1. Gov Review #27: Congressional Committees
Everything You Need To Know About Congressional Committees To Succeed in Gov.

2. Committees: An Introduction
What are they?
Made up of members of Congress
Allows members to become specialized in policy areas
Membership on the right committee helps members represent their constituents more effectively (credit claiming)
How is membership determined?
“Wish list” by members; members from both parties, although the chair and majority of members are made up by majority party
Each party has a Steering Committee that assigns members to committees
Foreign Policy
Agriculture
Finance
Judiciary
Veterans’
Affairs

3. Committees: An Introduction
Committee Chairs:
Influence the agenda of the committee
Schedule hearings, manage bills in committees
Committee chairs are voted on, although typically given to senior members
Committee chairs are limited to 3 consecutive 2-year terms
4 types of committees:
Standing
Joint Committees
Conference Committees
Select Committees
Standing =
PERMANENT!

4. $ $ $ $ $ $ Standing Committees Permanent committees in each house
16 in Senate
19 in the House
Most members serve on two committees and two subcommittees
Often recommend funding for government agencies and programs $ $ $ $ $ $

5. Congress Joint Committee
Joint Committees
Membership is made up of the House AND the Senate
Not as common as other committees
Focus on issues such as the economy and taxation
Congress Joint Committee
on the Library

6. Conference Committees
Did someone say Compromise?
Conference Committees
Established to reconcile differences in bills passed in each house
Usually made up of senior members of each party
Hope to reach a compromise on the bill

7. Did someone say Missouri? I helped with that compromise.
Select Committees
May be permanent, or temporary
Often have a narrow focus
Examples:
House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence
Select Committee on the Various Propositions for the Admission of Missouri into the Union

8. Subcommittees Smaller parts of a larger committee
Members report to larger committee on specific issues
Members of Congress are limited to 4 subcommittees

9. Test Tips Multiple-Choice Questions:
Benefits of being on committees (credit claiming)
Free Response Questions:
Purpose of committees

10. See You Back Here For Video #28: Congress and Other Major Political Institutions!
Thanks for watching
Best of luck in May!