Committees in the House

Abstract

The committee system in the House of Representatives contributes directly to the House's failure to provide vigorous national leadership. By denying the Speaker necessary tools of leadership, by using inadequate informational resources, by abdicating macroeconomic responsibilities and by employing outmoded jurisdictions, House committees clearly reveal the need for significant reorganization. Such reorganization is not impossible to achieve, however; the House of Representatives has changed in the past and, with self-discipline and hard work, can do so again. Signs of change already exist: procedural changes affecting the role of the Speaker, creation of the Office of Technology Assessment and the House Information Systems Office, consideration of fundamental budgetary reform proposals and establishment of the Select Committee on Committees, all point to a climate of reform. The select committee, after debating organizing principles of a committee system within a legislative body, can contribute significantly to this reform by its examination of committees in the House. Several schemes of committee reorganization within the mandate of the Select Committee illustrate generally the parameters of change.