Section Focus 4 2) joint committees 3) to reconcile the House and Senate versions of bills 1) standing committees, subcommittees, and select committees Section Focus 4

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Section 1 Congressional Membership Chapter Focus Section 1 Congressional Membership Section 2 The House of Representatives Section 3 The Senate Section 4 Congressional Committees Section 5 Staff and Support Agencies Chapter Assessment Contents

Section 4 Introduction-1 Congressional Committees Key Terms standing committee, subcommittee, select committee, joint committee, conference committee, seniority system Find Out • Why are several different kinds of committees necessary in the House and Senate? • Why are committee chairpersons considered the most powerful members of Congress? Section 4 Introduction-1

In the early 1950s Wisconsin Senator Joseph McCarthy, chairman of the Committee on Government Operations, treated witnesses before that committee so harshly, ignoring their constitutional rights, that the Senate later censured him. Such misconduct now is often called “McCarthyism.” Section 4-1

I. Purposes of Committees (page 141) A. Committees ease Congressional workload by dividing work among smaller groups, allowing members to specialize on key issues. B. Committees allow members to discuss and select the most important bills Congress will consider. C. Committees hold investigative public hearings on key problems and issues to inform the public. Section 4-2

I. Purposes of Committees (page 141) Identify some advantages and disadvantages to working out a compromise on a bill. Advantages: wider support in Congress, more care in crafting legislation. Disadvantages: bill loses original focus; it takes a longer time. Section 4-3

II. Kinds of Committees (pages 142–144) A. Standing committees deal with certain issues continuing from one Congress to the next. B. The majority party in each house controls standing committees and bases committee membership on each party’s strength. C. Subcommittees handle special subcategories of standing committees’ work and continue from one Congress to the next. D. Select committees are special committees created in both houses of Congress, usually for one term only, to study a specific issue and report their findings. Section 4-4

II. Kinds of Committees (pages 142–144) E. Joint committees are made up of members of both houses to act as study groups. F. Conference committees are temporary committees set up to resolve the differences in the House and Senate versions of a bill by working out a compromise bill that each house then can accept or reject. Section 4-5

II. Kinds of Committees (pages 142–144) Section 4-6

II. Kinds of Committees (pages 142–144) Identify some issues that you think are important enough to create a select congressional committee. Answers will vary. See list of types of issues on page 143. Section 4-7

III. Choosing Committee Members (pages 144–145) A. Membership in committees is one key role played by members of Congress. B. Membership on certain committees: 1. helps members to build reputations and to increase their chances for reelection; 2. gives members a chance to influence important national legislation; 3. enables members to influence other members since those committees deal with issues that are important to all members. Section 4-8

III. Choosing Committee Members (pages 144–145) C. In both houses, both parties assign members to the standing committees. D. The party leaders and chairpersons of the standing committees are the most powerful members of Congress. E. Standing committee chairpersons make key decisions about the work of their committees, though their power has been reduced since 1970. F. Seniority traditionally guided the election of chairpersons until the 1970s. Section 4-9

III. Choosing Committee Members (pages 144–145) Members of Congress who have served the longest often head key committees and have an important voice in passing legislation. Do you think this seniority system helps Congress to operate more effectively? Explain your viewpoint. Answers will vary. See seniority system page 145. Section 4-10

Checking for Understanding 1. Main Idea In a Venn diagram, show how a conference committee and a joint committee are alike and how they are different. Conference committees resolve differences between conflicting versions of a bill. Joint committees act as study groups. Both have members from the Senate and House. Section 4 Assessment-1

Checking for Understanding Match the term with the correct definition. ___ conference committee ___ joint committee ___ select committee ___ standing committee C D A B A. a temporary committee formed to study one specific issue and reports its findings to the Senate or the House B. a permanent committee in Congress that oversees bills that deal with certain kinds of issues C. a temporary joint committee set up when the House and Senate have passed different versions of the same bill D. a committee of the House and Senate that usually acts as a study group and reports its findings back to the House and Senate Section 4 Assessment-2

Checking for Understanding 3. Identify Select Intelligence, Rules, Ways and Means, Appropriations Committees. The Select Intelligence Committee is one of several committees that have been reclassified as permanent committees. The Rules, Ways and Means, and Appropriations Committees are key committees within the House of Representatives. Section 4 Assessment-3

Checking for Understanding 4. List four important powers of a committee chairperson. Any four: makes key decisions about committee work, decides when hearings will be held and which witnesses will be called, hires committee staff members, controls the committee budget, manages floor debates over the bills from the committee. Section 4 Assessment-4

Critical Thinking 5. Making Inferences Why did Republicans, when they won control of Congress in 1995, institute many rule changes? Possible answer: The majority party can set the rules, and the Republicans wanted to do things in ways that were more comfortable for them or that they considered more efficient. Section 4 Assessment-5

Section 4 Concepts in Action Political Processes Watch coverage of a congressional committee on television, or read about it in a newspaper. Outline the major issues presented in the testimony before the committee. Write a position paper in which you agree or disagree with the witnesses. Section 4 Concepts in Action

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