1. The Legislative Branch: Committees
Unit 3: The Legislative Branch

2. The Committee System
Take into account all the areas the Legislative Branch must act on…..
Would it be possible for a person to have the depth of knowledge to make reasonable, intelligent decisions on all of these areas?
Due to this the Legislative Branch has organized itself into Committees that specialize in different areas of policy

3. Types of Committees
Standing Committees: Committees that are permanent parts of Congress.
Select Committees: Committees assembled for a specific period of time to accomplish a specific task (Senate Watergate Committee)
Joint Committees: Committees put together that consist of members of both the House and Senate (9/11 Committee)
* Conference Committee: A special joint committee put together to hammer out differences between bills passed by the House and the Senate

4. The Committee System
Committees are made up of members from both parties.
Their membership reflects the overall percentage of Democrats and Republicans in each house.
Committee Chairpersons are from the majority party in each house and chosen by the party to be chairs.
The minority party selects a “Ranking Member” to lead the minority members of the party in each committee.
Committees may also divide into Subcommittees to consider some specific matters.

5. Committee Chairs
The Chair is selected by the majority party. In the past it was traditionally given to the senior most member of the committee, however reforms have been passed to change that. Still, the chair is usually somebody with experience as a member of the committee.
Powers/Responsibilities
Set agenda
Assign members to subcommittees
Organize hearings, decide witnesses, decide if it will be public
Manage floor debate when a bill from the Committee makes it to full floor debate/vote

6. Breakdown of Committees
House
Senate
20 Standing Committees
95 Subcommittees
Members cannot serve on more than 2 Standing Committees
Members cannot serve on more than 4 Subcommittees
Appropriations, Rules, and Ways and Means Committees are “exclusive” and you cannot serve another committee if on one of those
16 Standing Committees
67 Subcommittees
Members are limited based on what type of committee they are on. (Broken into A, B, and C committees)
A- 2 Committees, B- 1 Committees, C- No limit (but very small committees)
Appropriations, Armed Service, and Finance are “exclusive” and you cannot serve on another “A” committee if on one
Cannot serve on same committee as the other Senator from your state

7. Which Committee to Select?
Picking the “right” committee is like picking the “right” lunch table in the movie “Mean Girls.” (if you haven’t seen it, add it to your homework so you can develop taste)
There are 3 Major Motivations/Considerations
Elevating “Profile”: Certain committees get much more national attention than others so it can increase your exposure if you have national goals (either running for President, Speaker, or Majority Leader). In addition a committee can give you experience in an area you are lacking in a run for President (Hillary was on Armed Services, Obama was on Foreign Relations)
Constituent Service: Certain committees are extremely important to your district/state. Members representing rural areas will benefit by being on the Agricultural Committee.
Areas of Interest/Expertise: Perhaps you are coming into politics after having a career or expertise in a certain area. Doctors often end up in the Health and Human Services Committee. Teachers might end up on the Education Committee

8. Roles of Committees Consider Bills/Legislative Proposals
Before bills are debated by the full body, they are studied and “marked up” in committee. Hearings are held featuring testimony and questioning of people who will be impacted by the bill. The committee “reports” it out to the full House or Senate for a vote.
94% of all bills DIE in committee
Conduct Investigations
They look into areas of “concern” that fall under their area of expertise (MLB Steroid Hearings)
Cannot pass laws but can suggest laws to fix issues.
Oversight of Executive Branch
They investigate the operations and actions of Executive Branch Agencies (“Fast and Furious”, “9/11 commission”, one of the 8000 Bengahzi hearings)
Can suggest changes to laws/policies/proceudres to the Executive Agencies”

9. Important Standing Committees
Appropriations (House and Senate)
Budget (House and Senate)
Judiciary (Senate)
Rules (House)
Ways and Means (House)
Spending
Allocating resources to departments
Holds hearing on appointments of Judges
Sets the rules for debate on bills
Taxes and Revenue Bills

10. Caucuses Informal groups that form to pursue common legislative goals.
Caucuses range greatly in size, importance, and influence.
Examples
Democratic and Republican Caucus: Each party meets together to decide goals and the agenda of the party.
Congressional Black Caucus: Group of African-American legislators. Very influential, particularly among Democrats
Small Brewers Caucus: Dudes like beer

11. Congressional Staff and Services
Personal Staff
Work directly for individual members.
Located in Washington D.C. or in Home State/District
Committee Staff
Work directly for Committees and Subcommittees. Engage in research and analysis as well as administration and communication.
Support Agencies
Library of Congress (for research) and Congressional Budget Office (adding up costs/benefits of legislature) work for the body as a whole.