House Subcommittees: Assignment Process

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Introduc tion ..................................................................................................................................... 1
Size and Ratio..................................................................................................................................1
Chair and Ranking Member Selection............................................................................................1
Subcommittee Assignments.............................................................................................................2
Author Contact Information............................................................................................................2

House rules, Republican Conference and Democratic Caucus rules, and individual committee
rules all address the subcommittee assignment process, although to varying degrees. Under House
Rule X, clause 5(d), prohibits committees from having more than five subcommittees. However, a
committee that maintains a subcommittee on oversight may have not more than six
subcommittees. The Appropriations Committee may have up to 13 subcommittees (12 have been
created) and the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform may have up to seven ^th
subcommittees. For the 110 Congress, pursuant to H.Res. 6, the Armed Services Committee and
the Foreign Affairs Committee may each have seven subcommittees, and the Committee on
Transportation and Infrastructure may have six subcommittees.
In addition, pursuant to Rule X, clause 5(b)(2)(A), Members are limited to service on no more
than four subcommittees, although exceptions are allowed. A committee chair is generally
prohibited from chairing a subcommittee of his or her committee, and all committee and
subcommittee chairs are limited by House Rule X, clause 5(c)(2) to no more than three ^th
consecutive terms as chair, beginning with the 104 Congress (although waivers can be granted).
Term limits for the Intelligence Committee chair were abolished by H.Res. 5 on January 7, 2003.
Many subcommittee assignment decisions are affected by the full committee assignment process.
Information on that process is provided in CRS Report 98-151, House Committees: Categories
and Rules for Committee Assignments, and CRS Report 98-367, House Committees: Assignment
Process, both by Judy Schneider.

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.
Democratic Caucus Rule 26, which addresses subcommittees “when the Democratic party is the
majority,” states that no subcommittee can be more than 60% of the size of a full committee. It
further states that the resident commissioner and delegates should not be counted in determining
subcommittee (or committee) size. Republican Conference rules are silent on subcommittee size
and ratio issues.

Under Republican Conference rules, each committee leader determines and provides to other
Republican members of the committee the method for selecting subcommittee leaders. However,

a majority of the Republican Members of the full committee can disapprove the selection ^th
procedure. Republican Conference rules changes for the 108 Congress required subcommittee
leaders of the Appropriations Committee to receive full conference approval. Republicans limit
members to a single committee or subcommittee leadership slot; the leadership of the Standards
of Official Conduct Committee and the House Administration Committee are exempt, thereby
allowing a Member to rank on either of these panels and an additional panel. Finally, Republican
Conference rules prohibit a full-committee leader from leading a subcommittee of the committee
he or she heads.
House Democrats allow each committee member to bid, in order of seniority, for available
subcommittee leadership slots. For all committees, except Appropriations, this is done by full-
committee seniority; for Appropriations, it is done by subcommittee seniority. Caucus rules
generally limit Members to rank on only one full committee or one subcommittee with legislative
jurisdiction. Subcommittee leaders selected for the Appropriations Committee, Energy and
Commerce Committee, and Ways and Means Committee require Democratic Steering and Policy
Committee approval.

Under House rules, Members are limited to service on four subcommittees, although there are
some exceptions. House rules are silent on how subcommittee assignments are made. Rather,
subcommittee assignments are governed by respective party rules and practices.
Republicans generally leave the decisions on the subcommittee assignment process to the
committee leader to determine, although most committees employ a bidding approach that allows
members, in order of seniority, to select subcommittee slots. Committee and party leaders also try
to suggest certain subcommittee configurations in order to retain more experienced members on
key subcommittees.
Democrats formally provide in their caucus rules for a bidding process based on seniority,
whereby each Member of a committee selects one subcommittee before any Member receives a
second assignment.
Pursuant to House Rule X, clause 5(b)(2)(B), the chair and ranking minority member of a full
committee may serve as ex officio members of subcommittees of their committee without that
service counting against the limitation of no more than four subcommittees per Member. Some
committees address in their committee rules the authority to vote by ex officio members. Some
panels allow voting by ex officio members, others do not.
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