Committees Congress

What do committees do in Congress?

Types of Committees Congress

The House & Senate are too big to actually write laws Congress Committees Why Committees? The House & Senate are too big to actually write laws Congressmen divide into smaller groups to make policy making more efficient and functional The committees actually write the laws and the entire House and Senate vote on them.

Congressmen are policy generalists – know a little about everything Committees Specialization Congressmen are policy generalists – know a little about everything Being on a committee allows a Congressman to become a specialist in a type of policy. The Congressmen on a particular committee tend to be specialists in a realm of policies, and their approval will influence votes from generalists on the “floor”

Congress Committees Standing Committees A permanent committee – it’s there at least for the whole “term” of Congress These are made entirely out of House members or entirely out of Senate members. They are policy-centric – they focus on a type of policy They are further divided into subcommittees – that are further specialized They play the main role in law-making.

Congress Committees Select Committees A temporary committee – it’s made for a special occasion These are disbanded as soon as their job is completed They main thing they do is investigate something They are made of either House or Senate members, but not both.

They have members of both the House and Senate Congress Committees Joint Committees A permanent committee They have members of both the House and Senate They have jurisdiction over an issue that is of interest to both houses

Congress Committees Joint Committees Joint Committee on Taxation Economic Joint Committee Joint Committee on the Library Joint Committee on Printing

Congress Committees Conference Committees A temporary committee – it’s disbanded when it’s job is complete These include members of the House and Senate They must make compromises between the House and Senate versions of a bill. They send this bill back to the House & Senate floor for voting. These can be made entirely of Democrats or Republicans

House Committees Congress

Congress House Committees House Rules Committee When a bill comes out of its standing committee, it usually heads to HRC House Rules Committee They assign the bill a “rule” They decide for how long and under what rules the full body will debate the bill An “open rule” allows other House members to add amendments during floor debate A “closed rule” means that no amendments can be added They also determine how much time is allotted for debate

Congress House Committees House Ways and Means Committee This is the main tax writing committee House Ways and Means Committee They have jurisdiction over taxes, Social Security, Medicare, and some other social programs Very important because the Constitution says all tax bills must originate in the House – this committee will always start that Members of this committee can’t be on other committees

Congress House Committees House Ways and Means Committee They control the “power of the purse” House Ways and Means Committee They are in charge of spending money Members of this committee have the best chance to get “pork barrel” projects passed – or get them passed for others as a favor.

Congress House Committees Other Standing Committees House Foreign Affairs Committee House Homeland Security Committee House Judiciary Committee House Agriculture Committee House Natural Resources Committee House Armed Services Committee House Oversight Committee House Budget Committee House Science, Space, & Technology Committee House Education & Workforce Committee House Small Business Committee House Energy & Commerce Committee House Transportation Committee House Ethics Committee House Veterans’ Affairs Committee

Senate Committees Congress

Congress Senate Committees Senate Judiciary Committee Only the Senate has the power to approve federal judges Senate Judiciary Committee They review all the appointees They bring nominees in to testify about their past rulings and current opinions Their recommendation is likely to influence the way members of the Senate vote

Congress Senate Committees Senate Foreign Relations Committee Only the Senate has the power to approve treaties Senate Foreign Relations Committee They review treaties signed by the president to decide whether or not to recommend ratification Their recommendation is likely to influence the way members of the Senate vote

Congress Senate Committees Other Standing Committees Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Senate Finance Committee Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee Senate Appropriations Committee Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee Senate Armed Services Committee Senate Administration Committee Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee Senate Small Business Committee Senate Budget Committee Senate Veterans’ Affiars Committee Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee

Bigly Ideas Beliefs & Behaviors

Special House & Senate Committees Congress Wrap Up Purpose of Committees Types of Committees House Rules Committee Special House & Senate Committees Focus on these things: