In this project, you will research the committees and subcommittees upon which your Congressional representatives serve, using library resources or the resources available through EDSITEment at the Congress Link website.

US CONGRESS AND COMMITTEES

Objectives: To understand the legislative process, and to explore the variety of committees of the House and Senate and analyze their purpose and significance.

Part One

First, watch the 9 short video clips entitled The Legislative Process, located here https://www.congress.gov/legislative-process. Take notes on any information you did not already know. (**Read the transcript if the video does not load)

Next, go to the US House of Representatives Home Page at http://thomas.loc.gov OR the US Senate Home Page at www.senate.gov. Select one of the standing committees, special/select committees, or subcommittees and click on the link.

• Click on Committees on the top menu bar
• Select any one of the committees listed in either the House or Senate.
• Click on the website of the committee you chose. (each committee should have a website that you can go to, if not please choose one that does)
• Once you are on the website click on either the “subcommittee” or “full committee” tab which will list all of the committee’s members.
• Then fill in the following in complete sentences.

1. Committee Name - what is the name of the committee you've chosen?

2. Who is the CHAIR of the committee? Briefly describe why you think this person was selected as the chairperson.

Part Two

1. If a committee “favors” a bill, what are the four actions the committee takes before sending the bill to the full Senate? See “About the Senate Committee System” athttp://www.senate.gov/general/common/generic/about_committees.htm

2. What was the most interesting or surprising thing you learned from the committee information?

Part Three

Next, click on “Frequently Asked Questions About Committees.” (Committee FAQ located under Related Links) Select five questions that you do not know the answer to, or that you would like to learn more about. Write down your questions and then report what you learned about them in the FAQ here:

Part Four

Click on some of the links in “News” and “Key Issues” on your chosen committee's website. These may be under headings worded differently, like newsroom, updates, etc. Identify and explain the variety of issues the committee examines. Choose at least two issues and write at least 500 words in your explanation of both issues. You do not need to write at least 500 words for each issue, but for the two issues together. This portion of the project is worth 50 of the 100 points total for this project, so please make sure to complete it fully and correctly.

Project Rubrics

• Project Rubrics

Remember to write in your own words and in complete sentences.