Congressional
Committees
The Division of Labor in Congress
How Congress Manages Work
• Congress is responsible
for conducting a large
amount of business.
• To manage all of this
work, there is a
division of labor.
• Different people are
responsible for certain
tasks.
• Committees are where
much of the work of
Congress is conducted.
Standing Committees
• Standing Committees are
permanent panels where
all similar bills can be sent.
• Now there are 20 standing
committees in the House
and 16 standing
committees in the Senate.
• Each house committee has
from 10 to as many as 75
members.
• Each senate committee has
from 14 to as many as 28
members.
Committee Assignments
• Representatives are
usually assigned to one
or two standing
committees.
• Senators are assigned to
three or four.
• Chairman of each
committee are chosen
according to the
seniority rule
• Seniority Rule – Most
important posts are held
by those party members
with the longest records of
service in the Congress
Ticket Out
• Look at the charts on pages 330 and 331 in your
text. For a ticket out, respond to the following
prompt:
What was the average age of House Committee
Chairs in 2007, and what does this tell you about the
leadership of the Congress?