CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES

Purposes Of Committees
Bothe the House & the Senate depend upon committees to effectively consider the thousands of bills that are proposed each session . Committees help ease the workload and are the key power centers.
First, it allows members of Congress to divide their work among smaller groups.
Second, from the huge numbers of bills introduced in each congress, committees select those few that are to receive further consideration.
Third, by holding public hearing and investigations, committees help the public learn about key problems and issues facing the nation.

KINDS OF COMMITTEES

• Standing Committee
• Select Committes
• Joint Committees
• Conference Committees

STANDING COMMITTEES
A permanent committee in congress that oversees bills that deal with certain kinds of issues

Subcommittees

A group within a standing committee that specializes in a subcategory of its standing committee's responsibility.

Select Committees

Usually these committees study one specific issue and report their findings to the Senate or the House. Select committees were usually set up to last for more than one term of Congress.

Joint Committees

Made up of members from both the House and the Senate. Usually acts as a study group and reports it's findings back to the House and the Senate. They could be either permenant or temporary.

Conference Committees
No bill can be sent for. Congress to the president until both houses have passed it in identical form. A conference committee is a temporary committee set up when the House and Senate have passed different versions if the same bill.

Choosing Committee Members
Membership in congressional committees is extremely important to the roll played by members of congress. The First membership on some committees can increase a lawmaker's chances for reelection. The Second membership on some committees can mean the lawmaker will be able to influence national policy making.
The Third , some committees enable a membership to exert influence over other lawmakers because they deal with matters important to everyone in congress. Senators on this committee usually receive a great deal of publicity

Assignment to Committees

In both House and Senate, the political parties assign members to the standing committees. Each member may only serve on a limited number of standing committees and subcommittees.

The Committee Chairperson's Role
They make key decisions about the work of their committees. They decide when hearings will be held and which witness will be called to testify for or against bill.

The Seniority System gave the member of the majority party with the longest uninterrupted service on a particular committee the leadership of that committee.

BY TAKIA MOORE & BRIANA MEANS