1. Standing Committees Much of Congressional work is done in committee. The practice of committees being utilized to consider Congressional legislation dates back to 1789. Each house has permanent committees known as standing committees. 19 standing committees in the House and 17 in the Senate. Each House Committee has from 10 to 75 members, and each Senatorial committee has from 14 to 28 members. Representatives are usually assigned to 1-2 committees and Senators to 3 or 4. Most bills receive most consideration in committee.

2. Standing Committees Some committees are more important than others. Members of Congress want to win assignments on the more important committees. Important committees in the House are the Rules, Ways and Means, Appropriations, Judiciary, Armed Services, International Relations, and Agriculture. Important committees in the Senate are Foreign Relations, Judiciary, Appropriations, Finance, Banking, Housing, and Urban Development. Other committees may be more attractive if their issues are more of a concern to the constituency of a particular district.

3. How a bill gets to Committees in Both Houses When a bill is introduced, it is referred to the appropriate committee by the Speaker or the President of the Senate. All committee chairmen are chosen by seniority rule. All committee members are elected by floor vote at the beginning of each term in Congress. The party with the majority of seats in each house holds the majority of seats in each committee. Committees are divided into subcommittees that are all responsible for a slice of the committee work—70 subcommittees in the Senate and 80 in the House.

4. The House Rules Committee This committee can be considered the “gatekeeper” in the House. This committee screens all the measures introduced into the House. Most bills die in the committee to which they are referred. A bill will only get to the House floor for consideration by the House as a whole and a vote if it has been granted a rule by the Rules Committee. The Rules Committee determines the conditions under which the House will consider the bill.

5. Select Committees These are special committees set up to serve a specific function. They only serve for a limited time. Most are created to investigate a current issue. Congressional power to investigate is an essential part of the lawmaking process. Congress is granted oversight and investigatory powers by the Constitution. At times a select committee can become a very important body such as the Senate’s Select Committee on Secret Military Assistance to Iran and the House’s Select Committee to Investigate Covert arms Transactions with Iran during the Iran Contra Affair in 1987.

6. Joint Committees A joint committee is one composed of members of both houses. Most are permanent standing committees. Many committees in Congress—those in the House or the Senate—tend to duplicate each other, so many have encouraged the utilization of joint committees.