Conference Reports and Joint Explanatory Statements (CRS Report for Congress)
| Release Date |
Revised June 11, 2015 |
| Report Number |
98-382 |
| Authors |
Christopher M. Davis, Analyst on the Congress and Legislative Process |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
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Summary:
When a conference committee completes its work successfully, the committee presents and explains its agreements in two documents: first, a conference report; and second, a joint explanatory statement, often called a statement of managers. The conference report presents the formal legislative language on which the conference committee has agreed. The joint explanatory statement explains the various elements of the conferees' agreement in relation to the positions that the House and Senate had committed to the conference committee. Two copies of each document must be signed by a majority of the House conferees and by a majority of the Senate conferees. One pair of the signed documents is retained by each house's conferees. Thus, a conferee who supports the conference agreement signs four signature sheets: two for the conference report and two for the joint explanatory statement. Of course, conferees who do not support the agreement are not required to sign any of the signature sheets. The House and Senate create a conference committee to resolve the disagreements that result when one house passes a bill and the other house then passes the same bill with one or more amendments. It is those amendments that are in disagreement between the houses and that are the subjects of conference negotiations. In their conference report, the conferees propose a way to resolve the disagreement created by each of the amendments.
