Inside Congress
Committee Reports
The House of Representatives divides its work among over twenty permanent committees. Normally, before a piece of legislation is considered by the House it has been reviewed by at least one of the committees and a report is issued by that committee describing the legislation and indicating (on section-by-section basis) how the proposed statute changes existing statutes. Congress divides its work among over two hundred committees and subcommittees, each of which issues regular reports on its activities.
Learn about the committees & subcommittees I serve on.
Committee Hearings
After a bill is introduced on the House or Senate floor, it is referred to the committee of jurisdiction (i.e., the committee charged with reviewing measures in the area of law or policy with which the bill is concerned). The committee of referral most often sends the measure to its specialized subcommittee(s) for study, hearings, revisions and approval.
I spend much of my time on Capitol Hill in Committee and Subcommittee hearings. I often post about these hearings on Facebook.
For most bills, the committee or subcommittee fails to take further action on the referred bill, effectively "killing" the measure at this point. (Occasionally, a committee will report a measure "unfavorably," with explicit recommendations against its passage, or it will report a bill "without recommendation," which has the same effect as an unfavorable report.)
If the bill passes the subcommittee with a favorable vote, it is sent back to the full committee for further consideration, hearings, amendment and vote.
- Watch livestreams of committee hearings.
- View a list of today's hearings.
- Read Congressional Committee Materials Online.
Federal Laws
The U.S. Code is the official compilation of the current Federal statutes of a general and permanent nature. The Code is arranged according to subject matter under 50 subject headings ('titles'). The Code sets out the current status of the laws, incorporating all amendments into the text. Prior to being added to the U.S. Code, individual laws are published in pamphlet form as "slip laws" which are later collected together in chronological order (not in subject order) as the Statutes at Large.
Proceedings of the House
The Congressional Record is the official transcript of the proceedings and debates of the U.S. Congress. The full text of the Congressional Record is published the day after each meeting of the House or Senate. Learn more about the Congressional Record. You can also view daily, weekly, & yearly schedules of House activity.
Roll Call Votes
A roll call vote records how each Member of the House voted, but only a minority of bills receive a roll call vote.
- Learn more about compiling a Member voting record.
- Learn how to read the roll call information.
Rules and Precedents of the House
The House Rules and Precedents are the official documents that spell out the process by which legislation is considered by the House and its committees; as well as specifying the authority of the officers and committees of the House. Several collections of material explaining the rules and precedents are available through the Democratic Office of the House Rules Committee:
- View General Parliamentary Procedure.
- View House Committee Procedures.
- View House Floor Procedures.
- View House and Senate Parliamentary Procedure (originally compiled by the Congressional Research Services of the Library of Congress).
Schedules of the House
Various schedules of upcoming House activities are available.
- On a daily basis, there is the Democratic Whip's Daily Whip.
- On a weekly basis, there is the Clerk's Weekly House Program and the Democratic Whip's Weekly Whip.
- On an annual basis, there is the House Schedule compiled by the Clerk of the House.
Sponsored and Co-sponsored Legislation
Before a proposed piece of legislation can be considered by the House of Representatives, it must first be sponsored by a Member of Congress (either a Member of the House or a Member of the Senate). Members of Congress who are not the primary sponsor of a piece of legislation may express their strong support for the legislation by becoming a co-sponsor of that legislation.
Learn more about the legislation that I sponsored or co-sponsored.