Congress of the United States

The work of preparing and considering legislation is done largely by committees of both houses of Congress. The membership of the standing committees of each house is chosen by the political parties in Congress. Committee seats are generally distributed to members of different political parties in a ratio equivalent to party membership in the larger House or Senate. Thus, if a party has two-thirds of the seats in the House, it will have approximately two-thirds of the seats in each House committee.

Each bill and resolution is usually referred to the appropriate committee, which may report it

President Woodrow Wilson addresses a joint session of the 64th Congress on February 26, 1917, with a request to arm U.S. merchant ships.
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

out (send it to the floor of the House or Senate) in its original form, favorably or unfavorably; recommend amendments; or allow it to die in committee without action.

A growing workload and the increasingly complex nature of the legislation it passes have caused Congress to hire an increasing number of staff. Thousands of staff workers support the Congressional members in their work.