Due
to the high volume and complexity of its work, Congress divides its tasks
among approximately 250 committees and subcommittees. The House and Senate each
have their own committee system, which are similar. Within chamber guidelines,
however, each committee adopts its own rules; thus, there is considerable variation
among panels.
Standing
committees generally have legislative jurisdiction and most operate with subcommittees
that handle a committee's work in specific areas. Select and joint committees
are chiefly for oversight or housekeeping tasks.
The
chair of each committee and a majority of its members come from the majority party.
The chair primarily controls a committee's business. Each party is predominantly
responsible for assigning its members to committees, and each committee distributes
its members among its subcommittees. There are limits on the number and types
of panels any one Member may serve on and chair.
Committees
receive varying levels of operating funds and employ varying numbers of aides.
Each hires and fires its own staff. Whereas most committee staff and resources
are controlled by its majority party members, a portion is shared with the minority.
Several
thousand measures are referred to committees during each Congress. Committees
select a small percentage for consideration, and those not addressed often receive
no further action. Determining the fate of measures and, in effect, helping to
set a chamber's agenda make committees powerful.
When
a committee or subcommittee favors a measure, it usually takes four actions. First,
it asks relevant executive agencies for written comments on the measure. Second,
it holds hearings to gather information and views from non-committee experts.
Before the committee, these witnesses summarize submitted statements, then respond
to questions from Members. (Other types of hearings focus on the implementation
and administration of programs [oversight] or allegations of wrongdoing [investigative].)
Third, a committee meets to perfect the measure through amendments, and non-committee
members sometimes attempt to influence the language. Fourth, when language is
agreed upon, the committee sends the measure back to the chamber, usually along
with a written report describing its purposes and provisions and the work of the
committee thereon.
The
influence of committees over measures extends to their enactment into law. A committee
that considers a measure will manage the full chamber's deliberation on it. Also,
its members will be appointed to any conference committee created to reconcile
the two chambers' differing versions of a measure.
Source:
The Committee System in the U.S. Congress, Congressional Research Service, Library
of Congress. August 29, 1994. |