Title: 
Headings: Committee Types and Roles
Committee
 
Types
 
and
 
Roles
 

Valerie
 
Heitshusen
 

May
 
2,
 
2017
 

Congressional
 
Research
 
Service
 

Structure
 
of
 
the
 
Committee
 
System
 

Types
 
of
 
Committees
 

Subcommittees
 

Author
 
Contact
 
Information
 

Acknowledgments
 


Content: Some
 
full
 
committees
 
repeat
 
all
 
actions
 
taken
 
by
 
their
 
subcommittees,
 
while
 
others
 
review
 
only
 
major
 
subcommittee
 
work
 
or
 
even
 
forward
 
subcommittee-reported
 
measures
 
to
 
the
 
floor
 
with
 
little
 
change. 4
 
Unlike
 
the
 
permanent
 
existing
 
joint
 
committees,
 
a
 
joint
 
committee
 
established
 
for
 
a
 
portion
 
for
 
the
 
112th
 
Congress
 
(the
 
Joint
 
Select
 
Committee
 
on
 
Deficit
 
Reduction)
 
was
 
empowered
 
to
 
consider
 
legislative
 
proposals. 5
th
 
See
 
House
 
Rule
 
X,
 
clause
 
5
(d)(2)
 
,
 
115
 
Congress,
 
for
 
higher
 
allowances
 
for
 
subcommittees
 
at
 
the
 
House
 
committees
 
on
 
Appropriations
 
(13),
 
Armed
 
Services
 
(7),
 
Foreign
 
Affairs
 
(7),
 
Oversight
 
and
 
Government
 
Reform
 
(7),
 
and
 
Transportation
 
and
 
Infrastructure
 
(6). For
 
the
 
115th
 
Congress,
 
also
 
see
 
Section
 
3(p)
 
(“Separate
 
Orders”)
 
of
 
H.Res. 5,
 
115th
 
Congress,
 
allowing
 
the
 
Agriculture
 
Committee
 
six
 
subcommittees
 
in
 
the
 
115th
 
Congress. For
 
provisions
 
in
 
other
 
recent
 
congresses,
 
see
 
Section
 
3
 
(j)
 
(“Separate
 
Orders”)
 
of
 
H.Res. 5
 
(114th
 
Congress),
 
and
 
Section
 
3
 
(f)
 
(“Separate
 
Orders”)
 
of
 
H.Res. 5
 
(113th
 
Congress). Author
 
Contact
 
Information
 
Valerie
 
Heitshusen
 
Specialist
 
on
 
Congress
 
and
 
the
 
Legislative
 
Process
 
vheitshusen@crs.loc.gov,
 
7-8635
 
Acknowledgments
 
This
 
report
 
was
 
originally
 
written
 
by
 
Thomas
 
P.
 
Carr,
 
formerly
 
an
 
analyst
 
in
 
American
 
National
 
Government
 
at
 
CRS. The
 
listed
 
author
 
has
 
updated
 
this
 
report
 
and
 
is
 
available
 
to
 
respond
 
to
 
inquiries
 
on
 
the
 
subject.