostile” committees– Committees may sit on a bill so that it never sees the ‘light of day’

• Ignorant Action– Members of the Committee of the Whole may not bother to read the

bills they vote on– Members instead read committee reports (or merely the report

summary)• Contrary Assignment

– Members assigned to committees outside their constituents’ interest– Members may be assigned to committees irrelevant to their campaigns

• Staff decisions– Committee reports generally written by committee staff members with

little involvement by elected members

Disadvantages of Committees

Question #2• Why did New York Representative Shirley

Chisholm insist on appointment to the Urban Affairs Committee?

a. She believed she could better serve her constituents by serving on a committee relevant to her district

b. She believed she had been unfairly assigned to a committee that was irrelevant to her constituents

c. As a member of Congress from an urban district, she could provide immediate expertise on urban affairs legislation

d. All of the above

Question #3

• Why do legislative bodies divide into committees?

a. To manage a high number of legislative proposals more efficiently

b. To organize members into areas of legislative specialization

c. To ensure closer scrutiny of legislative proposals than would be possible otherwise

d. All of the above

• In Congress– Members of each chamber (HR and Senate) split into Majority and

Minority Congressional caucuses• Majority- Party with the most members• Minority- Party with the Second-most members• Third party and independents typically must choose one or the other to secure committee

appointments– Roles of Majority and Minority caucuses

• Choose principal officers– Speaker candidate – Floor leader– Principal whip

• Establish party legislative agenda for the session• Assign members to steering committees

– Committees that assign members to committees– Follows seniority system– Committees in proportion to representation

The Floor

• In the Texas Legislature•History of single-party dominance •Members of the House do not formally split into caucuses•The Speaker’s “Team”:

•committee chairs and close allies on the Floor•The Lieutenant Governor’s “Team”:

•LtGov assigns every TX Senate member to their committees

Question #4• How are Congressmen assigned to standing

committees?a. In the House they are assigned by the Speaker; in the Senate

they are assigned by the Lieutenant Governorb. In the House they are assigned by the Speaker; in the Senate

they are assigned by the Majority Leaderc. In the House they are assigned by the Steering committee and

the Policy committee; in the Senate they are assigned by the Steering & Policy Committee and the Committee on Committees

d. In the House they are assigned by the Steering & Policy Committee and the Committee on Committees; in the Senate they are assigned by the Steering committee and the Policy committee

Question #5

• Steering committees in the US Congress are established by

a. The Majority and Minority floor leadersb. The Majority and Minority Congressional

caucusesc. The Speaker of the House and the President

of the Senated. The Majority and Minority Whips

Question #6

• Steering Committees in the Texas Legislature are established by

a. The Majority and Minority floor leadersb. The “Team”c. The Speaker of the House and the President

of the Senated. None of the above

Steering Committees• Committees chosen by congressional caucus• Distinguished by partisanship and by Chamber

– Democratic Caucuses• House Steering and Policy Committee• Senate Steering Committee (A separate Policy

Committee advises on policy)– Republican Caucuses (Conferences)

• House Steering Committee• House Policy Committee• Senate Committee on Committees (A separate

Policy Committee advises on policy)• Responsible for assigning members to

standing committees• Every member generally must sit on two

standing committees– Exceptions in the House of Representatives

• Appropriations Committee• Ways and Means Committee• Rules Committee

Majority MinorityUS HR

US Senate

US HR

US Senate

58

2Sanders & Lieberman

40

256(257)

175(178)

1R. Paul(RINO)

3 Sit as GOP

1D. Obey

Sits as Dem.

Question #7

• A member of Congress sits on the Committee on Committees. What do we know about this Congressman?

a. He or she is a House Democratb. He or she is a Senate Republicanc. He or she is a Senate Democratd. He or she is a House Republican

Question #8

• On how many standing committees must a US House member serve?

a. Two, unless the member sits on either the Appropriations Committee, the Ways and Means Committee, or the Rules Committee

b. Two, unless the member sits on either the House Administration Committee, the Judiciary Committee, or the Rules Committee

c. Two, without any exceptionsd. At least one, but the member may choose to serve

on more than one.

Activity

• Find out if your US Representative or your US Senator sits on a steering committee

• Find out what standing committees your Congressmen (House and Senate) sit on

• Find out what standing committees your Representatives and Senators in the Texas Legislator sit on

• Have this information ready by the next class session