Committees and Supporting Agencies
Congressional Committees exist in order to ease the workload of reviewing thousands of bills by dividing the bills into various fields. Each member of Congress specializes in a particular field and partakes in that respective committee to be an effective lawmaker and reviewer.
Congress is made up of four kinds of committees:
1). Standing committees are permanent groups that simpy oversee bills that deal with a multiplicity, a plethora, a boatload of issues.
2). Subcommittees are specialized categories of the responsibilities of standing committees.
3.) Select committees are temporary committees called to study a specific issue, and they rarely last longer than one term of Congress.
4.) Joint committees (not shown above) are made up of members from both the House and the Senate and are meant to coordinate the work of our bicameral legislature.
Legislative support agencies also play a role in helping Congress carry out its powers. Some agencies include the Library of Congress, the Congressional Budget Office, the General Accounting Office, and the Government Printing Office. Many services that the Legislative branch enjoys are also available to private citizens.
