Edexcel A2 Government Politics - Unit 4 (US Politics)
4 Distinct Points
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What is the role of Committee Chairmen in Congress, and why have they been the subject of
criticism. (15)
The committee system of Congress is made up of many different types of committee, which perform
legislative and investigatory functions. The chairman of a committee takes on the role of chairing the
committee. This role involves a number of powers exclusive to their position. The most important
power they hold is their legislative power to ‘pigeon-hole’ legislation as it wishes. The chair is also
able to control the agenda involving that specific committee and is in charge of timetabling, i.e.
deciding when meetings happen. The chair is given financial holds whereby they allocate funds from
their provided budget to specific areas within the committee in order to fund essentials such as
research and management. The chair’s job also involves influencing membership of sub-committees
as well as supervising and managing the staff working within their selected committee. It is common
that the appointment of a chair will be by the virtue of their seniority. Seniority is the idea that
whoever has been the longest serving within that committee will be appointed as the chairman. This is
seen in many cases but there have been appointments in recent times whereby chairs are not appointed
by seniority alone. This change occurred in 1995 when Republicans altered their conference rules
which allowed members within the committee to vote in a secret ballot. For example, Paul Ryan
chaired the Budget Committee before his term ended, and due to his backing from the Republican
leaders at the time, he was appointed as the chairman of the Ways and Means committee which deal
with issues such as tax and social security.
Seniority is a major critique on the role of the Chairman as it assumes that those who become the
chair are appointed, not on the basis of expertise and merit, but rather due to the fact that they are the
longest serving. This is an issue of critique as it means that the role of the Chair will not be challenged
by other members who may have more expertise in the field and know how to manage the committee
in the best interest of the country. This also makes chairs less accountable on the basis that their
actions leading up to appointment may be overlooked as they hold the seniority within the party.
Seniority within committees can be seen in Daniel Inouye who held office for 46 years before gaining
the role of the Chairman of the Appropriations Committee in 2009. On the basis of the seniority
criticism, 6 year term limits were imposed in order to prevent the Chair from remaining in his position
without being challenged by other members. For example, Jamie Whitten chaired the Appropriations
sub-committee on Agriculture for 43 years without being challenged due to his seniority in that sub-
committee. The 6 year term limits will then force those holding chair positions within a committee to
change committees to allow others to gain the chairman role. Some believe that imposing term limits
will give power to inexperienced chairman staff that may not have the knowledge of issues that many
have learnt over years of being the Chairman.
Another criticism relating to the Chair is their excessive amounts of power and influence within the
federal government. Firstly, due to their ability to ‘pigeon-hole’ legislation, they can decide which
bills pass the committee stage and which bills die on the spot. Some may argue that this power is too
significant to be held by a Chair who is not appointed on the basis of expertise in that particular area,
but rather how long they have served within a committee. Due to their legislative power, the
relationship between the Chair and the Congressmen is an important one on the basis that the Chair
can push for certain bills to be passed quicker through their timetabling powers. Their legislative
powers are also emphasised through their pigeon-holing decisions on whose bill passes and whose
does not. As a Congressmen, having a good relationship with a Chairman may help your bills get
through committee in the first place, as well as the possibility of it being prioritised over other bills
that are passing through Congress at the time. On the other hand, having a bad relationship with the
chair of a committee may lead to your legislation dying in committee or possibly being pushed down
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