COMMITTEES IN CONGRESS
PURPOSE OF COMMITTEES:
They allow members of Congress to divide their work among many smaller
groups.
Lawmakers can become specialists on the issues their committees consider.
From the huge number of bills introduced in each branch, committees select
those few that are to receive further consideration
Committees are the places in which lawmakers listen to supporters and
opponents of a bill. They work out compromises and decide which bills will
or will not have a chance to become law.
By holding public hearings and investigations, committees help the public learn
about key problems and issues facing the nation.
Examples are crime, safety of prescription drugs, hunger in America, airline
safety and many other issues and concerns that have confronted the nation
STANDING COMMITTEES
Permanent groups that oversee bills that deal with
certain kinds of issues
The House and Senate each create their own
standing committees, occasionally adding or
eliminating a standing committee when necessary
SELECT COMMITTEES
Temporary committees that study a specific issue and report their findings
to the Senate or the House. These issues include:
Matters of great public concern such as organized crime
Overlooked problems, such as hunger
Problems of interest groups, such as owners of small business, who claim
that Congress has not met their needs
Select committees – usually set up to last for no more than one term of
Congress. They may be renewed for several terms of Congress.
JOINT COMMITTEES
Committees that are made up of members from the House and the
Senate
May be either temporary or permanent
Usually act as study groups with responsibility for reporting their
findings back to the House and Senate
Joint committees coordinate the work of the two houses of Congress
CONFERENCE COMMITTEES
No bill can be sent from Congress to the president until both houses have
passed it in identical form
A Conference Committee is a temporary committee set up when the
House and Senate have passed different versions of the same bill.
Members of the conference committee, called conferees, usually come
from the house and Senate standing committees that handled the bill in
questions.
Both parties are represented in the same way here as on other
committees.