How Do You Understand The Congressional Committee System?
Much of the day-to-day business of Congressional members involves committee work. In the standing committees, or permanent committees in Congress, representatives and Senators do the hard work of determining whether a bill should go forward into law, how it should be changed or what effect it will have once enacted into law. A member of Congress must first sponsor a bill before a committee can consider it. Read on to learn more. Any member of the House or the Senate can introduce a bill for consideration. The House members place the bill in a box called the “hopper” while the House is in session if they want it considered. Senate members either give it to a Senate clerk or they announce it from the floor if they want to bring special attention to the bill. Standing committees exist in both the House and the Senate. Each bill will be referred to at least one committee for consideration. Multiple committees may consider various parts of the same bill if the bill contains proposed legisla
