"Congressional Committees - GOVT 101" S 2 EP 4

TOPLESS GOVERNMENT

My Citizen legislators, one of my followers on TikTok AionTeleos, would love to hear an episode on congressional committees, and what benefit Members of Congress get from those assignments. I agree! This is a great idea and timely!

We are now two weeks into the 118th Congress. The House and Senate were in recess this week.

Well as I can tell you from my time on Capitol Hill as a staffer, committee assignments are extremely important to Members of Congress. When my former boss, Congressman David Vitter (R-LA-1) ran for the open US Senate seat in Louisiana back in 2004 and won, we had to begin thinking about what committees he was to join in the Senate. Now a great deal of thought goes into securing plum committee assignments. Committee assignments can shape a Member’s tenure in Congress, and it can take some effort to secure a spot on a committee that deals with issues relevant to a Member of Congress District or State. Representatives seek posts on committees with jurisdiction in areas in which they have expertise or that support the interests of their districts and for Senators their states.

There are three types of committees in each chamber. Standing committees in the Senate and House are permanent and have a defined legislative jurisdiction under Senate Rule XXV or House Rule X, respectively.

• Types of Committees in the House
• There are three types of committees: standing, select, and joint.
• Standing committees are permanent committees whose jurisdiction is identified in the House Rules. Currently there are 20 standing committees
• Select committees are created by a resolution to conduct investigations or consider measures, usually on a specific topic, and are not renewed on a permanent basis with the notable exception of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.
• Joint committees, such as the Joint Committee on Taxation, have both House and Senate members and typically conduct studies rather than consider measures.
• Standing Committees are permanent committees established under the standing rules of the Senate and specialize in the consideration of particular subject areas. The Senate currently has 16 standing committees.
• Joint Committees include membership from both houses of Congress. Joint committees are usually established with narrow jurisdictions and normally lack authority to report legislation. The position of chair usually alternates each Congress between members from the House and Senate.
• Special or Select Committees were originally established by the Senate for a limited time period to perform a particular study or investigation. These committees might be given or denied authority to report legislation to the Senate.

Select and joint committees generally handle oversight or housekeeping responsibilities.

In both the House and Senate, no member may chair more than one standing committee. Republicans members in both chambers have imposed term limits on their committee and subcommittee leaders. Under the restrictions, committee or subcommittee leaders may not serve more than six years as leader.

Committee assignments were delayed due to the five days and 15 manual roll call votes on the election of a speaker. Committee assignments have been slowly trickling out to the public. The steering committee for each party makes assignments which in turn must be voted on by the Democratic Caucus or Republican Conference. Members are typically limited to service on two committees and four subcommittees, with exceptions for particular committees.

The Republican Steering Committee finalized committee assignments for the 118th Congress. I know y’all are curious as to how the 21 holdouts to Speaker McCarthy fared with their committee assignments, right? Scott Wong, a senior congressional reporter for NBC News and Kyle Stewart an associate producer covering Congress for NBC News delve into those committee assignments of the 21 holdouts. Let’s roll down that list and boy is it a list! Some of these holdouts received some plum committee assignments, others are still awaiting when they’ll know their committee assignments.

The Senate was still in recess but there were internal conversations with leadership about committees. That will be made public next week.

• Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona, a former head of the Freedom Caucus and one of the five so-called Never Kevins, will keep his spots on the powerful Judiciary and Oversight committees. He changed his vote to "present" on the final ballot for speaker, helping push McCarthy over the finish line.
• Rep. Dan Bishop of North Carolina, one of 13 holdouts who flipped to back McCarthy on the 12th ballot, will continue to serve on both the Judiciary and Homeland Security committees.
• Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado, a vocal McCarthy critic who voted "present" on the 14th and 15th ballots, was awarded a seat on the Oversight and Accountability Committee, which plans to launch numerous investigations into the Biden administration. She will continue to serve on the Natural Resources panel, on which she served in the previous Congress.
• Freshman Rep. Josh Brecheen of Oklahoma, who flipped to McCarthy on the 12th ballot, won a seat on the Homeland Security Committee.
• Rep. Mike Cloud of Texas, who also flipped to McCarthy on the 12th ballot, won a new seat on the powerful Appropriations Committee, which controls federal spending.
• Rep. Andrew Clyde of Georgia, another lawmaker who flipped to McCarthy on the 12th ballot, will serve for the first time on Appropriations.
• Freshman Rep. Eli Crane of Arizona, who voted "present" on the 15th ballot, will serve on the Homeland Security Committee.
• Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida, who was nominated to run against McCarthy for speaker and flipped to him on the 12th ballot, was named by McCarthy as the "speaker's designee" on the influential Steering Committee, which decides which lawmakers get committee gavels and seats. Donalds also won a coveted spot on the Financial Services Committee, a top panel known on Capitol Hill as an "A" committee.
• Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, perhaps the most vocal McCarthy foe during the speaker fight, who flipped to "present" in the 14th round, will continue to serve on the Judiciary panel.
• Rep. Bob Good of Virginia, one of the Never Kevins who flipped to "present" in the last round of voting, has not gotten his committee assignments yet.
• Rep. Paul Gosar of Arizona, who flipped to McCarthy on the 12th ballot, was reinstated by Republicans on two committees —Oversight and Natural Resources panels — after Democrats removed him two years ago for posting threats to lawmakers on social media.
• Rep. Andy Harris of Maryland, who flipped to McCarthy on the 13th ballot, will continue to serve on the Appropriations panel. Harris, a physician, will be the chairman of the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration subcommittee.
• Freshman Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida, who flipped to McCarthy on the 12th ballot, won a seat on the Oversight and Natural Resources panels.
• Rep. Mary Miller of Illinois, who flipped to McCarthy on the 12th ballot, will remain on the Agriculture Committee.
• Rep. Ralph Norman of South Carolina, one of the Never Kevins who flipped to McCarthy on the 12th ballot, will remain on the Financial Services panel, which he joined in June.
• Freshman Rep. Andy Ogles of Tennessee, who flipped to McCarthy on the 12th ballot, also won a seat on Financial Services.
• Rep. Scott Perry of Pennsylvania, the chairman of the far-right House Freedom Caucus who brokered a deal between conservatives and McCarthy, will remain on the Foreign Affairs Committee. A subject of Jan. 6 investigations, Perry won a new seat on the Oversight committee.
• Rep. Matt Rosendale of Montana, a Never Kevin who flipped to "present" on the final ballot, will continue to serve on Natural Resources.
• Rep. Chip Roy of Texas, who along with Perry helped negotiate a deal with McCarthy, will keep his seat on the Judiciary panel.
• Freshman Rep. Keith Self, R-Texas, who flipped to McCarthy on the 12th ballot, will serve on the Foreign Affairs panel.
• Rep. Victoria Spartz of Indiana, who flipped from "present" to vote for McCarthy on the 12th ballot, will continue to serve on the Judiciary panel.

In addition to committee assignments, McCarthy had made other concessions to his right flank. He vowed that Freedom Caucus members would get three seats on the speaker-controlled Rules Committee, which decides exactly how bills are considered on the House floor.

Committee assignments are an important part of a Member of Congress, they will spend an enormous amount of time in committee hearings and markups. So, it's important to secure the committee assignment that is important to a district and state.

This was Topless Government, the government and politics show. If you enjoyed it, I would be pleased if you would subscribe, rate and review the show. We’re on YouTube and Facebook right now. Production is courtesy of Marcus Donovan, the Pasteurized Chief. You can check out his show – the District of Misfits Show – every Sunday evening. They go live at 10pm. This show is a District Dogface Studios Production.

Thank you for the opportunity to share my knowledge and love of politics. I look forward to geeking out with you again.

CRS IN FOCUS Report: Administration of the House of Representatives: Actions Taken During a New Congress and Following a Majority Change

About the US Senate Committee System | Committee Assignments

CRS Report: Committee Assignment Process in the U.S. Senate: Democratic and Republican Party Procedures

NBCNews.com: What the 21 McCarthy holdouts got in committee assignments

Congress.gov: Committees of the U.S. Congress

History.house.gov: Securing a Committee Assignment