Congressional Committee System
Overview
Congressional Committee System
The U.S. Constitution does not include any reference to committees in Congress although
the committee system began in 1789. Today’s committee system has its roots in the 1946
Legislative Reorganization Act (Public Law 79-601). Due to the large number of bills and the
complicated nature of its work, Congress allocates its responsibilities among committees and
subcommittees. Committees are usually organized according to their assigned duties and are
monitored by that chamber’s party leadership. Congress also fulfills its oversight and
administrative duties through the committee system. Since committees adopt their own rules,
there is a great diversity among them.
Committee Types
The three types of committees in the U.S. Congress are standing, select and joint.
Congress distributes its duties among nearly 200 committees and subcommittees. Due to the
greater size of the House of Representatives (435), compared to the Senate (100), committees in
the House tend to be larger. The number of committee members varies widely, but is decided by
the majority leadership in each new Congress. The jurisdiction of each committee is established
according to the rules of each chamber. Monitoring agencies, programs, and activities within
their jurisdictions are a function of a committee’s oversight responsibility. Committee
jurisdictions sometimes overlap.
Standing committees are permanent panels that carry over into each new Congress. In a
legislative capacity, standing committees debate, research, and recommend statutes for
consideration. There are currently 21 standing committees in the House and 20 in the Senate.
The House Rules Committee and the Senate Rules and Administration Committee determine,
among other aspects of the legislative process, when a bill will be debated, the length of debate,
and how the bill can be amended or changed.
Select committees are usually established by a separate resolution of the House or Senate
as a more effective way to conduct investigations and studies, and to consider legislation. A
select committee is necessary when no standing committee exists to address a particular issue.
Joint committees are made up of members from both the House and Senate. More
recently, joint committees are usually permanent panels that conduct studies or perform general
housekeeping duties rather than scrutinizing bills. A conference committee is a temporary joint
committee formed to iron out differences between the House and Senate versions of a particular
bill.
Subcommittees are formed from within committees and must adhere to protocol
established by those committees. These subcommittees function with shared legislative authority
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to consider and report bills on particular issues within the assembly of the committee. Most
tasks assigned to subcommittees usually involve holding the initial hearings on measures and the
oversight of statutes and programs most closely related to its jurisdictional authority.
Members and Procedures
Committee size and the number of majority and minority party members on each
committee are determined by the party leaders in both chambers. Each party assigns its members
to committees and chooses its committee leadership. The number and type of committees that a
member may serve on is limited while party caucus and chamber rules limit the number of full
and subcommittee chair or ranking minority positions a single member may hold. Typically,
House members tend to specialize in their assigned committee issues.
About 2,000 aides provide administrative and professional assistance to the committees
such as amending, writing, studying, and recommending bills to the full chamber. Each
committee is responsible for hiring and firing its own staff based on the funds allocated to it by
its chamber.
Bills introduced in Congress are referred to committees. Measures may be referred to
multiple committees, but those that have been referred to a single committee have a much better
chance of passing the chamber and becoming law. Committees can choose the bills that they
consider; a small number are chosen for action and consideration. Committees also hold
hearings in order for Congress members not on the committee, representatives of the executive
branch, state and local governments, interest groups, political parties and individuals, may share
information with the committee. These hearings serve legislative, oversight, and investigative
purposes depending on the assigned measure, and allow committees to gather information, gauge
support for, and build a record of action. After legislative hearings, markup may follow which
takes place when a committee decides whether to report on a measure or modify it through
amendment to attract broader committee support. In order to approve a measure and report it to
the full chamber, a majority of committee members must vote accordingly and a majority
quorum must be present.
Finally, committees conduct oversight to insure that legislative intent is fulfilled by the
appropriate executive branch agency/ies.
Conclusion
While the committee system is often criticized for delaying the legislative process, the
Founders intended for the national legislature to move slowly in order to prevent the government
from infringing on civil rights and liberties. The committee system enables Congress to manage
the complex bills and evolving challenges required to manage a growing and diverse nation.
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