Committee Hearings

Definition

Committee hearings are meetings where committees in the U.S. Congress discuss and review proposed legislation before it goes to the full House or Senate for debate and voting.

Analogy

Think of committee hearings like a book club meeting. Before everyone gets together to discuss the book (or in this case, the bill), a smaller group reads it first, discusses its merits and flaws, and decides whether it's worth bringing to the larger group.

Related terms

Subcommittee: A smaller group within a committee that focuses on specific areas of the committee's jurisdiction.

Markup Session: The process by which a U.S. congressional committee debates, amends, and rewrites proposed legislation.

Witness Testimony: Statements made by individuals or representatives of organizations during committee hearings to provide information about the topic at hand.