#BackToSchool With all the investigations and coverage of House/Senate Committees, it’s important to review how it all works, how it’s structured & what it all means. What do Congressional Committees do? How are members selected? open.lib.umn.edu/americangovern… 1/18
In 1885, Woodrow Wilson famously observed, “Congress in session is Congress on public exhibition, whilst Congress in its committee-rooms is Congress at work” (Wilson, 1885). This statement is no less true today. 2/18 #demswork4usa#Congress
Committees are the lifeblood of Congress. They develop legislation, oversee executive agencies and programs, and conduct investigations.
There are different types of committees that are responsible for particular aspects of congressional work. 3/18 #demswork4usa#Congress
Standing committees are permanent legislative committees. Select committees are special committees that are formed to deal with a particular issue or policy. 4/18 #Congress#backtoschool#demswork4usa
Special committees can investigate problems and issue reports. Joint committees are composed of members of the House and Senate and handle matters that require joint jurisdiction, such as the #USPS Subcommittees handle specialized aspects of legislation and policy. 5/18
Members seek assignments to committees considering the overlapping goals of getting reelected, influencing policy, and wielding power and influence. 6/18 #Congress#demswork4usa#backtoschool
Members can promote the interests of their constituencies through committee service and at the same time help their chances at reelection. 7/18 #Congress#CongressionalCommittees
Those most interested in foreign policy seek appointment to committees such as the House Foreign Relations and Senate International Affairs Committees, where they can become embroiled in the pressing issues of the day. 9/18 #Congress#demswork4usa
Power or prestige committee assignments in the House include Appropriations, Budget, Commerce, Rules, and Ways and Means. The most powerful committees in the Senate are Appropriations, Armed Services, Commerce, Finance, and Foreign Relations. 10/18 #Congress#demswork4usa
Most House members end up getting assigned to at least one committee that they request. In the House, committee assignments can be a ticket to visibility and influence. 11/18 #Congress#demswork4usa#backtoschool#PolySci
Committees provide House members with a platform for attracting media attention as journalists will seek them out as policy specialists. Senate assignments are not as strongly linked to press visibility as virtually every senator is appointed to at least 1 powerful committee. 12
Committees are powerful gatekeepers. They decide the fate of bills by determining which ones will move forward and be considered by the full House and Senate. 14/18 #Congress#Committees#Politics#demswork4usa
Committee members have tremendous influence over the drafting and rewriting of legislation. They have access to experts and information, which gives them an advantage when debating bills on the floor. 15/18 #CongressionalCommittees#PoliSci#demswork4usa
Committee chairs are especially influential, as they are able to employ tactics that can make or break bills. Powerful chairs master the committee’s subject matter, get to know committee members well, and form coalitions to back their positions. 16/18 #Congress#PoliSci
Chairs can reward cooperative members and punish those who oppose them by granting or withholding favors, such as supporting pork barrel legislation that will benefit a member’s district. 17/18 #Congress#Committees#PoliSci
Most committee work receives limited media coverage. Investigative hearings are the exception, as they can provide opportunities for high drama. 18/18 #Congress#investigation#Committees#demswork4usa
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There are many of @HC_Richardson “Letters from An American” that should be highlighted. This one is of vital importance because it summarizes where we find ourselves today as we #resist those who mean to strip our rights, protections & freedom. open.substack.com/pub/heathercox…
1/23
According to the nonpartisan Economic Policy Institute, legislatures in at least ten states have set out to weaken federal child labor laws. 2/23 #PayAttentionAmerica#ChildLabor
In the first three months of 2023, legislators in IA,MN,MS,NE,OH & SD introduced bills to weaken the regulations that protect children in the workplace & in March, Arkansas governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed a law repealing restrictions for workers younger than 16. 3/23
STATEMENT from #WhiteHouse PLEASE read!>>Congressional Republicans have laid out their mega MAGA trickle-down economic plan clearly. Their economic plan will raise costs and make inflation worse. Their five part plan includes:
1/24 #BlueIn22#RepublicansAreHarmfulToAmericans
“GOP wants to push to extend Trump tax cuts… Republican lawmakers gear up to push 2017 tax law after midterm elections, despite potential impact on inflation.” Washington Post 10/17/22 #RepublicansAreTheProblem#VoteBlueIn2022
#Thread Below is a statement from Sarah Jaynes, a key advisor to the Winning Jobs Narrative project and the Executive Director of the Rural Democracy Initiative: 1/11 #RuralDemocracyInitiative
Voters in small cities and rural communities are working people, through and through. They believe in their communities and in this country, even when the country fails to prioritize them and rural economies struggle. 2/11 #RuralVoters#DemPriorities#WorkingAmerica
Some right wing leaders have tried to exploit the economic anxiety that many rural Americans justifiably feel.But the Biden Administration & current Congressional majority have taken action with the greatest investments in rural America in the last 50 years. 3/11 #DemPriorities
New York Times reported on how oil and gas lobbyists are plotting with Republicans in Congress to keep costs high by repealing billions of dollars in consumer energy electrification incentives that were part of the Inflation Reduction Act. 2/7
In 2019,Time Magazine ran this story by Olivia B. Waxman on the origins,meaning & implications of fascism. If millions of Americans support the 21st century version of this movement, they should definitely understand it. #Fascists#TrumpCult 1/38
When Benito Mussolini debuted the Fasci Italiani di Combattimento, the precursor to his fascist party, on Mar. 23, 1919, in Milan, he wasn’t inventing the idea of violent authoritarianism. But he put a name on a new and terrible breed of it. #Fascism#TrumpCult 2/38
Under his leadership, squads of militants attacked,beat &killed fellow Italians;later, once he had become the authoritarian ruler of Italy,he oversaw brutality in Ethiopia,an alliance with Hitler & the persecution of Italy’s Jewish population and others, among other crimes. 3/38
Oops they’re doing it again. Republican members of Congress want to be seen as voting in lockstep with their party but they also want credit when the legislation crafted & passed by #Democrats pay huge dividends for their constituents. #WeSeeYou👀 1/20 #DemocratsDeliver
This article, from Jan. 20, 2022 By Steve Benen tells the story of the double-dealing, mealy-mouthed, two-faced, weaselly, yellow-bellied, two-timing, lying Republican swine. The article doesn’t use those words but draw your own conclusions. 2/20 msnbc.com/msnbc/amp/ncna…
“Around this time 12 years ago, as investments from Barack Obama's Recovery Act started reaching communities nationwide, Republicans who opposed the economic package started showing up at ribbon-cutting ceremonies.”3/20 #RepublicanHypocrisy