Institutions of American

Government

Module 4.1: Congress

Section 7: Committee Classification

Lesson Objectives

• Identify Standing committee membership of select Representatives and Senators

• Classify committee membership according to their function

• Classify committees according to their structure and rules

• Describe Advantages and Disadvantages of the committee system

Decentralization

– Diffusion of power across an entire legislative body– Sometimes called the ‘democratic’ tendency– Focus on committees and subcommittees

Question #6

• Which of the following best describes the committee membership requirement of members of the US House of Representatives?

a. Every member must serve on at least one standing committeeb. Every member must serve on at least two standing

committees, unless they sit on the Rules Committee, the Steering Committee or the Policy Committee

c. Every member must serve on at least two standing committees, unless they are floor leaders

d. Every member must serve on at least two standing committees unless they serve on the Rules Committee, the Ways and Means Committee, or the Appropriations Committee

Types of Committees: By Class of Legislation

• Procedural – Matters inside the Chamber

• Rules of Debate• Scheduling• Committee assignment• Conduct of legislators

• Substantive– Matters outside the Chamber

• Powers outlined in Article 1 Section 8– Taxation– Federal programs– regulation

• Oversight– Matters related to government affairs

• Investigation of the executive branch• impeachment• Appointment confirmation

Question #9

• The Senate Government Affairs Committee is an example of what kind of Committee?

a. Procedural

b. Substantive

c. Oversight

d. Select

Question #5

• What is the difference between a procedural committee and a substantive committee?

a. A procedural committee deals with the operation of the chamber itself, while a substantive committee deals with matters of public policy

b. A procedural committee deals with policy procedures, while a substantive committee deals with the substance of public policy

c. A procedural committee directs the conduct of house members, while a substantive committee deals with the conduct of the executive branch

d. A procedural committee deals with methods of enacting legislation, while substantive committees deal with policy targets

Question #3

• In the Texas House of Representatives, which committee assumes the role of the Rules Committee?

a. The Schedule Committee

b. The Texas Legislative Council

c. The Calendars Committee

d. The Discharge Committee

Types of Committees: By Composition & Rules

• Standing – Areas of permanent legislative interest– E.g. House Appropriations, Senate Homeland Security & Governmental

Affairs• Select (called Special in the TX Leg.)

– Formed in response to a specific issue– E.g. House Committee on Impeachment, Senate Subcommittee on Armed

Services Materiel Realignment• Joint

– Membership includes both House and Senate Members– Usually a select committee– Most common joint committee: Conference committees – TX Leg. Includes a standing joint committee: The Legislative Budget Board

• Interim– Any committee that meets outside the regular legislative session– More common in TX Leg. than in the US Congress

• The Committee of the Whole– Composed of the entire chamber

Question #4

• The person(s) usually responsible for scheduling floor action in the US House of representatives is

a. the Speaker

b. the majority and minority leaders

c. the Calendars Committee

d. the Rules Committee

Question #7

• Which of the following is a legislative committee comprised of members of both houses?

a. conference committee

b. oversight committee

c. ways and means committee

d. finance committee

Question #8

• What makes the Legislative Budget Board unique in committee government?

a. The LBB is a select joint committee

b. The LBB is a standing joint committee

c. The LBB is a select standing committee

d. The LBB is a select interim committee

Advantages of Committees• Expertise

– Committee members become experts in a policy area– Seniority system allows members to gain familiarity with policy

areas

• Division of labor– Multiple measures can be considered at once

• Interest– Allows legislators to sit on committees that deal with issues of

interest to their constituents

• Open Forum– Operates as a ‘safety valve’ for public debate and controversy since

committees cannot enact legislation by themselves

• Access– Citizens may more easily persuade a standing or select committee

than the Committee of the Whole

• Pigeonholes– “Hostile” committees– Committees may sit on a bill so that it never sees the ‘light of day’

• Ignorant Action– Members of the Committee of the Whole may not bother to read the

bills they vote on– Members instead read committee reports (or merely the report

summary)

• Contrary Assignment– Members assigned to committees outside their constituents’ interest– Members may be assigned to committees irrelevant to their campaigns

• Staff decisions– Committee reports generally written by committee staff members with

little involvement by elected members

Disadvantages of Committees

Activity

• Consider the following passage from Woodrow Wilson:

“When a bill passes from the clerk’s desk to a committee room, it crosses a parliamentary bridge of sighs to dim dungeons of silence whence it shall never return. The means and time of its death are unknown, but its friends never see it again.” (from Congressional Government)

• In groups of three, discuss what he meant.• Develop a strategy for getting around the

problem Wilson identifies.

Question #9

• Is legislative gridlock geneally beneficial or detrimental to the American people?1. Beneficial

2. Detrimental