Period 6

Nick Russell 2-22-2012 Pages 329-338

1. What is a standing committee and what problem did they solve? a. The house and the senate used to set up a committee for every single bill and ended up with over 300 committees. This was an obvious organizational problem so congress sought to solve the problem by setting up permanent panels called standing committees. Similar bills could then be sent through these standing committees. 2. How many members of the house are typically assigned to a committee and how many standing committees do they have? a. The house has nineteen standing committees. Within each committee there are typically anywhere from nine to seventy-five members. Representatives typically serve in one or two committees, but rarely anymore than that number. 3. How many members of the senate are typically assigned to a committee and how many standing committees do they have? a. The senate has seventeen standing committees. Within each committee there are typically anywhere from twelve to twenty-eight members. Representatives typically serve in three or four committees, but rarely anymore than that number. 4. What are some of the leading committees with in the house? a. Most members try to win assignments to the Rules, Ways and Means, Appropriations, Armed Services, Judiciary, International Relations, and Agriculture committees simply because these committees are more prominent and have a greater influence than any other committees with in the house. 5. What are some of the leading committees with in the senate? a. Most senators try to win assignments to the Foreign Relations, Appropriations, Finance, Judiciary, Armed Services, and Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs committees simply because these committees are more prominent and have a greater influence than any other committees with in the house. 6. Who is the traffic cop in the house and why is this committee called as such? a. The traffic cop is the House Committee on Rules. This is because this committees primary role is to screen the measures introduced into the house. Most bills die in committees that they are referred to but several hundred are reported out every year so before the bills reach the floor the Rules Committee clears the bills to be presented. 7. What are select committees? a. These are groups that are set up for very specific purposes and often for a limited amount of time. The speaker of the house or the president of the senate appoints these committees and chooses who is to be in them. However the majority and minority leaders also input their advice on the matter. 8. What is a joint committee and how do they work?

a. A joint committee is one composed of members of the senate and of the house. Some are select committees that are only set up for a temporary length of time. Most are permanent committees however. Many people believe that more of the committees should become joint committees because many of the committees that have a counter part in the other house do much of the same work and the other one. 9. What is a conference committee? a. A conference committee is needed when each house passes differing versions of the same bill. Before it can be sent to the president to be signed and placed into action it most go through a conference committee. It is a temporary joint body thats created to iron out the differences in the bill so that both houses will accept it. 10. What is a bill and where do they originally come from? a. A bill is a proposed law presented in the House or Senate for consideration. Most bills are introduced in either house and are not written or composed by the members themselves. Instead the bills come from the executive branch. The departments and special interest groups within the executive branch draft most of the bills and some come from private citizens. 11. What is a joint resolution? a. A proposal for some action that has the force of law when passed: usually deals with special circumstances or temporary matters. When they are passed they have the full affect of law. Theyve been used to propose constitutional amendments and annex territories. 12. What is a concurrent resolution? a. A statement of position on an issue adopted by the House and Senate acting jointly; does not have the force of law; does not require the signature of the president. They are usually used to state a position that congress has on some matter. 13. What is a resolution? a. It is a measure dealing with some matter in one house; does not have the force of law; does not require the presidents signature. These deal with matters that concern only one house or the other. Theyre used for things like the adoption of a new rule of procedure or an amendment to a previous rule of procedure. 14. What is a rider and how have they become a problem? a. It is an attachment to a bill that typically has nothing to do with the original bill and deals with an unrelated matter. A rider is usually a provision that would not pass on its own and is attached to an important measure that is guaranteed to pass. This creates a problem because even if a majority of the house or senate disapproves of a rider nothing can really be done when they need the major provisions to become law. 15. What is a discharge petition? a. It enables members to force a bill that has remained in committee thirty days or seven in the rules committee onto the floor for consideration. Any member is able to file such a petition. The petition however needs a majority of the houses signatures.