1. CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES 5.4
OBJECTIVES:
Explain the three main purposes of the committee system.
Differentiate between the four types of committees in Congress.

2. PURPOSES OF COMMITTEES
The committee system serves three important purposes:
It allows members of Congress to divide their work among many smaller groups.
Committees select which of the bills introduced into Congress are to receive further consideration.
By holding public hearings and investigations, committees help the public learn about key problems facing the nation.

3. KINDS OF COMMITTEES Congress has four kinds of committees:
Standing committees are permanent groups that oversee bills that deal with certain kinds of issues.
Subcommittees- Specialize in a subcategory of its standing committee’s responsibilities.
Select committees are temporary committees that study one specific issue and report their findings to the Senate or the House.
Joint committees are committees that are made up of members of both the House and the Senate.
Conference committees are temporary committees that are set up when the House and Senate have passed different versions of a bill.

4. CHOOSING COMMITTEE MEMBERS
In the House and Senate the parties must assign members to the standing committee.
Each member can serve on only limited numbers of standing committees and subcommittees.
The chairpersons of the standing committees make key decisions about the work of committees and manage floor debates that take place on bills that come from their committees.

5. The seniority system is the unwritten rule that implies that the majority party member with the longest uninterrupted service on a committee is the appointed leader of that committee.