Over the years, Congress has grown, making it very difficult to conduct congressional business. Therefore, rules have been established in both Houses.

The House has very strict rules for conducting congressional business because of the large group (435) The Senate is less formal with its rules because of the smaller scale (100) Few of these operating rules are found in the Constitution

Congressional Leadership The Democratic and Republican leaders in each house decide much of what happens in Congress Majority party -the political party where more than half of Congressional members belong

Minority party -the political party where less than half of Congressional members belong At the beginning of new congressional terms, new leaders are chosen

Floor Leaders called majority or minority leaders(depending on the make-up of the political party) try to make sure that laws that are passed are in the best interest of their political party Each house has two (a Democratic and a Republican)

Party Whips Assists each floor leader Job is to keep track of how party members vote and to persuade all members of his party to vote together on issues

Speaker of the House The overall leader of the House of Representatives A member of the majority party Usually an experienced, respected member of Congress In charge of the House of Representatives while in session

The Vice-President The official leader and president of the Senate Does not take part in the legislative process of the Senate Can only cast a vote in the Senate in the event of a tie

President Pro Tempore Means “president for the time being” Handles the day to day leadership in the Senate Usually the most senior member of the majority party

Congressional Committees Each house has a system of committees to consider thousands of bills (committees makes it possible to hear all of the bills)(most are set aside without being considered) Every new bill goes to committee to be researched, discussed and often revised Committee will decide whether the bill goes to the full House or Senate

Three types of Committees Standing committee: permanent committee that specializes in a particular topic (i.e. agriculture, veterans) -divided into sub-committees to handle more specialized problems

Select committees- a temporary committee that deals with a special attention issue -usually lasts a few months or a couple of years until the assigned task is complete

Joint committees -includes members from both houses -usually meet for a limited period of time to work on specific issues Conference committee- special types of joint committee that helps the house and Senate agree on details of a bill

Role of Party Leaders Leaders of political parties control committee membership Chairperson of committee is usually a member of the majority party and controls the committees activities Majority party selects more than half of the committees members (i.e. 60% Democrats- 60% membership in committee)

Seniority System The most desirable committee assignments are given to the Representatives and Senators that have served in Congress the longest Committee Chairperson is usually the person that has been there the longest (most seniority) -limited to three consecutive terms

Members from the minority party who have been in Congress for many years would most likely receive the committee assignment of their choice.