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Congressional Procedure
A Practical Guide to the Legislative Process in the U.S. Congress: The House of Representatives and Senate Explained
By Richard A. Arenberg
Additional Resources
Pocket Constitution
Previous: Chapter 2. Introduction of Legislation
Chapter 3. Committees
A. Introduction
B. Committees and Subcommittees
C. Committee Chairs
D. Hearings in Committees
E. Markups
F. Amendment Procedure
G. Reporting Legislation to the Floor
H. Committee Reports
Chapter 3. Committees
3. A. Introduction
- Also see Chapter 1 .H.
- Congressional Leadership and Committees
- “Fast-Track Procedures” (CongressionalGlossary.com)
- House Committees
- Senate Committees
- Vital Statistics on Congress, Brookings Institution
- “Vital Statistics on Congress: Data on the U.S. Congress,” Brookings Institution, September 7, 2017 (17-page PDF
) - Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 (Pub.L. 93–344, 88 Stat. 297, 2 U.S.C. §§ 601–688)
- – CHAPTER 17 – CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE (§§ 601 to 613)
- – CHAPTER 17A – CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET AND FISCAL OPERATIONS (§§ 621 to 665)
- – CHAPTER 17B – IMPOUNDMENT CONTROL (§ 681)
- Appropriations Subcommittee Structure: History of Changes from 1920 to 2017, CRS Report RL31572 (19-page PDF)
- House Standing Committee Chairs and Ranking Minority Members: Rules Governing Selection Procedures, CRS Report RS21165 (10-page PDF)
- House Committees: Categories and Rules for Committee Assignments, CRS Reports 98-151 (8-page PDF)
- House Committee Chairs: Considerations, Decisions, and Actions as One Congress Ends and a New Congress Begins, CRS Report RL34679 (34-page PDF)
- Senate Committees: Categories and Rules for Committee Assignments, CRS Report 98-183 (5-page PDF)
- Committee Assignment Process in the U.S. Senate: Democratic and Republican Party Procedures, CRS Report RL30743 (19-page PDF)
Congressional Committees: Crash Course Government and Politics #7
- Committee Types and Roles, CRS Report 98-241 (5-page PDF)
- House Committee Party Ratios: 98th-114th Congresses, CRS Report R40478 (28-page PDF)
- The Congressional Budget Process Timetable, CRS Report 98-472 (8-page PDF)
- Expedited or “Fast-Track” Legislative Procedures, CRS Report RS20234 (7-page PDF)
- “Fast Track” Legislative Procedures Governing Congressional Consideration of a Defense Base Closure and Realignment (BRAC) Commission Report, CRS Report R43102 (12-page PDF)
- “Fast-Track” or Expedited Procedures: Their Purposes, Elements, and Implications, CRS Report 98-888 (20-page PDF)
3. B. Committees and Subcommittees
- Congressional Leadership and Committees
- Appropriation Act / Appropriation Bill / Continuing Resolution / Continuing Appropriations (CongressionalGlossary.com)
- Joint Committee (CongressionalGlossary.com)
- House Committees
- Senate Committees
- Subcommittees | United States Senate Committee on Appropriations
- Subcommittees | Committee on Appropriations, House
- Resume of Congressional Activity, Senate
- “Fast-Track Procedures“
- “Expedited Procedures in the House: Variations Enacted into Law, CRS Report RL30599 (20-page PDF)
- The Committee System in the U.S. Congress, CRS Report RS20794 (11-page PDF)
- Committee Assignment Process in the U.S. Senate: Democratic and Republican Party Procedures, CRS Report RL30743 (19-page PDF )
- Appropriations Subcommittee Structure: History of Changes from 1920 to 2017, CRS Report RL31572 (18-page PDF )
Committee Consideration
- Committee Types and Roles, CRS Report 98-241 (5-page PDF)
- House Committees: Categories and Rules for Committee Assignments, CRS Report 98-151 (8-page PDF)
- House Standing Committees’ Rules on Legislative Activities: Analysis of Rules in Effect in the 114th Congress, CRS Report R41605 (75-page PDF)
- Senate Committees: Categories and Rules for Committee Assignments, CRS Report 98-183 (5-page PDF)
- “Rules Governing Senate Committee and Subcommittee Assignment Procedures,” CRS Report R46806 (23-page PDF)
- Senate Rules Affecting Committees, CRS Report 98-311 (13-page PDF)
- “Committee Jurisdiction and Referral in the Senate,” CRS Report R46815 (13-page PDF)
- A Survey of House and Senate Committee Rules on Subpoenas, CRS Report R44247 (31-page PDF)
The House Rules Committee
- Resolving Legislative Differences in Congress: Conference Committees and Amendments Between the Houses, CRS Report 98-696 (40-page PDF)
- Senate Committee Hearings: The “Minority Witness Rule”, CRS Report RS22649 (7-page PDF)
- Legislative Branch: FY2017 Appropriations, CRS Report R44515 (45-page PDF)
- Legislative Branch: FY2018 Appropriations, CRS Report R44899 (36-page PDF)
- “Legislative Branch: FY2022 Appropriations,” CRS Report R46936 (44-page PDF)
- “Legislative Branch: FY2023 Appropriations,” CRS Report R47296 (43-page PDF)
- Vital Stats: Congress has a staffing problem, too, Brookings
- House Committee Funding: Description of Process and Analysis of Disbursements, CRS Report R42778 (15-page PDF)
- “House Committee Funding: Process and Historical Appropriations and Authorizations,” CRS Report RL32794 (34-page PDF
)
3. C. Committee Chairs
- Congressional Leadership and Committees
- Ranking Minority Member / Ranking Member (CongressionalGlossary.com)
- Seniority / Junior Senator / Senior Senator (CongressionalGlossary.com)
- House Committees
- Senate Committees
- Rules Of The Senate
- House Standing Committee Chairs and Ranking Minority Members: Rules Governing Selection Procedures, CRS Report RS21165 (10-page PDF)
- House Committee Chairs: Considerations, Decisions, and Actions as One Congress Ends and a New Congress Begins, CRS Report RL34679 (34-page PDF)
- Senate Committees: Categories and Rules for Committee Assignments, CRS Report 98-183 (5-page PDF)
Congressional Leadership: Crash Course Government and Politics
- A Brief History of Congressional Reform Efforts, by Donald R. Wolfensberger, February 22, 2013, PDF (17-page PDF)
- Types of Committee Hearings, CRS Report 98-317 (6-page PDF)
- House of Representatives Staff Levels in Member, Committee, Leadership, and Other Offices, 1977-2021, CRS Report R43947 (27-page PDF)
- Senate Staff Levels in Member, Committee, Leadership, and Other Offices, 1977-2016, CRS Report R43946 (21-page PDF)
3. D. Hearings in Committees
- “Testifying Before Congress,” by William LaForge
- Five-Minute Rule (CongressionalGlossary.com)
- Hearing / Hearings (CongressionalGlossary.com)
- Ranking Minority Member / Ranking Member (CongressionalGlossary.com)
- Strike / and Insert / from the Record / the Last Word / Expunge (CongressionalGlossary.com)
- Rules Of The Senate
- Rules of the House, Congressional Record, Congress.gov
- Types of Committee Hearings, CRS Report 98-317 (6-page PDF)
- Senate Committee Hearings: Preparation, CRS Report 98-489 (6-page PDF)
- Senate Committee Hearings: Arranging Witnesses, CRS Report 98-336 (6-page PDF)
House Judiciary Committee — Oversight Hearing w/ Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein
- “House Full Committee Hearings: 107th-116th Congresses,” CRS Report R46376 (27-page PDF)
- House Committee Hearings: Preparation, CRS Report 98-488 (7-page PDF)
- House Rules Committee Hearings on Special Rules, CRS Report 98-313 (7-page PDF)
- Senate Rules Affecting Committees, CRS Report 98-311 (13-page PDF)
3. E. Markups
- Marking Up A Bill / Markup (CongressionalGlossary.com)
- Bills / Measure / Passed (CongressionalGlossary.com)
- Chairman’s Mark / Staff Draft / Committee Print (CongressionalGlossary.com)
- Hearing / Hearings (CongressionalGlossary.com)
- Proxy Voting / Polling (CongressionalGlossary.com)
- Quorum (CongressionalGlossary.com)
- Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, P.L. 11-148, GPO
- The Committee Markup Process in the House of Representatives, CRS Report RL30244 (29-page PDF)
- House Committee Markups: Manual of Procedures and Procedural Strategies, CRS Report R41083 (223-page PDF)
- House Committee Markup: Amendment Procedure, CRS Report 98-335 (7-page PDF)
Markup of Bill to Improve Seniors’ Access to Medicare
- House Committee Markup: Reporting, CRS Report 98-267 (7-page PDF)
- “The Prior Practice of Proxy Voting in House Committee,” CRS Insight IN11372 (6-page PDF)
- Markup in Senate Committee: Choosing a Text, CRS Report 98-244
- Markup in Senate Committee: Considering Amendments, CRS Report 98-245 (4-page PDF)
Markup of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act
- Preparation for Senate Committee Markup, CRS Report 98-243 (5-page PDF)
- Proxy Voting and Polling in Senate Committee, CRS Report RS22952 (8-page PDF)
- Senate Rules Affecting Committees, CRS Report 98-311 (13-page PDF)
- Quorum Requirements in the Senate: Committee and Chamber, CRS Report 98-775 (4-page PDF)
3. F. Amendment Procedure
- Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute / Committee Substitute (CongressionalGlossary.com)
- Amendment Tree / Filling the Tree (CongressionalGlossary.com)
- Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute / Committee Substitute (CongressionalGlossary.com)
- Committee Amendment / Floor Amendment (CongressionalGlossary.com)
- Five-Minute Rule (CongressionalGlossary.com)
- Germane / Germaneness / Pastore Rule (CongressionalGlossary.com)
- Hearing / Hearings (CongressionalGlossary.com)
- Point of Order (CongressionalGlossary.com)
- Precedents of the House of Representatives / Cannon’s / Deschler’s / Hinds’ / House Practice (CongressionalGlossary.com)
- Previous Question (CongressionalGlossary.com)
- Simple Resolution (CongressionalGlossary.com)
- Strike / and Insert / from the Record / the Last Word / Expunge (CongressionalGlossary.com)
- Substitute / Substitute Amendment / Queen-of-the-Hill Rule (CongressionalGlossary.com)
- Opening Statements, House Ways and Means Committee
- Resolving Legislative Differences in Congress: Conference Committees and Amendments Between the Houses, CRS Report 98-696 (40-page PDF)
- The Amending Process in the Senate, CRS Report 98-853 (40-page PDF)
- Amendments in the Senate: Types and Forms, CRS Report 98-614 (7-page PDF)
- The Amending Process in the House of Representatives, CRS Report 98-995 (49-page PDF)
Full Committee Markup: FY 2018 Defense & Legislative Branch Appropriations Bill
- The Legislative Process on the Senate Floor: An Introduction, CRS Report 96-548 (20-page PDF)
- The Legislative Process on the House Floor: An Introduction, CRS Report 95-563 (18-page PDF)
- Amendments Between the Houses: Procedural Options and Effects, CRS Report R41003 (40-page PDF)
- Speaking on the House Floor: Gaining Time and Parliamentary Phraseology, CRS Report RS22991 (11-page PDF)
- Special Rules and Options for Regulating the Amending Process, CRS Report 98-612 (6-page PDF)
- The Committee Markup Process in the House of Representatives, CRS Report RL30244 (29-page PDF)
3. G. Reporting Legislation to the Floor
- Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute / Committee Substitute (CongressionalGlossary.com)
- Clean Bill (CongressionalGlossary.com)
- Committee Report (CongressionalGlossary.com)
- Discharge Calendar / a Committee / Petiton / Resolution (CongressionalGlossary.com)
- Calendar of Motions to Discharge Committees (CongressionalGlossary.com)
- Hearing / Hearings (CongressionalGlossary.com)
- Original Bill (CongressionalGlossary.com)
- Quorum (CongressionalGlossary.com)
- Refer / Referral (CongressionalGlossary.com)
- Report / Reported / H. Rept. / S. Rept. (CongressionalGlossary.com)
- How Measures Are Brought to the Senate Floor: A Brief Introduction, CRS Report RS20668 (10-page PDF)
- How Measures Are Brought to the House Floor: A Brief Introduction, CRS Report RS20067 (10-page PDF)
- The Legislative Process on the House Floor: An Introduction, CRS Report 95-563 (18-page PDF)
Discharge petition announced on Denham queen-of-the-hill rule
- How Legislation Is Brought to the House Floor: A Snapshot of Parliamentary Practice in the 112th Congress (2011-2012), CRS Report R43039 (14-page PDF)
- The Legislative Process on the Senate Floor: An Introduction, CRS Report 96-548 (20-page PDF)
- Reporting a Measure from a Senate Committee, CRS Report 98-246 (5-page PDF)
- House Committee Markup: Reporting, CRS Report 98-267 (7-page PDF)
Congress.gov: Calendars and Scheduling
- Floor Consideration of Conference Reports in the House, CRS Report 98-736 (3-page PDF)
- Considering Legislation on the House Floor: Common Practices in Brief, CRS Report R43424 (12-page PDF)
- Senate Rules Affecting Committees, CRS Report 98-311 (13-page PDF)
- Proxy Voting and Polling in Senate Committee, CRS Report RS22952 (8-page PDF)
- The Committee Markup Process in the House of Representatives, CRS Report RL30244 (29-page PDF)
- Senate Rule XIV Procedure for Placing Measures Directly on the Senate Calendar, CRS Report RS22309 (8-page PDF)
- Bypassing Senate Committees: Rule XIV and Unanimous Consent, CRS Report RS22299 (17-page PDF)
- The Discharge Rule in the House: Principal Features and Uses, CRS Report 97-552 (8-page PDF)
- Discharge Procedure in the House, CRS Report 98-394 (5-page PDF)
- The Discharge Rule in the House: Recent Use in Historical Context, CRS Report 97-856 (50-page PDF)
- Calling Up Business on the Senate Floor, CRS Report 98-836 (8-page PDF)
3. H. Committee Reports
- Committee Reports on Congress.gov
- Calendars and Schedules on Congress.gov
- Congressional Committee Reports, Library of Congress
- Discharge Calendar / a Committee / Petiton / Resolution (CongressionalGlossary.com)
- Calendar of Motions to Discharge Committees (CongressionalGlossary.com)
- Committee Report (CongressionalGlossary.com)
- Publications of Congressional Committees: A Summary, CRS Report 98-673 (8-page PDF)
- House Committee Reports: Required Contents, CRS Report 98-169 (5-page PDF)
- “House Committee Reports: Required Contents,” CRS Report R47039 (10-page PDF)
- House Rules Affecting Committees, CRS Report 97-357 (35-page PDF)
- How to find committee reports and conference reports, Senate
- Special Rules and Waivers of House Rules, CRS Report 98-433 (5-page PDF)
- Senate Rules Affecting Committees, CRS Report 98-311 (13-page PDF)
- Calendars of the House of Representatives, CRS Report 98-437 (5-page PDF)
- The House’s Corrections Calendar, CRS Report 97-301 (7-page PDF)
- The Senate’s Calendar of Business, CRS Report 98-429 (6-page PDF)
Next: Chapter 4. House Floor
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