Law Commons^™

Committee Organization In The Virginia General Assembly, Genevieve Markee

Honors Theses

Political scientists have developed several theories to explain how the United States Congress organizes its committees. According to the informational theory, members of Congress view committees as the most efficient way to divide the labor associated with processing a broad range of bills. Since it would be impossible for each individual member to have expertise in every policy area, information-gathering responsibility is distributed among the different Members through the committee system. Committees provide information about policy outcomes and produce legislation preferred by a majority of Members. According to the partisan model, on the other hand, committees are organized primarily to …