House Committee Jurisdiction and Referral: Rules and Practice (CRS Report for Congress)
| Release Date |
Revised Oct. 21, 2014 |
| Report Number |
98-175 |
| Authors |
Judy Schneider, Government and Finance Division |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
| Older Revisions |
-
Premium Revised April 15, 2008 (2 pages, $24.95)
add
-
Premium Revised Dec. 8, 2006 (2 pages, $24.95)
add
-
Premium Revised Feb. 25, 2005 (2 pages, $24.95)
add
-
Premium Jan. 21, 1999 (2 pages, $24.95)
add
|
Summary:
Committee jurisdiction is determined by a variety of factors. Paramount is House Rule X,\r which designates the subject matter within the purview of each standing committee.\r House Rule X, however, is both largely broad and the product of an era in which\r governmental activity was not so extensive and relations among policies not so intertwined as\r now. Most of Rule X was drawn from 19th and 20th century precedents and codified in the\r Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946. Although the rule underwent modest revisions in 1974\r and 1980, as well as more extensive changes in the 104th and 108th Congresses, topic omissions\r and a lack of clarity, as well as overlaps among committees in areas of jurisdiction, still exist.\r Accordingly, the formal provisions of the rule are supplemented by an intricate series of\r precedents and informal agreements governing the referral of legislation.\r In general, based on precedent, once a measure has been referred to a given committee, it remains\r the responsibility of that committee. If the measure is enacted into law, amendments to the law\r are presumed to be within the originating committee\'s jurisdiction. Relatedly, bills that are more\r comprehensive than the measure they amend or supersede are presumed to be within the\r jurisdiction of the committee reporting the more comprehensive measure. The resultant accretion\r of subject responsibility greatly broadens the range and scope of jurisdictional subjects assigned\r to each committee.\r Formal agreements, drafted among committees to stipulate their understandings of jurisdictional\r boundaries, have been used in recent years. House parliamentarians, in advising the Speaker, have\r generally considered themselves bound by such agreements when they are supported by all the\r committees concerned and when the House, usually by unanimous consent, has given its assent to\r such agreements.
