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A congressional subcommittee in the United States Congress is a subdivision of a United States congressional committee that considers specified matters and reports back to the full committee. Subcommittees are formed by most committees to share specific tasks within the jurisdiction of the full committee. Subcommittees are responsible to, and work within the guidelines established by, their parent committees. In particular, standing committees usually create subcommittees with legislative jurisdiction to consider and report bills. They may assign their subcommittees such specific tasks as the initial consideration of measures and oversight of laws and programs in the subcommittees’ areas.〔(Committee Types and Roles ), Congressional Research Service, February 14, 2002〕 Service on subcommittees enables members to develop expertise in specialized fields. Subcommittees diffuse the legislative process. For the most part, they are independent, autonomous units with written jurisdictions, and, pursuant to longstanding practice, most bills are referred by a full committee to them.〔(Subcommittees in the House of Representatives ), Congressional Research Service, March 28, 2005〕 General requirements for establishing subcommittees are established in House or Senate rules, but specifics with respect to subcommittee assignments and their jurisdiction are left up to the parent committees.〔(House Committee Organization and Process: A Brief Overview ), Congressional Research Service, April 20, 2004〕 Committees have wide latitude to increase or decrease the number of subcommittees from one congress to the next, including renaming or reassigning jurisdiction among previous subcommittees. Some committees, like the House and Senate Appropriations Committees, often retain a predictable subcommittee structure from year to year, due to the set duties of each subcommittee in drafting annual spending bills. However, even these committees are not immune to organizational changes. New subcommittees on Homeland Security were created in 2003 to handle funding for the Department of Homeland Security, and underwent a joint reorganization during the 110th Congress to better coordinate annual appropriations between the House and Senate.〔(Senate and House Appropriations Set Subcommittee Plans for New Congress )〕 The respective party conferences in both the House and Senate also provide their own rules, traditions, and precedents with respect to the subcommittee assignments, chairmanship of subcommittees, and even the number of subcommittees members can serve on. ==House subcommittees== House Rule XI states: the "Rules of the House are the rules of its committees and subcommittees so far as applicable...." According to clause 1(a)(2) of the same rule, "each subcommittee of a committee is a part of that committee, and is subject to the authority and direction of that committee and to its rules, so far as applicable."〔 Subcommittee sizes and party ratios are determined by the full committee, usually in concert with the party leadership. Although negotiations are often held with the minority, these prerogatives remain with the majority. Generally, subcommittee ratios reflect the same ratio as that of a full committee, which in turn reflects the ratio of majority to minority members in the full House. Discussions on subcommittee sizes and ratios traditionally begin soon after the November election, and often are completed by the convening of the early organization meetings, usually held in November or December. Final decisions are made after committee assignments are ratified on the House floor. Seat changes within a Congress can necessitate adjusting subcommittee sizes and ratios.〔(House Subcommittees: Assignment Process ), Congressional Research Service, December 1, 2004〕 House Rule X, which provides for the creation of standing committees, limits committees to five subcommittees each, though committees that also have an oversight subcommittee are permitted six subcommittees. Several committees are allowed to exceed this limit, due the detailed nature of their jurisdiction. The Armed Services and Foreign Affairs and Oversight and Government Reform committees each have seven subcommittees, the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee is allowed six subcommittees, without also requiring an oversight subcommittee, and the Appropriations Committee has twelve subcommittees plus a select oversight panel on intelligence.〔(Committee System Rules Changes in the House, 110th Congress ), Congressional Research Service, January 25, 2007〕 House rules also prohibit any full committee from establishing subunits that last longer than six months. If they do, then the new subunit counts against the subcommittee limit.〔 Subcommittee jurisdictions are not enumerated in the House rules, and are determined by each committee. Several committees establish specific subcommittee jurisdictions in committee rules. Pursuant to jurisdiction the jurisdiction of the full committee, most legislation is referred by the committee to a subcommittee prior to consideration by the full committee. However, some committees retain specific legislation at the full-committee level. For example, the Ways and Means Committee keeps legislation amending the income tax sections of the Internal Revenue Code at full committee, and the Natural Resources Committee retains matters relating to Native Americans for the full committee. House Rules further require that every full committee with more than 20 members must establish a subcommittee on oversight, though this requirement does not limit the ability of the full committee or its other subcommittees to exercise oversight over programs and agencies under their jurisdiction. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「United States congressional subcommittee」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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