Download Legislative Committees

How Congress Works
Part 1:
Who’s in Congress?
Demographic Profile of Congress
Age Groups
Gender
Party
Ethnicity
Source: http://www.congress.org/congressorg/directory/demographics.tt
House-Senate Differences
House




435 members; 2 yr
terms
Low turnover
Speaker bill referral
hard to challenge
Scheduling/rules
controlled by majority
party with powerful
Rules Committee
(controls time of debate,
amends., etc)
Senate




100 members; 6 yr
terms
Moderate turnover
Referral decisions
easily challenged
Scheduling/rules
agreed to by majority &
minority leaders
House-Senate Differences




House
Debate limited to 1
hour
Members policy
specialists
Emphasizes tax &
revenue policy
More formal &
impersonal




Senate
Unlimited debate
unless cloture
invoked
Members policy
generalists
Emphasizes foreign
policy
More informal &
personal
Party Leadership
Bicameral Democratic Leadership
Senate Democratic Leadership
113th Congress
113th Congress
HOUSE LEADERSHIP
Speaker (majority
party)
Republicans:
• Majority Leader
• Majority Whip
• Chairman of the
Caucus
• Steering & Policy
Committee
• Democratic
Congressional
Campaign
Committee
Speaker of the House
John Boehner (R-OH)
Majority Leader
Eric Cantor (R-VA)
Majority Whip
Kevin McCarthy(R-CA)
HOUSE LEADERSHIP
Democrats:
• Minority Leader
• Minority Whip
• Chairman of
Conference
• Policy Committee
• Committee on
Committees
• National Republican
Congressional
Committee
• Research Committee
Minority Leader
Nancy Pelosi(D-CA)
Minority Whip
Steny Hoyer (D-NY)
SENATE LEADERSHIP
President of the Senate
(Vice President)
President Pro Tempore
(majority party)
Democrats:
• Majority Leader
• Majority Whip
• Chairman of Conference
• Policy Committee
• Steering Committee
• Democratic Senatorial
Campaign Committee
President of the Senate
Joe Biden (D-PA)
Majority Leader
Harry Reid (D-NV)
President Pro Temp
Patrick Leahy(D-VT)
Majority Whip
Richard Durbin (D-IL)
SENATE LEADERSHIP
Republicans:
• Minority Leader
• Minority Whip
• Chairman of
Conference
• Policy Committee
• Committee on
Minority Whip
John Cornyn(D-TX)
Committees
• Republican Senatorial
Committee
Minority Leader
Mitch McConnell (R-KY)
"Congress in session is Congress on public
exhibition, whilst Congress in its committeerooms is Congress at work.” - Woodrow Wilson
Legislative Committees:
Function and Purpose
Legislative Committees:
Function & Purpose
1. Consider bills (a.k.a. “mark-up” bills)
A bill with a member’s mark-up notes
Legislative Committees:
Function & Purpose
2. Maintain oversight of executive agencies
Secretary Donald Rumsfeld testifies before a Senate Appropriations
Committee hearing re: the Department of Defense Budget (May, 2006)
Legislative Committees:
Function & Purpose
3. Conduct investigations
New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin testified before the Senate Homeland Security
and Governmental Affairs Committee on Hurricane Katrina (Feb., 2006)
Types of Committees
 Standing Committees - permanent panel with full
legislative functions and oversight responsibilities
• Subcommittees – formed to tackle very specific
tasks within the jurisdiction of the full committees
 Select or Special Committees - groups appointed for a
limited purpose and limited duration
 Joint Committees - includes members of both
chambers to conduct studies or perform housekeeping
tasks
 Conference Committee - includes members of House
& Senate to work out differences between similar bills
Standing Committees
House Standing Committees
Agriculture
Appropriations
Armed Services
Budget
Education & Workforce
Energy & Commerce
Financial Services
Government Reform
House Admin.
International Relations
Judiciary
Resources
Rules
Science
Small Business
Standards of Official
Conduct
Transportation &
Infrastructure
Veterans Affairs
Ways & Means
Senate Standing Committees
Agriculture, Nutrition, &
Forestry
Appropriations
Armed Services
Banking, Housing, & Urban
Affairs
Budget
Commerce, Science,
Transportation
Energy & Natural Resources
Environment and Public
Works
Finance
Foreign Relations
Governmental Affairs
Health, Education, Labor
& Pensions
Judiciary
Rules and Administration
Small Business and
Entrepreneurship
Veterans Affairs
Special, Select Committees
• House Select
Committee on
Energy
Independence &
Global Warming
• Senate Select
Committee on
Ethics
• House & Senate
Select Committees
on Intelligence
Gen. Michael Hayden is sworn in during a full
committee hearing of the Senate Select
Intelligence Committee on his nomination to be
director of the Central Intelligence Agency.
Joint Committees
• Joint Economic Committee
• Joint Committee on Printing
• Joint Committee on Taxation
Joint Committee on
Taxation hearing
The Legislative Obstacle Course
How A Bill Becomes Law
Fact: About 5,000 bills are
introduced in Congress
every year, but only about
150 are signed into law.
Source: http://acswebcontent.acs.org/olga/legissummbilltolaw.pdf
1.
Explain why so few bills
become law.
2.
Is that a good thing or a
bad thing?
3.
Should the legislative
process in Congress be
reformed? If yes, what
changes would you
recommend? If not, why
not?
Title: Resolution
Date: 12/28/06
Artist: Bob Gorrell
Source: http://www.gorrellart.com/
Artist: R.J. Matson, New
York Observer & Roll Call
Date: 1/18/07
Source:
http://www.cagle.com
Title: Imagine there’s no Congress
Date: 6/06/07
Artist: Joe Heller, Green Bay Press-Gazette
Source: http://www.politicalcartoons.com/
Title: Senator Reid Can
Handle the Truth
Artist: RJ Matson
Date: 6/18/07
Source:
http://www.politicalcarto
ons.com
Source: http://bigpicture.typepad.com/
Date: 5/6/06