How Committees Operate to Pass Bills
Congressional Committee Structure & Purpose
To deal more effectively with the multitude of issues that are brought before it each session, Congress utilizes several standing committees – 20 in the House and 16 in the Senate. In addition, the House and Senate each have five select committees that focus on short-term issues. There are also four joint committees with membership from both bodies. Representatives usually serve on two or three committees, senators on three or four.
Each committee deals with a set of specific issues. Consequently, members of Congress generally request committee assignments that allow them to develop an expertise on issues that are of interest to them and their constituents.
Probably the most critical step in the legislative process takes place in one or more of the House and Senate standing committees. Each committee has a special area of concern (e.g. agriculture, taxation, civil rights, and appropriations) and is responsible for reviewing all legislation in its specialized area.
The committee function is a screening process. In committee, bills are studied for their relevance, necessity, and relation to existing law. Bills deemed unnecessary or in conflict with specific interests are screened out and allowed to “die.” Other bills are amended to conform to legal requirements or political preferences.
Bills are considered in committee according to a schedule set by the chair. Some committees have a professional staff that conducts research on bills being considered by a committee. If a bill has broad public interest, the chair may schedule public hearings.
Once a committee completes its study of a bill, it may take one of the following actions:
- Report the bill with a favorable recommendation
- Add amendments
- Replace the original bill with a substitute
- Report the bill with an unfavorable recommendation
- Report the bill with the recommendation that it be referred to another committee
- Postpone action indefinitely
- Table the bill
- Refuse to take action on the bill
- Defeat the bill
How a Bill Passes Through Committee
Once a bill is introduced, the usual first step is to refer the measure to a subcommittee of the pertinent full committee. The subcommittee holds hearings where witnesses testify. After hearings are completed, the subcommittee meets to “markup” the bill. During markup, the subcommittee reviews the bill and makes any agreed-upon changes. If a majority of the subcommittee members present approve the bill, the measure is favorably “reported” to the full committee for further consideration. The full committee often repeats the process of holding hearings and a markup to prepare the bill in “floor action.”
Numerous measures are “killed” in committee, before the full Congress has a chance to act. In fact, more than 10,000 bills and resolutions are introduced during each Congress, but only about five percent become law.
The House Rules Committee must determine guidelines for floor debate on a bill before the measure can come up for a vote in the House. For instance, the Rules Committee sets time limits for debate as well as limits on the number and kinds of amendments that may be offered to the measure; these limits often determine the fate of a bill. There is no such committee in the Senate, where a bill reported by a full committee usually goes directly to the Senate floor for a vote.