1. Congressional Committees W. Wilson, - “Congress in Committees is Congress at work” What do Committees do Hold hearings Write legislation Exercise oversight

2. Features of Committees 19 committees, 84 subcommittees Division of labor Fixed membership Fixed jurisdiction, like a monopoly Legislative Specialization Manage flow of legislative business Importance of seniority http://clerk.house.gov/committee_info/inde x.html

3. Committee Membership Determined by Political Parties Guided by members’ seniority and preference Preferences based on constituency needs to better chances of reelection

4. The emergence of the committee system Congressional committees aren’t mentioned in the constitution … or any early Federal laws By 1820’s, federal government was beginning to look the way it looks today –Mass parties were coalescing, presidential elections became national, vote extended to all white males (and some free blacks) –In both houses a system of standing committees was established This system has dominated the business of both chambers ever since

5. Why no standing committees? A deliberate choice –Jeffersonian Republicans disliked idea of a small group being disproportionately influential at prelegislative stage –Felt principles of bill should emerge from deliberation –Federalists had no problem with standing committees, but felt they were redundant Agenda-setting power of executive branch good enough In reality, bills started being referred to legislators that had established expertise on the matter

6. Change in Congressional organization In the first 9 Congresses (18 years), the House had 8 standing committees. The Senate had 1. The House created 2 in the 10 th Congress (1807-09) The Senate created 1. The House created 10 standing committees between 1812 and 1817. The Senate created 12.

7. External Events and Internal Structure Timing suggests War of 1812 a catalyst; creation of committees usually linked to an important historical occurance –Louisiana Purchase (1803), Committee on Public Lands (1805) –Civil War, World Wars I and II, Vietnam Reconstruction-era reorganization of committees Budget Act of 1921, Legislative Reorganization Acts of 1946 and 1970 Pressures simultaneously disorganize and create a need for more coherent organization of congressional decision making

8. Committees as workshops When a bill is introduced in the House or Senate, it is usually referred to the committee with jurisdiction over its particular policy area Committees allow for a division of legislative labor, enabling the 100 Senators and 435 House members to consider approximately 5,000 bills and 50,000 nominations a year Means by which Congress “sifts through an otherwise impossible jumble of bills, proposals and issues.”

9. 2 Theories of committee purpose Distributional: Committees give lawmakers influence over policies critical to their reelection –Those attracted to a particular committee are those whose constituents benefit from such policies –Filled with preference outliers, legislators whose preferences at odds w. membership of the whole Informational: Committees provide lawmakers with specialized expertise –Formulate policies that resolve national problems

10. Types of Committees (Standing, select, joint, conference) Standing: Permanent committees (last from year to year); agriculture, appropriations, armed services, budget –Process bulk of legislation Select (or Special): –Temporary, usually lasting only 2 years –Usually don’t have legislative authority, but study bills and make recommendations –Coordinate legislation that overlaps jurisdiction of several standing committees (Select committee on homeland security)

11. Joint: Include members of both chambers (House and Senate) –Economic, Library, Printing, Taxation Conference: Reconcile differences between similar measures passed by both chambers (legislation must be identical before signed by president) –Composed of members of both houses 4 types of conference bargaining: Traditional: participants meet, haggle Offer-counteroffer: sides suggest compromises, recess to discuss Subconference: groups address special topics Pro forma: informal preconference negotiations

12. Standing Committees of the House, 111 th Congress House of Representatives Name (Number of Subcommittees)Dems c Reps c Agriculture (6)2818 Appropriations (12)3723 Armed Services (7)3725 Budget (0)2415 Education and Labor (5)3019 Energy and Commerce (6)3623 Financial Services (5)4229 Foreign Relations (7)2819 Homeland Security (6)2113 House Administration (2)63 Judiciary (5)2416 Natural Resources (4)2920 Oversight and Government Reform (5)2516 Rules (2)94 Science and Technology (5)2717 Select Committee on Intelligence a (4)139 Small Business (5)1712 Standards of Official Conduct b (0)55 Transportation and Infrastructure (6)4530 Veterans’ Affairs (4)1811 Ways and Means (6)2615

13. How and Why Do Members Value Committee Assignments District Interests –Agriculture, Transportation, Armed Services Advancement in Party /Chamber –Rules, Appropriations Personal Interest Visibility –Homeland Security, Judiciary

14. How assignments are made Formal Criteria In Senate, “Johnson rule” is followed: –All party members assigned to one major committee before someone gets a second major assignment –These are: Appropriations, Armed Services, Commerce, Finance, Foreign Relations In House, committees are ranked exclusive, nonexclusive, exempt –Exclusive can’t serve on any other standing committee –Can serve on two nonexclusive

15. Informal assignment criteria Seniority: Only Senate Republicans apply seniority rigidly when two members compete for a vacancy or chairmanship (most senior longest continuing committee service) Fundraising ability Demographics Issue Advocates

16. Are Committees “Representative?” Should they be? “High Demanders” Expertise Partisan effects, seniority, “issue ownership” Bargaining with the other chamber/President

17. FIGURE 6.2. Median Conservative Score for Standing Committees, 2005-2006 Source: Common space scores from http://www.voteview.com

18. Committee Leadership Leaders are chairmen and ranking minority party members –Chairmen have similar role over committee as Speaker has over House (a mini-legislature) –Can set agendas, allocate funds, arrange hearings –Can kill a bill by refusing to schedule it for a hearing or convening meetings when opponents are absent

19. What happens in committees 3 standard steps: public hearings, markups, reports 1.Hearings: committee listens to a wide variety of witnesses Explore need for legislation Provide a forum for citizen grievances Raise visibility of issue Educate lawmakers and public

20. 2. Markups: members decide on bill’s actual language, conceptualize the bill –Outside pressures often intense during markup –Government in the Sunshine Act (1977) rules all markup sessions conducted in public (except Nat’l Security, some commerce, a few others) –After markup, if in a subcommittee, recommendations sent to full committee, which votes to ratify, conduct its own markup, return to subcommittee, or do nothing 3. Reports: If committee votes to send bill to floor, the staff prepares a full report summarizing results of committee research

21. Policy Consequences of Committees PROs more opportunities for credit claiming Facilitate specialization serve institutional policy needs Cons reinforces fragmentation Encourages log-rolling

22. Leadership and Parties Party caucuses Elect leaders and committee chairs structure the workings of Congress Develop common policy positions Weaker in senate than House

23. Leadership powers Control committee appointments Refer bills to committees Control Rules Committee

24. Party Discipline and Voting US Congress rose to near 70% in 1996 UK Parliament --90% German Bundestag -- 98%

25. Why do we hate congress, but love our senator/representative Evaluate Congress by collective standards Evaluate Senator/Representative in representative term Standards are mutually exclusive

26. Representation vs. Lawmaking Congress plays two important roles Lawmaking or getting things done Representation or Legitimacy- airing points of view

27. Impact on Institutions Congress is a reelection machine. Mayhew-- "If a group of planner sat down and tried to design a pair of American national assemblies with the goal of serving members' electoral needs year in and year out, they would be hard pressed to improve on what exists."