Markup in Senate Committee: Choosing a Text







Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress



Chairman’s Authority................................................................................................................1
Subcommittee Consideration....................................................................................................1
Committee or Staff Drafts.........................................................................................................2
Informal Consideration.............................................................................................................2
Author Contact Information............................................................................................................2





lthough a bill may be subsequently amended on the Senate floor, committees have the
prerogative of shaping legislation before consideration by the full chamber. Shaping
legislation in committee formally occurs during a markup, when committee members A


meet to consider a text and recommend amendments. This report explores the options committees 1
typically exercise in choosing the markup text. For more information on legislative process, see
http://www.crs .gov/products /guides/guidehome.shtml.
Prior to a markup, a committee may hold hearings on an issue, a measure, or several related
measures. For markup, the committee chooses one text as the basis for consideration. This could
be a measure that has been formally introduced, or a draft text that has not yet been introduced.
In leading a markup, the committee chair generally chooses the legislative vehicle and presents it
for consideration and amendment. Although it is generally the prerogative of the chair to choose
the text for markup, a chair often increases committee backing by selecting a measure, or
developing a draft that includes provisions that other Senators support. If consulted on the
development of a vehicle, Senators might develop a greater stake in the legislation. And although
Senators always have the option of offering amendments during markup, it is generally regarded
as easier to retain something already in the vehicle than to add it by way of amendment in
markup. Committee support of the vehicle and amendments to it are critical, because it takes a
majority vote, with a majority of the committee physically present, to report a measure to the
Senate.
Any measure introduced in the Senate, or a House-passed measure received in the Senate,
generally gets referred to committee. Committees may receive multiple measures on a particular
legislative subject, and a committee might receive dozens of proposals in a “hot” area. A
committee may select one of these proposals as the basis of its markup. Particularly in the Senate,
measures are shaped exclusively by a full committee, rather than initially in a subcommittee.
Reasons for this may include a decision to avoid duplication of effort between a subcommittee
and the full committee; or scheduling conflicts, which increase the difficulty of obtaining
quorums for subcommittee markups.
Alternatively, a committee may choose an introduced measure that was first considered by a
subcommittee. Senate committees sometimes send measures to subcommittee for initial
examination, although such action is not required. Initial markup by subcommittee may be
desirable due to the specialized expertise of subcommittee members, a perceived need to refine
the choices for the full committee, or the crowded nature of full committee schedules.
When a subcommittee finishes considering a measure, it typically reports it back to the full
committee. The subcommittee may report back the introduced bill, with any amendments, and the
full committee could then use this measure as the basis of its deliberations. The subcommittee

1 This report was written by Thomas P. Carr, formerly an Analyst at the Congressional Research Service. The listed
author is available to respond to inquiries on the subject.



also may report back a new bill that incorporates the changes made during its markup; this new
bill may then be marked up by the full committee.
Instead of an introduced measure, a committee may opt to mark up a draft text that has not yet
been introduced. The draft may have a variety of different origins. Committee staff sometimes
meet to discuss and suggest revisions to an introduced measure, or to consider issues and to
develop legislative language, and then develop a staff draft that committee members use as the
basis of the markup. This staff draft may have been developed primarily by majority-party staff,
or it may be a bipartisan document.
In other cases the draft text is a chairman’s mark, which consists of the recommendations of the
committee chair. The chair’s mark may have been prepared with significant input from other
committee members, especially majority-party Senators. Another option is for the committee to
mark up a plan submitted by a Senator on behalf of the administration, which reflects the
President’s initiative in a policy area.
Official markups may be preceded by unofficial ones to develop a consensus on legislation, or to
choose, revise, or draft a measure. Markup vehicles often develop from these informal and private
sessions. For instance, Senators on a committee sometimes meet in small groups or by party to
discuss topics and suggest language for a text. The chair then prepares a draft that serves as the
basis of the markup, and the markup itself might focus on outstanding issues and final changes to
the language.
Elizabeth Rybicki
Analyst on the Congress and Legislative Process
erybicki@crs.loc.gov, 7-0644