Asses the importance of Committees in the Work of Congress [25]

Within both Houses of Congress there are multiple committees, each having different functions and roles. Between them, they have the power to debate individual bills, scrutinise legislation, pigeon-hole legislation and timetable the bills. Standing Committees are the permanent, policy specific committees that exist in both houses. They have substantial power when it comes to deciding the fate of a bill. This includes which bills go through to the floor, one such example is the Committee on Appropriations, they have power over departments such as Defence, Energy and Health. The standing committees are extremely important and have so much power, unlike the committees in the UK that the American system if often referred to as committee centred. Standing committees also have the power to conduct investigations; this allows them to hold the executive and other people who hold key positions to account. Although a role solely for the senate political confirmation once again allows the president to be held to account (in the choices he makes) The House Rules Committee is a standing committee in the House of Representatives. It performs a different function to other standing committees; this is the function of ordering and prioritising the bills coming from the committee stage onto the house floor for their second reading. Although a minor role in the entirety of congress, it in itself is still extremely important, once again deciding the fate of bills within congress. This recurrence of power being centralised within elected committees is extremely common, much unlike the British system. The House of Representatives deals with the legislative traffic jam through the House Rules Committee. They have the role of prioritising all legislation. Although the house has the power to disagree with the timetabling as seen in 2002 with the Finance Reform Bill, many of the smaller and less significant bills are left at the bottom of the timetable, and in turn leaving bills un-discussed. This once again shows the significance and power of committees within congress. Select Committees, sometimes known as special or investigative committees are all ad-hoc. These committees are formed when a specific issue needs debating/considering when no committee is currently set up (or specialising) in this particular field/issue. Often used for high profile cases, examples include 9/11 and the Iraq enquiries, it is an extremely special and one-of-a-kind type of committee. This uniqueness makes it very important within congress; they fulfil a function that no other collection of people in American politics can. Conference committees are required due to the equal powers within each house; their role is to form a single bill from the two different versions passed by both the houses. Once again, not a significant power, but instead a unique one, with an elected advisory body deciding the final version of the bill. It is clear that committees are not only unique in their functions, but they are also extremely important in the work of congress. No other group holds more power in the fate of bills, and in turn the fate of American politics.

Ross L. Clements