Every year, several thousand actions are referred to committees. Only a small percentage is selected for consideration, and those not addressed often receive no further action. Committees determine the fate of most proposed laws. According to some experts the committee system is the natural form of division of labor in such a large and complex body as the Congress (Overview: The Committee System in the U.S. Congress, 2009).
Presently there are about 19 standing committees in the House, and 16 in the Senate. Standing committees work with specific bills, and most operate with subcommittees that handle a committee's work in certain areas. Select and joint committees are used for in between categories and housekeeping tasks. There are several joint committees which are made up of members of both houses of Congress. Each committee deals with specific issues. There are committees in the House that deal with education, science, national security, and commerce to name just a few. There are the committees in the Senate that deal with the environment, finance, banking, and agriculture, among others. Sometimes the topics even overlap between the chambers of the Congress (Overview: The Committee System in the U.S. Congress, 2009).
Each committee has a Chairman who is usually the ranking majority member. This means that they are the member of the majority party in that chamber who has been on the committee for the longest period of time. The Chairman duties include overseeing a professional staff assigned to the everyday business of the committee. One third of the staff is chosen by the minority party members...
To become a senator, a person has to be at least 30 years of age and should have been a citizen of the U.S. For a minimum period of nine years at the time of election. Also, he or she has to be a resident of the state from which he or she is elected so that the state can be well-represented. In the case of representative, he or she
The contact between the two groups is not always straight forward, and is often fought officially, through judicial practices, and unofficially, through dubious backstage arrangements and activities. However, there is also a legal manner through which interest groups have been given the right to influence political decisions and the laws voted upon. Lobbying is one such activity. Although lobbyists are the subject of heated debate, as many citizens consider them to
It was during the same period that hostilities with the communist leadership culminated into the bombing of Libya, loggerheads with the Soviet Union and a stiff arms race with the U.S.S.R. It is also significant to note that it was during the same time that he successfully engaged Mikhail Gorbachev who was then the Soviet General secretary and culminated into the signing of Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty that signaled
Function of the American Government The American government has had a long-standing checks-and-balances efficiency within its three-branch system. Because of the separate governable powers within the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of the United States, American law has been approved after many constant revisions and discussions. It is extremely commendable that the legislative branch takes into account the representation of both "state" and "people." This is not to say, of
If a plea bargain is reached before the trial, often the trial will not continue. The suspect will be sentenced and then continue to incarceration. Plea-bargaining is a legal tool, which keep the courts from becoming too clogged (Champion 208). This ends the Pre-Trial phase of the criminal court system. Next in the process is the trial itself. Most people who enjoy courtroom dramas will recognize this phase of the
The proposal must first be promoted to a sympathetic Representative in the House who has sufficient power and support in Congress. This representative will introduce the bill while the House is in Session. The bill will then be assigned a number at referred to a standing committee, which studies the merits and deficiencies of the bill. Witnesses and experts will then be allowed to present their case for or against
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now