1. Congress and the Committees System

2. Committee System Basics
1) Allows for the division of labor so Congress can consider a vast number of bills each year.
110th Congress Bills= House: 7,336 & Senate: 3,741
2) Members develop specialization- gain expertise in specific areas (do not have to depend on professional staff and executive agencies for background information).
3) Subcommittees share specific tasks with the “parent” committee. Subcommittees are responsible to, and work within the guidelines established by, the parent committee.
Senate: 21 committees, over 65 subcommittees
House: 20 committees, over 100 subcommittees
There are 4 joint committees between both houses of Congress

3. Four Types of Committees
Standing Committees:
permanent subject matter committees
have legislative jurisdiction
consider bills and issues
recommend measures for consideration.
oversight responsibility of agencies, programs, and activities within jurisdictions.
- oldest standing committee = House Ways and Means Committee (1802)

4. Four Types of Committees
Select (Special) Committees:
formed for specific purpose; temporary
conduct investigations, studies, and, consider measures.
examine emerging issues that don’t fit within existing standing committee jurisdictions.
handle some oversight or “housekeeping” responsibilities.

5. Four Types of Committees
Joint Committees:
Permanent
include members of House and Senate.
Four joint committees: Economic, Library, Printing, Taxation.
conduct studies or perform housekeeping tasks rather than consider measures.
Conference Committees:
- temporary
include House and Senate negotiators
created to resolve differences between versions of similar House and Senate bills.

6. Committee Membership
Members express preferences to a party selection committee.
Members usually go to areas where they have experience or concern their districts.
Committees dealing with appropriations, taxes, and finance are always sought after because they deal with allocation of money.
Controlled by parties in particular the majority party.
Chairperson for standing committees usually comes from majority party; seniority usually prevails. Most influential member of the committee. Arranges meetings, controls staffing and funding, sets agenda.
Senate= Steering Committee makes assignments for both parties.
House= Committee on Committees= Republicans; Steering and Policy Committee= Democrats

7. Committees of Congress
Senate Committees
House Committees
Agriculture
Appropriations
Armed Services
Budget
Education and Labor
Energy and Commerce
Financial Services
Foreign Affairs
Homeland Security
House Administration
Intelligence (Permanent Select)
Judiciary
Natural Resources
Oversight and Government Reform
Rules
Science and Technology
Small Business
Standards of Official Conduct
Transportation and Infrastructure
Veterans' Affairs
Ways and Means
(Whole)
Aging (Special)
Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry
Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
Commerce, Science and Transportation
Energy and Natural Resources
Ethics (Select)
Environment and Public Works
Finance
Foreign Relations
Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
Indian Affairs
Intelligence (Select)
Rules and Administration
Small Business and Entrepreneurship

8. Congress Vocab
1. Pigeonholed- when congressional committees that deal with new bills introduced in the United States congress decide to ignore a new bill, never make it out of committee 
2. Marked up- refers to the process by which a U.S. congressional committee or state legislative session debates, amends, and rewrites proposed legislation.
3. Closed rule- “gag rule” strict limits on debates and forbids amendments from the floor, except those from committees, members have little choice but to vote for or against
4. Open rule- permits amendments and has less strict time limits, allowing input from other members
5. Committee chairmen- most important person shaping the agenda, chosen usually by seniority, voted by members of the house with a secret ballot
6. Caucuses with Congress- members of congress joins specific groups that share their same interests or points of view. More than 70 groups, their goal is to shape the agenda of Congress
7. Incumbency- The incumbent, in politics, is the holder of a political office. It is a person who already holds political office. 95% of incumbents win re-election
Voters typically know incumbents well and have strong opinions about their performance.
Challengers are less familiar and invariably fall short on straightforward comparisons of experience and (in the presidential arena) command of foreign policy.