From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Permanent legislative panel of the United States Congress
In the
United States Congress
,
standing committees
are permanent legislative panels established by the
United States House of Representatives
and
United States Senate
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.
[1]
They also have oversight responsibility to monitor agencies, programs, and activities within their jurisdictions, and in some cases in areas that cut across committee jurisdictions. Due to their permanent nature, these committees exist beyond the adjournment of each two-year meeting of Congress.
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. Committees also provide
oversight
of
federal agencies
and programs.
The
Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946
greatly reduced the number of committees. The membership of each committee is adopted at the beginning of each Congress, usually by adoption of a formal resolution. Each committee is assigned its own staff to assist with its legislative, investigative, and research functions. Several committees divide their work into sub units called
subcommittees
.
Committee sizes range from 6 to 50 members per committee. In the House, one person may not serve on more than two standing committees and four
subcommittees
at one time, though waivers can be granted to serve on additional committees. Also in the House, the House Republican Steering Committee assigns Republican representatives to their committee(s),
[2]
[3]
while the
Steering and Policy Committee
is in charge of assigning Democratic representatives to committees.
[4]
The Senate follows similar procedures, with senators being limited to no more than three full committees and five sub-committees.
Current number of standing committees
[
edit
]
As of June 20, 2020, the Senate had
[update]
16 standing committees and the House had 20 standing committees.
[5]
(The count is for
standing
committees only and does not include
select or special committees
or
joint committees
. See those articles for that information.)
See also
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]
References
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