Congressional Committees: Crash Course Government and Politics #7

This week Craig Benzine clears up the role of committees in Congress. We’ll talk about standing committees, joint committees, conference committees, and caucuses (and not the candidate-choosing kinds) as well as the staff agencies that help advise these committees and congresspeople. As most bills never even make it to the house and senate floors for a vote, the role of committees, and their respective chairpersons as gatekeepers is pretty important. There’s a lot to demystify here as the legislative process can seem pretty arcane at times, but the model, at least in theory, helps Congress run more efficiently.

Chapters:
Introduction: How does Congress work? 00:00
Congressional committees 0:40
Why does Congress have committees? 1:52
How do congressional committees work? 2:44
How Congress got its leadership structure 4:09
Congressional staff 5:03
Specialized staff agencies in Congress 5:35
Caucuses in Congress 6:15
Caucuses, congressional staff, & committees help make lawmaking more efficient 7:16
Credits 7:55

Want to find Crash Course elsewhere on the internet?

[wheezywaiter]

Hope I helped you all know little more about Committees of the Congressional variety!

[JamesRoyceDawson]

As a British person, this information doesn't really help me much, but it does help me understand what's going on in House of Cards a lot better, so thanks for that.

[yhjjjj]

"or... just say Hi"   ok... HI!

[BlameItOnGreg]

I think this takes the award for fastest moving Crash Course episode so far. It feels like this should have been split into two videos.

[mustardsfire]

That poor eagle is going to be so beat up by the end of this series.

[mtneves]

i try to do one of these a day, and take notes. better than my college classes

[TheRegret]

i cant decide whether or not punching the bald eagle is patriotic or treasonous

[SamuelUlmschneider]

These are really excellent pieces of work, Crash Course.  As an AP US Government teacher, I appreciate the availability of these resources and appreciate your branching out into more and more areas and finding production associates like PBS Digital Studios.  Kudos to you.

[child]

If that eagle suddenly came to life one

[gray]

um, my adhd does not like this series. It literally makes me only focus on when the eagle will be punched. and you made it near the end of the video ;-;

[benjaminfranz]

Crash Course should provide a quick 5 to 10 question study guide for each video... or maybe this already exists

[spectaculardenny]

It's awesome how these videos are corresponding with the AP Government course, I really enjoying watching these and learning from them :)

[jakeschannel]

Anyone else watching this in an attempt to learn everything last minute before the ap exam next week

[chuck]

Already watched CC economics. Just getting around to watching CC gov. Fabulous

[AdobadoFantastico]

Hi Craig! You're awesome. These videos are super helpful to explain stuff to people and I get a lot out of them, as well =D
*much props*

[taylorross]

7:29 But hey, that's just a theory.






A GAME THEORY

[JJcDAmAn]

Why does the CBO logo look so similar to the Beats Headphones by Dr. Dre?

[brandon_gb]

Just wanted to say I enjoy watching your videos and I learn something at the same time. That's easier said than done. Keep up the good work. Thanks

[exodia]

Craig you make all of this sound great and less confusing!! Thank you!!!

[GoranTheSerbian]

This is great for my revision of what I've learned and prepare for my Comparative Politics exam! Thanks! Great job!