hill committees

(noun)

The Hill committees are the common name for political party committees that work to elect members of their own party to United States Congress ("Hill" refers to Capitol Hill, where the seat of Congress, the Capitol, is located).

Related Terms

Examples of hill committees in the following topics:

  • Congressional Campaign Committees

    • The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is the Democratic Hill committee for the United States House of Representatives, working to elect Democrats to that body.
    • The structure of the committee consists, essentially, of the Chairperson, their staff, and other Democratic members of Congress that serve in roles supporting the functions of the committee.
    • The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) is the Republican Hill committee which works to elect Republicans to the United States House of Representatives.
    • Pete Sessions (TX-32) , and an executive committee composed of Republican members of the U.S.
    • Identify the roles and responsibilities of the Congressional Campaign Committees for both major parties

  • The National Party Organization

    • A person may choose to attend meetings of one local party committee one day and another party committee the next day.
    • However, the national committees do not have the power to direct the activities of members of the party .
    • Both parties also have separate campaign committees which work to elect candidates at a specific level.
    • The most significant of these are the Hill committees; the common name for the political party committees that work to elect members of their own party to United States Congress ("Hill" refers to Capitol Hill, where the seat of Congress, the Capitol, is located, ).
    • Aerial view of Capitol Hill showing the Capitol, Supreme Court Building, Library of Congress, and congressional office buildings.

  • State and Local Party Organization

    • Next is the state, which consists of state central committees and state conventions, and congressional district committees.
    • Lastly, there is the local level of organizations, which include city and county committees, precinct and ward committees, party activists and volunteers, and party identifiers and voters.
    • National Committees are the national policy creators of each party.
    • Both parties also have separate campaign committees which work to elect candidates at a specific level.
    • The most significant of these are the Hill committees, which work to elect candidates to each house of Congress.

  • Committee Deliberation

    • Standing committees meet at least once each month.
    • Almost all standing committee meetings for transacting business must be open to the public unless the committee votes, publicly, to close the meeting.
    • A committee might call for public hearings on important bills.
    • Committees may also amend the bill, but the full house holds the power to accept or reject committee amendments.
    • In this respect, this is how bills "die" in committees.

  • How a Bill Becomes Law

    • A system of committees considers law relating to each policy area jurisdictions in the U.S.
    • The committee system is a way to provide for specialization, or a division of the legislative labor.
    • There are three main types of committees—standing, select or special, and joint.
    • Senate rules fix the maximum size for many of its committees, while the House determines the size and makeup of each committee every new Congress.
    • The committee reports to the legislature, at which stage further amendments are proposed.

  • Party Leadership in the Senate

    • Unlike committee chairmanships, leadership positions are not traditionally conferred on the basis of seniority, but are elected in closed-door caucuses.

  • Bicameralism

    • A conference committee is appointed when the two chambers cannot agree on the same wording of a proposal that consists of a small number of legislators from each chamber.
    • Whatever legislation, if any, the conference committee finalizes must then be approved in an unamendable "take-it-or-leave-it" manner by both chambers.
    • One of the arguments used to sell the idea at the time to Nebraska voters was that by adopting a unicameral system, the perceived evils of the conference committee process would be eliminated.

  • Eligibility of Congressmen

    • President Barack Obama meets with Speaker Nancy Pelosi, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, and House Education and Labor Committee Chair Rep.
    • House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Rep.
    • Henry Waxman, and House Ways and Means Committee Chair Rep.

  • The Committee System

    • Standing committees meet at least once each month.
    • Committees may also amend the bill, but the full house holds the power to accept or reject committee amendments.
    • By 1906, the Senate maintained 66 standing and select committees—eight more committees than members of the majority party.
    • These select committees, however, are permanent in nature and are treated as standing committees under Senate rules.
    • The Ways and Means Committee has been an important committee in the U.S. since 1789

  • The Staff System

    • Each congressional committee has a staff of varying size.
    • Majority and minority members hire their own staff, with the exception of two committees in each house: the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct and the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence in the House, and the Select Committee on Ethics and the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence in the Senate.
    • These committees have a single staff.
    • In 2000, House committees had an average of 68 staff, and Senate committees an average of 46.
    • Committee staff includes staff directors, committee counsel, committee investigators, press secretaries, chief clerks and office managers, schedulers, documents clerks, and assistants.