The Congressional Committee Structure
Summary
TLDRThis script discusses the pivotal role of congressional committees in the U.S. legislative process. It explains the evolution from temporary select committees to permanent standing committees, emphasizing the House Ways and Means Committee's significance. The script highlights how committee chairs wield substantial power over legislation, including agenda-setting and witness selection during hearings. It also touches on how committees serve as oversight bodies, influencing bureaucracy and the executive branch. The narrative illustrates the committee's ability to stall or advance bills and the strategic maneuvering by legislators to align bills with friendly committee jurisdictions.
Takeaways
- đïž Congressional committees were initially formed as select committees to process bills temporarily.
- đ Standing Committees are permanent and serve specific roles, such as the House Ways and Means Committee.
- đ Committees provide key information on public policy and act as a check against the executive branch.
- đ Committees have jurisdiction over legislation in certain areas, which can determine a bill's fate.
- đŁïž Committee chairs have significant agenda-setting power, including scheduling hearings and controlling witness lists.
- đ« Committees can act as 'bill graveyards', preventing unwanted legislation from advancing.
- đ„ Hearings are crucial for oversight and can influence the behavior of bureaucrats and the executive branch.
- đ ïž The process of a bill in committee involves lobbying, hearings, markups, and amendments.
- đ The role of committees has declined for important legislation, with parties playing a more significant role.
- đ€ Party leaders often lead the heavy legislative lifting, with committee involvement becoming more ceremonial.
Q & A
What were the initial types of congressional committees?
-The initial types of congressional committees were select committees, which were set up to process a bill and then disbanded.
What is the defining characteristic of a Standing Committee?
-A Standing Committee is a permanent committee created to serve a particular role and deal with specific issues, existing for a long period of time.
When was the first Standing Committee in the House of Representatives formed, and why?
-The first Standing Committee in the House of Representatives was the House Ways and Means Committee, formed at the end of the 18th century due to the need to manage information about federal finances under the influence of Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton.
Why are congressional committees considered essential?
-Congressional committees are essential because they provide key information about public policy and can serve as a check against the executive branch.
What power does the committee chair have over legislation?
-The committee chair has agenda-setting power, deciding whether to schedule hearings, send bills to subcommittees, or let bills die without action.
How do committee hearings serve as an oversight mechanism?
-Committee hearings serve as an oversight mechanism by providing opportunities to question bureaucrats and officials, which can influence how they perform their duties.
What is the role of the committee chair in the selection of witnesses for hearings?
-The committee chair controls the witness list for hearings, determining who will testify and the order of their appearance.
Can you provide an example of how a committee chair can control a hearing?
-An example is when Jesse Helms, as chair of the Foreign Relations Committee, scheduled a short hearing for William Weld's nomination as ambassador to Mexico, limiting the time for discussion and effectively controlling the outcome.
What is the importance of garnering support for a bill when it reaches a committee?
-Garnering support for a bill is crucial as it can influence whether the bill moves forward, receives a hearing, or is amended during the markup process.
How does the markup phase influence a bill's progression?
-The markup phase allows for amendments to a bill through dialogue and negotiation between majority and minority party members, which can significantly alter the bill's content and increase its chances of moving forward.
What has been the impact of increased partisanship on the role of committees in legislation?
-Increased partisanship has led to a decline in the role of committees for important legislation, with party leaders taking the lead in drafting and negotiating bills, often bypassing formal committee processes.
Outlines
đïž Congressional Committees and Their Power
The paragraph discusses the evolution of congressional committees from select committees to standing committees, which address specific issues over a long period. It highlights the importance of standing committees in providing information on public policy and acting as a check against the executive branch. The paragraph also explains the role of committee chairs in controlling the legislative process, including scheduling hearings, selecting witnesses, and determining the fate of bills. The influence of committee chairs is underscored by their ability to act as gatekeepers for legislation, with the power to effectively kill bills by not scheduling hearings or markups. Additionally, the paragraph touches on the strategic drafting of bills to avoid unfriendly committees and the use of hearings for oversight and information gathering.
đŁïž Committee Dynamics and the Lawmaking Process
This paragraph delves into the dynamics of committees and their impact on the lawmaking process. It describes how a bill's sponsor must lobby for support within the committee to move the bill forward. The paragraph also outlines the stages a bill goes through once it reaches a committee, including lobbying, hearings, and the markup process where amendments are discussed and voted on. The narrative includes a specific example of how the chair's control can influence a hearing, as illustrated by the nomination of William Weld as ambassador to Mexico and the tactics used by then-chair Jesse Helms to limit the hearing's effectiveness. The paragraph concludes by emphasizing the decline in the committee's role in favor of party leadership in shaping important legislation.
đ€ Party Leadership in Legislation
The final paragraph shifts focus to the role of party leadership in the legislative process, particularly for significant bills. It contrasts the traditional committee-driven approach with the current trend where party leaders, often in collaboration with the White House, spearhead the development of legislation. The paragraph suggests that while committees still play a role, especially in hearings, the substantive work on major bills is increasingly conducted by party leaders, leading to a more partisan legislative environment. This shift has implications for the transparency and bipartisanship of the lawmaking process, as noted by the paragraph's discussion of the changing nature of congressional work.
Mindmap
Keywords
đĄSelect Committees
đĄStanding Committees
đĄJurisdiction
đĄAgenda-setting power
đĄBill graveyards
đĄHearings
đĄSubcommittee
đĄMarkup
đĄPatron or Sponsor
đĄPartisanship
đĄInformal legislative process
Highlights
Congressional committees originated as select committees in the first Congress.
The Standing Committee is a permanent committee serving a particular role and dealing with specific issues.
The House Ways and Means Committee was the first Standing Committee, formed in the late 18th century.
Committees provide key information on public policy and serve as a check against the executive branch.
Committees have jurisdiction over legislation in certain areas.
The committee chair has significant agenda-setting power.
Bills often die in committee if the chair does not schedule hearings or send them to subcommittees.
Savvy members of Congress draft bills to avoid unfriendly committee jurisdictions.
Committees hold hearings, which are important for oversight over bureaucracy and the executive branch.
The Appropriations Subcommittee's jurisdiction can influence bureaucratic behavior.
Committee chairs are the most influential in determining whether legislation reaches the floor.
The committee chair controls the witness list and the duration of hearings.
An example of a committee chair's control: Jesse Helms' handling of William Weld's nomination hearing.
Bills require support from subcommittee or committee chairs to move forward.
Most bills die in committee without a hearing.
Markup is the phase where bills are subjected to amendments and dialogue between majority and minority party members.
Conditional committee hearings are useful for uncovering information through congressional investigations.
The role of committees has declined in favor of party-led legislation for important bills.
Informal processes led by party leaders often determine the framing of important legislation.
Transcripts
you
congressional committees were formed
really in the first Congress but they
were what are called select committees
they was set up basically to process a
bill and then they went away okay one of
the key institutional features of the
House and the Senate what is the
Standing Committee this is a committee
that exists was created to serve a
particular role to deal with particular
issues it exists has existed for
typically a long period of time the
first Standing Committee in the House of
Representatives was the House Ways and
Means Committee and it was formed it was
formed at the end of the 18th century
was formed essentially because Congress
recognized that there was this really
powerful Treasury secretary Alexander
Hamilton who had a lot of information
and knowledge about the way in which the
federal government was raising and
spending its money so committees are
essential institutions for Congress
because they provide key information
about public policy and in many ways
they can serve as a check against the
executive branch so committees are
tremendously powerful in many cases so
for one thing that committees have
jurisdiction over legislation in certain
areas so if I want to introduce a piece
of legislation that deals with
transportation it's going to go to the
Transportation Committee and when it
gets there the committee chair has a
tremendous amount of agenda-setting
power if the committee chair doesn't
scheduled hearings on it or doesn't want
it to get sent to a subcommittee it's
going to scheduled hearings anything
like that nine times out of ten more
than nine times out of ten bills just
going to die one of the the things
committees can do is serve as bill
graveyards for bills they don't want to
get past and members you know especially
savvy members of Congress will think
about that when they're drafting a bill
they will draft a bill in such a way as
to try to avoid the jurisdiction of some
committee they think will be unfriendly
and steer it towards a committee they
think might be more friendly even if
that means perhaps leaving something out
of the bill that in another world they
would have put into the bill
committees also of course hold hold
hearings and those hearings are very
important sources of oversight over the
the bureaucracy and the executive branch
sometimes the judiciary as well you know
there an opportunity to threaten
bureaucrats right so if I'm if you're
facing especially skeptical question
about some program and and and you
people you're facing them from are the
Appropriations Subcommittee that has
jurisdiction over you maybe you back off
because you know they control the purse
strings and so there's a tremendous
amount of research about the fact that
the bureaucracy is very responsive to
who's on the appropriations committees
but even even short of threatening to
pull someone's funding just the the fact
of grilling the fact of sort of having
to face that kind of unfriendly
questioning can can have a significant
effect on how people do their jobs
committee chairs are probably the most
influential individuals in determining
whether or not a piece of legislation is
going to make it to the floor or not the
committee chair is selected by the
majority party that the two parties have
slightly different procedures for how
they choose their chairs but generally
speaking they're looking for people who
have long-standing service on that
committee for people who are loyal
partisans people who are willing to toe
the party line people who the leadership
of the chamber can work with and those
individuals then will receive pieces of
legislation that have been sent there by
the Speaker of the House to be processed
in that committee and it is entirely up
to the chair of that committee which
pieces of legislation he or she would
like to schedule it is entirely up to
the chair how long those hearings will
be scheduled if there is going to be a
hearing the chair controls the witness
list and the majority party will always
have significantly greater numbers of
witnesses than the minority party I've
been to hearings where there are six
people on the panel five of them are
majority witnesses and then there's the
one person at the end who's like well I
disagree and that's the minority parties
witness all of the scheduling all of the
selection of people to participate in
those hearings all of that is handled
through the committee chair
in the late 1990s President Clinton
nominated william weld who was the
former governor of massachusetts to
serve as ambassador to Mexico and at the
time the Foreign Relations Committee was
being chaired by jesse helms and Jesse
Helms was a Republican of course bill
weld was also a Republican but he was a
liberal Republican he was a
Massachusetts Republican Jesse Helms was
adamantly opposed to William welds
nomination to be ambassador to Mexico
and he absolutely was refusing to hold a
hearing the time the ranking member on
the committee was Jill Biden Biden and
the other members of the committee used
a procedure to in essence forced the
committee chair to hold a hearing on
governor welds nomination so Jesse Helms
recognizes that he's lost basically
because parliamentary procedure required
him to do this he agrees to hold the
hearing it's scheduled for you know noon
on Tuesday the hearing opens he gavels
it open he says we're having this
hearing on governor william weld to be
ambassador to Mexico the hearing will
conclude at twelve-thirty he then
proceeded to make opening remarks of
approximately 27 minutes at which time
he turned to ranking member Biden and
said would you like to add anything
myton started to speak helm said oh look
at the time and he gabbled it closed and
that was the hearing on bill weld and
it's an example of the extent to which
the chair of the committee has absolute
control over whether a hearing is
scheduled and then even if he's forced
to hold a hearing on what the timing and
the pacing and ultimately the outcome of
that hearing is going to be let's talk
about what could happen to a bill when
it gets to a committee because this is
pretty essential to understanding the
lawmaking process each bill has a patron
or a sponsor and one of the important
tactical steps that an advocate or a
sponsor for a bill must do is to garner
support for that bill all right so when
a bill goes to committee it's not
uncommon for the sponsor of that bill
to begin to lobby for the bill to move
forward assuming that they really
genuinely are interested in moving the
bill in some cases members of Congress
will sponsor bills as a favor
essentially as an acknowledgement to a
constituent or to a contributor or to a
party and they really are not all that
interested in necessarily moving the
bill in which case they basically let
the bill sit they take credit for the
fact that they've introduced a bill but
they're not going to work all that hard
to get it passed through the committee
most bills in committee die right there
in committee they don't get very far
it's absolutely crucial if a bill is
going to move forward to gain the
support of either the subcommittee chair
which has control over the bill or the
committee chair that's absolutely
crucial because they're going to decide
first of all whether there should be any
hearings on the bill where you bring
people in experts from executive
agencies or lobbying groups or citizens
or industry officials to come in and
discuss the content of the bill this is
a fundamental step and deliberating most
bills never get a hearing okay they just
sit there but if a bill gets a hearing
or a series of hearings that's a way in
which the committee can become informed
about the potential effects of the bill
assuming the bill gets a vote in a
subcommittee it goes to what's called a
markup and so the bill at that point is
subjected to amendments in here
interestingly enough the minority
minority party members of bill and
majority party members of the bill
actually engage in quite a bit of
dialogue and quite a bit of give and
take over whether or not to add
something or take something out of a
bill in the form of an amendment we call
that a markup and so if the bill gets
through the markup phase from the
subcommittee into the committee it has a
much greater chance of moving forward
and getting to the full house but then
there's also just the actual information
forcing function right there have been
plenty of really important issues in
American history where a lot of
information has come out about them that
would not otherwise have come out as a
result of congressional investigations
as a result of the use of the
congressional subpoena power the ability
to call witnesses the
it sort of staff that's dedicated to
ferreting out this this information so
so conditional committee hearings have
been tremendously useful in that regard
so they I think they can be used in a
lot of different ways as a partisan
cudgel as a sort of bipartisan or non
partisan attempt to actually learn more
about an issue or more frequently both
of the above right so you know often
people whose ox is getting gored will
say that a committee is is just a bunch
of partisan hacks and the people who are
who are conducting the hearings will say
no no we're impartial fact finders and
they're probably somewhere right in the
middle increasingly the role of the
committee has declined for important
legislation in the role of party has
risen and so if we look at important
legislation over the last decade like
the Obamacare bill you know really the
the committee's were involved in we're
involved in and hearings and the chairs
of the committee's and the maybe the
chairs of the subcommittee's were part
of the partisan teams that would work
with the White House and the speaker and
the majority leader to negotiate the
framing of the bill but most of the
heavy legislative lifting was done
informally through a process that was
led by the the party leaders in both
chambers and so and you know members of
Congress complain about this especially
the junior members who are who are cut
out of this process but nonetheless I
think because of the heightened partisan
world in which we're living right now
important legislation whether it be you
know health care or foreign policy or or
whatever gets really worked on by by
party committees led by the party
leaders and then bills brought to the
floor may be formally having gone to
committees but the important work having
been done by the parties
you
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