I II III IV Committees Workshops of Congress 1 Committees serve two main purposes individual and institutional 2 Committees allow legislators to utilize or gain expertise in areas 3 Institutional committees are the center of policy making oversight of federal agencies and public education 4 However committees often don t have the people who know the most about the topic because legislators are interested in committees that their constituents appreciate The Purposes of Committees 1 The distributional hypothesis legislatures create committees to give lawmakers influence in areas important to reelections bring home the bacon 2 The informational hypothesis establish committees to give legislators the expertise to make informal judgments 3 The party hypothesis committees are an agent of party caucuses 4 Only a small number of centralizing committees that promote institutional and policy integration over programmatic particularism Evolution of the Committee System 1 Early Congresses had temporary committees created for specific tasks 2 Committees were very controlled by the parent chamber and gave clear cut tasks required them to report back and were then dismantled 1816 permanent committees introduced 3 4 Standing committees are counterweights to presidential influence in agenda setting 5 Committee are self reliant and resistant to chamber and party control 6 Majority party members generally chair committees Types of Committees 1 Authorizing committees policy making centers 2 Appropriations committees recommend how much money agencies and programs will get A Standing Committees 1 Standing committee is permanent made by public law or House or Senate rules 2 Process the bulk Congress s daily and annual work 3 Committee size is established by the majority leadership in the House 4 Committee sizes are negotiated by both parties in the Senate 5 Subcommittees are created to subdivide policies in manageable pieces shape the agenda and respond to specialized constituencies In the House most standing committees can only have 5 subcommittees 6 7 House rules says representatives can only serve on 4 subcommittees 8 These limits are in place to make Congress more deliberative participatory and manageable by reducing conflicts and overlaps 9 Democrats that serve on exclusive committees cannot serve on standing 10 Subcommittee assignments are assigned two ways by committee chairs with the ranking member or by senators order of seniority in full committee B Select or Special Committees 1 These are temporary panels lasting only around two years 2 Generally do not have legislative authority 3 Created for many reasons accommodate the concerns of individual members access point for interest groups supplement the standing committee system can be set up to coordinate consideration of issues that overlap the jurisdiction of several standing committees C Joint Committees 1 Involve members from both houses been around since the First Congress and are used for study investigation oversight and routine activities 2 House members appointed by the Speaker and senators by the presiding officer D Conference Committees 1 Legislation must be identically passed by both houses before the President signs it 2 Conference committees often referred to as the third house of Congress 3 Conference bargaining happens in four ways traditional offer counteroffer sub conference and pro forma 4 These committees are powerful because of unilateral authority to veto or negotiate alterations in legislation in the late stages V The Assignment Process E The Pecking Order 1 Most powerful and desirable committees are Ways and Means Senate Finance and the House and Senate Appropriations Committee 2 Legislators realize the potential peril of the two Congresses they could be challenged electorally by Tea Party or conservatives for not cutting enough or by angry constituents that they cut too much F Preferences and Politicking 1 Lawmakers have three basis goals reelection influence and good policy 2 Representatives feel as though they need power positions more than Senators G How Assignments Are Made 1 Each party has their own panel to dispense standing committee jobs 2 The decisions of these panels are the most important of a three step procedure the next is approval of the assignments by the caucuses and last the pro forma election by full House and Senate 3 Formal and informal rules guide the assignment progress 4 Gingrich 95 99 created six year limits on standing committee chairs 5 Hastert 99 07 introduced an interview process 6 Pelosi 07 11 followed seniority 7 Boehner 11 honored the term time rules 8 Senate Democrats have no term limits on committee chairs 9 Assignments by the panels determine the geographical and ideological composition of the standing committees 10 When committee ideologies are out of line with the majority party legislation is likely to be defeated or revised on the floor H Approval by Party Caucuses and the Chamber 1 1970s party caucuses became major players in the assignment process using secret ballots by their parties 2 Term limits prevents members from becoming independent barons House Republicans 3 Senate generally always use seniority 4 Both houses require standing committees to be elected by the entire body Committee Leadership 1 Committee chairs call meetings establish agendas hire and fire arrange hearings recommend conferees act as floor manager allocate funds develop strategies chair hearings regulate the affairs of their committees 2 Chairs get their authority from committee majority formal and informal resources 3 Ranking minority members are influential on committees too 4 Minority members nominate minority conferees hire and fire minority staff sitting ex officio on all subcommittees assist in setting agenda manage legislation on the floor and act as spokesperson for their party VI VII Policy Making In Committee I Overlapping Jurisdictions 1 The formal rules of committees are defines by each house public laws and precedents 2 Jurisdiction overlaps can be positive enable member to develop expertise in many fields prevent any one group from dominating a topic and promote competition among committees J Multiple Referrals 1 Bills are usually referred to only one committee 2 1975 allowed bills to be introduced in multiple committees this change allowed the Speaker more authority and flexibility K Where Bills Go 1 Many bills are sent to subcommittees or held for review by full committees 2 Committee