Congressional Committees and Their Subcommittees
The committees and subcommittees of Congress are present in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. Congress receives over 9000 bills a year. All proposed bills are assigned to a committee which has complete power over it. If the committee passes the bill then it moves on to the full House or full Senate for a vote.
There are several types of committees, and all are used for different purposes.
The committees and subcommittees of Congress are present in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. Congress receives over 9000 bills a year. All proposed bills are assigned to a committee which has complete power over it. If the committee passes the bill then it moves on to the full House or full Senate for a vote.
There are several types of committees, and all are used for different purposes.
- Standing Committees - permanent committees that handle bills in specific subject areas
- Joint Committees - their membership is drawn from the House and the Senate to work on common policy areas
- Conference Committees - formed when the Senate and House pass different version of the same bill, this committee is then put together to resolve the differences to pass a new bill
- Select Committees - temporary committees that are created for a specific purpose
Committee Chair: the dominate role in scheduling hearings, hiring staff, appointing subcommittees, managing bills, etc.
- The committee heads are chosen by the Seniority System, which says that the members who served on the committee the longest, whose party is also the majority becomes the Committee Chair.