Research the committees and subcommittees upon which your Congressional representatives serve

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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” at http://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.