Congressional committees investigate important issues and write legislation that affects the entire nation. They hold public hearings where members hear from witnesses who support and oppose the measure being considered. Once the committee has finished its work, it usually writes a report that is then read aloud by House members. The committee’s report will state the purpose and scope of the bill and provide reasons for recommending its approval or disapproval. A bill that is approved by the committee becomes a law. When a law is passed, it is often assigned a House report number that describes the measure’s purpose and scope. The bill is then referred to another House committee or to the Senate for consideration.
If a bill is not approved by the committee, it may be amended before being voted on again. The committee will also draft a minority or dissenting report, which provides a counterpoint to the majority report. These reports are usually published along with the original bill text in the Daily Digest portion of the Congressional Record.
A dissenting report can be especially helpful when a bill is being debated in the House or Senate. The dissenting report will highlight why the bill was not approved by the committee and may include suggestions for changes to the bill that could be made to help it pass.
Committee News
Committees can be a powerful force in the legislative process, as they can shepherd bills through the committee system and into the full House of Representatives or the Senate. This is why it is critical that lawmakers understand how they work and how they can make the most of their effectiveness.
In a new report, the committee details a litany of false election-fraud claims and calls into state and local officials from Trump and his top aides. The investigation uncovered over a dozen meetings, attempted or connected phone calls or social media posts from Trump or his aides that targeted state and local officials. The committee also uncovered over a dozen legal memoranda from the Trump campaign and outside legal advisers that included false election-fraud allegations.
The committee also outlines a “legally dubious plan” to put forward fake slates of electors in seven states that Trump lost, allegedly aimed at stealing votes from Democratic candidates and changing the outcome of the Electoral College vote. The report says it was drafted by a little-known attorney to the Trump campaign, Kenneth Chesebro. It cites emails and other documents indicating that Trump’s legal team was aware the fake-elector plan was a legally dubious effort to interfere with the electoral process but did nothing to stop it. The committee cited 17 findings that supported its decision to refer the matter to the Justice Department, including evidence that Trump knew his fraud claims were false and continued to amplify them, which is illegal. It also outlines potential criminal charges for the president, such as obstructing a presidential investigation and witness tampering.