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Carol Hardy Vincent Specialist in American National Government Government Division Congressional Research Service The Library of Congress May 10, 1995 Summary
Due to the high volume and complexity of its work, Congress
divides its tasks among approximately 44 committees with 154 subcommittees.
The House and Senate each has its own committee systems, which are similar.
Within chamber guidelines, however, each committee adopts its own rules;
thus, there is considerable variation among panels.
Standing committees generally have legislative jurisdiction
and most operate with subcommittees that handle a committee's work in specific
areas. Some select committees have more narrow legislative jurisdictions,
while others and the joint committees are chiefly for oversight or housekeeping
tasks.
The chair of each committee and a majority of its members
come from the majority party. The chair primarily controls a committee's
business. Each party is predominantly responsible for assigning its members
to committees, and each committee distributes its members among its subcommittees.
There are limits on the number and types of panels any one Member may serve
on and chair.
Approximately 2,000 staff assist committees. Committees
receive varying levels of operating funds and employ varying numbers of
aides. Each hires and fires its own staff. Whereas most committee staff
and resources are controlled by its majority party members, a portion is
committed to the minority.
Several thousand measures are referred to committees during
each Congress. Committees select a small percentage for consideration,
and those not addressed often receive no further action. Determining the
fate of measures and, in effect, helping to set a chamber's agenda make
committees powerful.
When a committee or subcommittee wishes to take up a measure,
it usually takes four actions. First, it asks relevant executive agencies
for written comments on the measure. Second, it holds hearings to gather
information and views from non-committee experts. Before the committee,
these witnesses summarize submitted statements, then respond to questions
from Members. (Other types of hearings focus on the implementation and
administration of programs [oversight] or allegations of wrongdoing [investigative].)
Third, a committee meets to revise or perfect the measure through amendments,
and non-committee members sometimes attempt to influence the language.
Fourth, if language is agreed upon, the committee sends the measure back
to the chamber, usually along with a written report describing its purposes
and provisions and the work of the committee thereon.
The influence of committees over measures extends to their
enactment into law. A committee that considers a measure will manage the
full chamber's deliberation on it. Also, its members will be appointed
to any conference committee created to reconcile the two chambers' differing
versions of a measure.
Decentralization is the most distinctive characteristic
of the committee system. Because of the high volume and complexity of its
work, Congress divides its legislative, oversight, and internal administrative
tasks among about 200 committees and subcommittees. Within assigned areas
of jurisdiction, they gather information; compare and evaluate legislative
alternatives; identify policy problems and propose solutions to them; select,
determine the text of, and report out measures for the full chambers to
consider; monitor the executive branch's performance of its duties (oversight);
and look into allegations of wrongdoing (investigation). Thus, still apt
today is Woodrow Wilson's century-old observation that "Congress in session
is Congress on public exhibition, whilst Congress in its committee-rooms
is Congress at work."
Although Congress has used committees since its first
meetings in 1789, the 1946 Legislative Reorganization Act set the foundation
of today's committee system. The House and Senate each have their own committees
and related rules of procedure, which are similar. Within the guidelines
of chamber rules, however, each committee adopts its own rules addressing
organizational, structural, and procedural issues; thus, there is considerable
variation among panels.
Committees operate within their respective areas of responsibility
rather independently of each other and of their chambers. The difficult
tasks of aggregating committees' activities, and of integrating policy
in areas where jurisdiction is shared, fall largely to the chambers' party
leaderships.
There are three types of committees--standing; select;
and joint(1)
Standing committees are permanent panels identified
in chamber rules, which also list the jurisdiction of each. In their areas,
they consider bills and issues and recommend measures for consideration
by the respective chambers, and conduct oversight of agencies, programs,
and activities. Most standing committees recommend authorized levels of
funds for government operations and for new and existing programs within
their jurisdiction, but a few have other functions. For example, the Appropriations
Committees review the suggested authorization levels, then recommend the
level of funds to be appropriated. The Budget Committees establish the
aggregates for total spending and revenue within functional budget categories,
which serve as guidelines for the work of the authorizing and appropriating
panels.
Select (special/other) committees may be permanent
or temporary. They are sometimes created to conduct investigations and
studies, sometimes to consider measures. Often one is established because
the existing standing committee system does not address an issue effectively,
or because a particular event sparks interest in an investigation.
Joint committees are usually permanent panels that
conduct studies or perform housekeeping tasks rather than consider measures.
Members of both chambers serve on them. A conference committee is a temporary
joint committee formed to resolve differences in Senate- and House-passed
versions of a particular measure.
Subcommittees
Most committees form subcommittees to which they assign
such specific tasks as oversight and the initial consideration of measures
in particular areas of the committee's jurisdiction. Subcommittees are
responsible to and work within guidelines established by their parent committees.
Their number, independence, and autonomy vary among committees; but, because
of their overall numbers and prerogatives, some observers have characterized
the congressional system as "subcommittee government."
In the 104th Congress, there are 19 standing committees
with 84 subcommittees in the House and 1 select committee with 2 subcommittees.
In the Senate, there are 16 standing committees with 68 subcommittees,
and 4 other committees with no subcommittees. Also, there are 4 joint committees
with no subcommittees. The total number of 198 committees and subcommittees
reflects a decline of nearly 100 panels over the past two Congresses.
Composition
Party leaders generally determine the total size of committees
and the ratio of majority to minority members on each of them. House committees
vary from 10 to 61 members, with an average of about 40. Senate committees
are smaller, varying from 6 to 28; most have between 16 and 20. Members
of both parties serve on each committee, with the majority party having
more seats (except on the "ethics" committees, which have an equal number
from each party) and chairing each panel.
Each party is primarily responsible for assigning its
members to committees, and once assigned to a particular committee a Member
often makes a career there. Each committee distributes its members among
its subcommittees, on which only members of the committee may serve. There
are limits on the number and type of committees and subcommittees on which
each Member may serve. Representatives average 5 panels while Senators
average 10. Members, especially in the House, tend to specialize in the
issues of their assigned committees, and to rely on colleagues, staff,
and constituents for information on other issues.
Staff
Approximately 2,000 aides provide professional, administrative,
and clerical support to committees. Their main job is to assist with writing,
analyzing, amending, and recommending measures to the full chamber; but
they assist with all committee activities. Committees receive varying levels
of operating funds for all expenses, including the hiring of staff. Each
hires (and fires) its own staff, and committees employ varying numbers
of aides ranging from a few to dozens. Most staff and resources are controlled
by the majority party members of a committee, although a portion must be
shared with minority party members. Also, each committee sets staff pay
levels. The top authorized annual salary is $122,932 for House committee
staff, and $130,915 for Senate committee staff.
Leadership
A committee's authority is centered in its chair, who
is usually the majority party member with the longest committee service.
A chair's prerogatives usually include determining the committee's agenda,
deciding when to take or delay action, presiding during meetings, and controlling
most funds. However, several rules allow others a share in controlling
a committee's business, such as one allowing a majority of members of a
committee to call a meeting. Also, the ranking minority member, usually
the minority party member of longest committee service, often participates
in the chair's regulation of the committee, in addition to leading on matters
affecting a committee's minority members.
To distribute committee power, there are limits on the
number of chair or ranking minority positions a single Member may hold.
Also, each subcommittee has a chair and a ranking minority member who oversee
the affairs of their panel, and rules also limit a Member's subcommittee
leadership positions. Only House Republicans have leadership term limits;
no Republican may serve as chair (or ranking minority member) of a committee
or subcommittee for more than three consecutive terms.
Oversight
Committees conduct oversight to assure that the policy
intentions of legislators are carried out by those administering programs,
and to assess the adequacy of programs for changing conditions. Some committees,
especially in the House, establish separate oversight subcommittees to
oversee the implementation of all programs within their jurisdiction. Also,
each chamber has assigned to specific committees oversight responsibility
for certain issues and programs that cut across committee jurisdictions,
and each has a committee responsible for overseeing comprehensively the
efficiency and economy of government activities.
Each committee has nearly exclusive right to address measures
within its jurisdiction. Very few measures are considered on the floor
without prior committee attention. An introduced measure generally gets
referred immediately to a committee. Some measures are referred to two
or more panels, usually because policy subjects are split among committees.(2)
Singly referred measures have been more likely than multiply referred ones
to pass their chamber and to be enacted into law, in part because of the
difficulty in coordinating the work of multiple panels.
Committees receive varying numbers of measures. In the
103d Congress, referrals ranged from a few to approximately 1,500 for House
committees and to approximately 600 for Senate panels. Committees dispose
of these measures as they please, selecting only a small percentage for
action; those not addressed usually receive no further congressional action.
However, the idea, specific provisions, or entire text of some measures
may be incorporated through the amendment process into others that the
committees and chambers consider and that become law. Determining the fate
of measures and, in effect, helping to set a chamber's agenda make committees
very powerful.
Committees often send their measures to subcommittees
for initial consideration, but only a full committee can report a measure
to the floor for consideration. When a committee or a subcommittee considers
a measure, it usually takes the four actions described below. This sequence
assumes the committee favors a measure; but, at any time, action on a measure
may be discontinued.
Executive Agency Comment
As a matter of practice and cooperation between the legislative
and executive branches, a committee asks relevant executive agencies for
written comments on measures it is studying. For example, if the House
Committee on Economic and Educational Opportunities were considering a
measure to improve public education, it might ask the Department of Education
for an opinion.
Hearings
Committees frequently hold hearings to receive testimony
from individuals not on the committee. Hearings may be for legislative,
oversight, or investigative purposes. Legislative hearings are those addressing
measures before the committee, and they may address many measures on a
given subject. Oversight hearings focus on the implementation and administration
of programs created by law. Many committees perform oversight when reauthorizing
funds for a program, which may occur annually. Investigative hearings often
address allegations of wrongdoing by public officials or private citizens,
or determine the facts of a major disaster or crisis.
At hearings, committees gather information and views,
identify problems, gauge support for and opposition to measures and proposals,
and build a record of action on committee proposals.
Following legislative hearings, a committee decides whether
to report a measure, in which case it chooses a specific measure and perfects
it through amendment. A business meeting for this purpose is called a markup.
Both chambers require a minimum quorum of one-third of a committee's members
to hold a markup session, and some committees establish a higher one.
A committee rarely reports a measure without changes.
Committees sometimes report measures with a series of changes in various
sections, or with one large amendment as an entirely new text (called an
amendment in the nature of a substitute). A committee may also set aside
its amended measure and introduce a new one reflecting the amended text.
In the House the new bill is called a clean bill; in the Senate, an original
bill. Any committee amendments, and the entire measure, require a chamber's
approval to be passed.
A reported measure usually is accompanied by a written
document, called a report, describing the measure's purposes and provisions
and telling Members why this version has been reported and why it should
be passed. The report reflects the views of a majority of the committee,
but may also contain minority, supplemental, or additional views of committee
members. Officials of the executive and judicial branches of government
use these reports to determine the legislative history of laws and Congress'
intent in enacting them.
The influence of committees over measures extends to their
consideration on the floor. The chair and ranking member of the committee
or subcommittee reporting the measure (or their designees) normally manage
floor debate for their respective parties, especially in the House. Managers
guide measures through final disposition by the chamber, which includes
planning parliamentary strategy, controlling time for debate, responding
to questions from colleagues, warding off unwanted amendments, and building
coalitions in favor of their positions. In the House, committee members
also have priority in recognition to offer floor amendments.
Committees' responsibilities extend beyond a measure's
initial passage by the chambers to its enactment into law. If the chambers
agree to different versions of a measure, the leaders of the reporting
committees may facilitate its transmittal between the chambers to obtain
agreement on one version. If, however, the chambers decide to reconcile
their differences at a conference committee, members of the reporting committees
will compose most of the negotiators. In practice, the chambers rely on
the chair and ranking member of the reporting committee to choose which
of their party colleagues on the committee will serve as conferees. Finally,
the chair and ranking member often head their chamber's delegations in
conference.
References
U.S. Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service.
Committees of the United States House of Representatives. CRS Report
forthcoming, by Carol Hardy Vincent. Washington, 1995.
------- Committees of the United States Senate.
CRS Report 95-473, by Carol Hardy Vincent. Washington, 1995.
------- Select and Special Committees in the United
States Senate: An Historical Analysis. CRS Report 91-555, by Judy Schneider.
Washington, 1991.
Footnotes
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