Discuss the committee system in Congress. What functions does the committee system perform? What are the types of committees, and how do they differ? What is the role of the chair, and how has the selection and power of the chair changed over the years? How are members chosen for committees, and how do they decide the committees on which they wish to serve?

What will be an ideal response?

committee system strengthens congressional independence from the executive by providing Congress with a method of detailed consideration of legislation and bodies through which to carry out oversight of the executive branch. The types of committees should be named and their various functions discussed. Students should discuss the fact that chairs have gone from being unimportant in the nineteenth century to dominating their committees through most of the twentieth and to having a major but diminished role, in which they are expected to follow the party leaders and party caucus, in recent years. The connection of these changes to the shifts in methods of selecting chairs should be discussed. The members’ interest in committees that help them serve their districts, make important policies, or take part in exercising power in Congress should be discussed as the important factors in deciding what committees members choose.