Conference Committee

As a Conference Committee is referred to in the parliamentary system of the United States , the Congressional committees that serve the preparation and discussion of proposed legislation.

In the constitution , the Conference Committees (CC) are not mentioned, they have developed over decades of congress work and have been able to assert themselves as an institution in the legislative process. In terms of their role in the legislative process, the CCs are comparable to the German Mediation Committee (VA). They are convened as an arbitration body to work out a compromise solution from a controversial bill from both chambers of parliament, which both chambers can ultimately approve. Several CCs can work on individual bills at the same time, should several be disputed at the same time. They are convened by one of the two chambers ( Senate or House of Representatives ), but require the consent of the other chamber in order to be able to take action.

The members of the CCs ( conferees ) are usually the chairmen of the standing committees involved, who have already dealt with the submission in advance, as well as other committee members. They are appointed to the CCs by the chairmen of the two chambers.

The work in the CCs is not public. Under certain circumstances, this can also lead to completely new drafts being negotiated and only the entry clause of a template being retained. Both chambers can only accept or reject the CC's bill. Changes can no longer be made, so unpleasant passages are also carried along in a chamber in order not to bring the submission to a complete failure. Because of this enormous possibility of influencing legislation, the CCs are also referred to exaggeratedly in the specialist literature as the “Third Chamber” of the Congress.

literature

• Harri Reinert: Mediation Committee and Conference Committees. A contribution to the comparative teaching of the systems of rule. Carl Winter University Press, Heidelberg 1966