In the legislative process, legislative committees play an important role. Once a bill is introduced to the senate, it is sent to the committees whereby the public can give their comments on the issue. It is amended so that it becomes suitable and is in line with the needs of the people. The committees give recommendations on changes that can be made to improve a bill. If the bill is not acceptable to the public, the committee disapproves it. The committees also gather information on the possible bills that need to be passed by the senate. These proposals are then forwarded to the senate. When matters of technical nature cannot be decided by the senate, experts are given a chance to give their contributions on such issues. This is why committee of experts with certain specialization may be called upon to contribute in the legislative process in my opinion, committees should constitute important decision making bodies in the united states (United States, 2005).
In the first place, it is important to appreciate that the senate has so many issues to attend to. They may therefore not be aware of some of the laws that need to be passed for the benefit of the society. Therefore, committees can play an important role in ensuring that these laws are passed. When the senate is attending to urgent matters, the committees will be supporting the legislative process by coming up with more bills. When the committees are available, the activities of the legislature go on regardless of the fact that the senate is dealing with urgent matters. Committees are important in dealing with matters that cannot be attended by the senate due to the volume of work that the senate may be attending to. (United States, 2007).
It will be noted that the senators elected by people may not have the expertise needed to make certain decisions. In this regard, the best decisions could be arrived at if some experts are involved. This is regardless of the fact that experts are not appointed by people. As long as the decision made serves the interests of majority people in the society, then use of experts is extremely important. In this regard, use of committees in the legislative process can be of great importance. With the committees, sensitive decisions are left to experts who are able to make the best decisions. (Sinclair, 2007).
It will be realized that senate is regulated by time. However, committees set their own time such that they are able to concentrate on a issue and address it effectively. Committees therefore are important in making appropriate decisions since they set their most convenient time to exhaustively discuss an issue. They are not pressurized by time like senate hence is able to come up with the best decisions (Cox, 2005).
The members of senate usually make decisions according to what their political parties support. However, committees have no political attachments. This means that the members make their decisions based on their own judgment. Committees should therefore be available to make impartial decisions for the benefit of the society (Sinclair, 2007).
Sometimes, the members of committees are close to the people and hence are aware of their needs. These members have time to listen to the members of the public as opposed to senators. This means that committees are able to make decisions that match the interests and needs of the people. Therefore, these committees should be part of decision making bodies in the United States (Jewell, 1986).
On my view, committees are of great importance in United States. They make sure that bills that are of benefit to the people are passed by the senate. Regardless of the fact that legislature is busy or attending to urgent matters, committees ensure that important decisions are still made. The decisions that are made by committees are the best since they are not made according to political affiliation and are not subject to deadline. Form these observations, it is reasonable to conclude that committees should constitute important decision making bodies.
References.
Neal, T., & National Conference of State Legislatures. (1996). Lawmaking and the legislative process: Committees, connections, and compromises. Phoenix, Ariz: Oryx Press.
United States. (2004). Parliament and the legislative process: Report. Washington: U.S. G.P.O.
United States. (1989). H.R. 849: Hearing before the Subcommittee on the Legislative Process of the Committee on Rules, House of Representatives, One Hundred First Congress, first session July 26, 1989. Washington: U.S. G.P.O.
Jewell, M. E., & Patterson, S. C. (1986). The legislative process in the United States. New York: Random House.
Cox, G. W., & McCubbins, M. D. (2005). Setting the agenda: Responsible party government in the U.S. House of Representatives. Cambridge: Cambridge university press.
Sinclair, B. (2007). Unorthodox lawmaking: New legislative processes in the U.S. Congress. Washington, D.C: CQ Press.
United States. (2005). Parliament and the legislative process: The Government's response : report. Washington: U.S. G.P.O.
