Congress Standing Committees

In the United States, our Congress has two chambers which is referred to as a bicameral legislature. The two chambers consist of the House and Senate. The House of Representatives has 435 members and the Senate has 100 members. Permanent committees responsible for particular areas of public policy are known as standing committees. Most of the work that goes on in Congress is done through these committees which have their own subcommittees. There are also committees that deal with agriculture, commerce, government spending, defense, etc. There are also select committees with designated responsibility that do not produce legislation as well as joint committees consisting of both House and Senate members. Temporary committees known as conference committees are put together to work out different versions of bills with the …show more content…
The head leader of the House is known as the Speaker of the House and besides the president has been said to be the most powerful national official. Besides the president, the Speaker of the House has been said to be the most powerful national official. He is in charge of deciding points of order during debates, refers bills and resolutions to the proper committees, schedules legislation for floor action and appoints House members to committees. Next, there is the House Majority and Minority Leaders whose roles include scheduling legislation for floor consideration, plans legislative agendas, consults with members, works to advance goals of majority party and direct strategy on the House floor. They also maintain alliances to gain votes and to pass or defeat bills, help develop the party's legislative agenda with the Speaker, and ensure that committee chairs take action on bills. The House minority leader's main job is to make sure their party doesn’t get overrun by the majority. The whip’s help keep track of who will vote for or against an