Committee Types and Roles

Committee Types and Roles

Order Code 98-241 GOV
Updated February 14, 2002
CRS Report for Congress
Received through the CRS Web
Committee Types and Roles
Thomas P. Carr
Analyst in American National Government
Government Division
Structure of the Committee System
Congress divides its legislative, oversight, and internal administrative tasks among
approximately 200 committees and subcommittees. Within assigned areas, these
functional subunits gather information; compare and evaluate legislative alternatives;
identify policy problems and propose solutions; select, determine, and report measures for
full chamber consideration; monitor executive branch performance (oversight); and
investigate allegations of wrongdoing.
The 1946 Legislative Reorganization Act (60 Stat. 812) sets the framework for the
modern committee system. The Act organized the Senate and House committees along
roughly parallel lines, although over time divergences have emerged. Within the guidelines
of chamber rules, each committee adopts its own rules addressing organizational,
structural, and procedural issues. As a consequence, there is considerable variation among
panels.
At the beginning of the second session of the107th Congress, there were 19 standing
committees in the House with 88 subcommittees, and one select committee with four
subcommittees. The Senate has 16 standing committees with 68 subcommittees, as well
as four select committees with no subcommittees. In addition, there are four joint
committees. The total number of approximately 200 committees and subcommittees
reflects a decline of nearly 100 panels since the 102nd Congress level. This reduction can
be attributed to reforms that abolished panels, restricted the creation of subcommittees,
reduced committee budgets, and limited Members’ assignments.
Types of Committees
There are three main types of committees—standing, select, and joint. (Party
committees, task forces, and congressional Member organizations—informal groups—
are not addressed here.)
Standing committees are permanent panels identified in chamber rules (House Rule
X, Senate Rule XXV). Because they have legislative jurisdiction, standing committees
consider bills and issues and recommend measures for consideration by their respective
chambers. They also have oversight responsibility to monitor agencies, programs, and
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activities within their jurisdictions, and in some cases in areas that cut across committee
jurisdictions.
Most standing committees recommend funding levels—authorizations—for
government operations and for new and existing programs. A few have other functions.
For example, the Appropriations Committees recommend legislation to provide budget
authority for federal agencies and programs. The Budget Committees establish aggregate
levels for total spending and revenue that serve as guidelines for the work of the
authorizing and appropriating panels.
Select committees are established generally by a separate resolution of the chamber,
sometimes to conduct investigations and studies, and, on other occasions, also to consider
measures. Often a select committee is established because the existing standing committee
system does not provide for an issue to be addressed comprehensively by a single
committee, or because a particular event sparks interest in an investigation. A select
committee may be permanent or temporary. Instead of select, the Senate sometimes uses
the term special committee (as in the Special Committee on Aging), or does not designate
a committee’s type in its title (as in the Committee on Indian Affairs).
Joint committees are made up of Members of both the House and Senate. Today’s
joint committees are permanent panels that conduct studies or perform housekeeping tasks
rather than consider measures. For instance, the Joint Committee on Printing oversees the
functions of the Government Printing Office and general printing procedures of the federal
government. The chairmanship of joint committees usually alternates between the House
and Senate. A conference committee is a temporary joint committee formed to resolve
differences between competing House and Senate versions of a measure. Conference
committees draft compromises between the positions of the two chambers, which are then
submitted to the full House and Senate for approval.
Subcommittees
Most committees form subcommittees to share specific tasks within the jurisdiction
of the full committee. Subcommittees are responsible to, and work within the guidelines
established by, their parent committees. In particular, standing committees usually create
subcommittees with legislative jurisdiction to consider and report bills. They may assign
their subcommittees such specific tasks as the initial consideration of measures and
oversight of laws and programs in the subcommittees’ areas.
Subcommittees may play an important role in the legislative process. Because few
chamber and party rules apply to subcommittees, the number, prerogatives, and autonomy
of subcommittees vary among committees. Senate rules do not directly limit the number
of subcommittees each committee may create, while House rules impose a maximum of
five subcommittees for most committees (Rule X, clause 5(d)). The number of
subcommittees per committee currently ranges from none to 13.
Some committees create independent subcommittees with sizeable staff and budgets;
routinely refer measures to subcommittees for initial consideration; and allow
subcommittees to take the lead in framing issues, drafting measures and reports, and
holding hearings and markups. On other committees, most work is undertaken by the full
committee. Some full committees repeat all actions taken by their subcommittees, while

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others review only major subcommittee work or even forward subcommittee-reported
measures to the floor with little change.