House Committee Hearings: Scheduling and Notification

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Each House committee has the authority to hold hearings whether the House is in session, has
recessed, or has adjourned (Rule XI, clause 2(m)(1)(A)). Regardless of the type of hearing, or
whether a hearing is held in or outside of Washington, hearings share common aspects of
planning and preparation. For more information on legislative process, see http://www.crs.gov/
products/guides/guidehome.shtml.

Whether to Schedule a Hearing.................................................................................................1
Scheduling Requirements and Practices...................................................................................1
Notification Requirements and Practices..................................................................................2
Author Contact Information............................................................................................................2

ach House committee has the authority to hold hearings whether the House is in session,
has recessed, or has adjourned (Rule XI, clause 2(m)(1)(A)). Regardless of the type of
hearing, or whether a hearing is held in or outside of Washington, hearings share common ¹E

aspects of planning and preparation. For more information on legislative process, see
http://www.crs .gov/products /guides/guidehome.shtml.
Committees consider a variety of issues in deciding whether to schedule a hearing. A committee
must define the information it needs, and determine the points it wishes to communicate, then
evaluate whether a hearing is the best method of achieving these ends. Deciding whether to
schedule a hearing is influenced by several factors including the salience of issues to the nation,
presidential initiatives, matters of significance to particular committee members, and the
importance of policies to constituents and interest groups. Programs requiring reauthorization
generally require committee hearings, as do allegations of waste, fraud, or abuse in agency
activities.
Each committee receives dozens or even hundreds of legislative proposals for possible
examination, and has other responsibilities such as oversight. In the context of this overall
workload, a committee must decide whether holding a hearing is the best use of staff resources
and funds. A committee also considers whether and how a hearing would fit into its overall
schedule of planned activities.
The committee chair generally exercises control over the hearing schedule and determines the
agenda. However, a variety of rules and other factors affect the scheduling of a hearing. Many of
these rules and related practices are designed to coordinate committee hearings with other
committee meetings or House sessions to minimize interruptions of deliberations and scheduling
conflicts for Members, in order to maximize their participation.
House committees may hold hearings at any time, except during a joint session of the House and
Senate or during a recess when a joint meeting of the House and Senate is in progress (Rule XI,
clause 2(i)). The computerized scheduling service of the House Information Resources (HIR)
allows a committee to coordinate its schedule with that of other committees. Further, House
Republican Conference Rule 17 provides that committee rules should seek to avoid overlapping
scheduling of subcommittee sessions. Consequently, the rules of many committees contain
provisions requiring subcommittee coordination in scheduling hearings.
Paramount in scheduling a hearing is choosing a date and time convenient for committee leaders.
A committee also must check the availability of its hearing rooms before scheduling a hearing. If
a committee’s own rooms are unavailable, it may be possible to borrow a room from another
committee or a House leader or officer.
Joint or field hearings may present additional scheduling issues. Each House committee or
subcommittee may conduct hearings jointly with another committee or subcommittee of the

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House or Senate. Panels meeting jointly must agree on common rules of procedure and determine
logistical questions, such as coordinating meeting times. Similarly, a committee or subcommittee
may hold field hearings outside Washington. Scheduling issues include choosing a desirable time
for committee members to travel and securing a meeting room on location.
The chair of a committee (except Rules) must give at least one week’s notice to the public of the
date, place, and subject of a hearing (Rule XI, clause 2(g)(3)). (Committees often include
additional information, such as scheduled witnesses.) Hearings may be held with less than one
week’s notice, if the chair, with the concurrence of the ranking minority member determines a
need. The notice requirement may also be waived by a majority vote of the committee with the
required quorum for doing business present (normally one-third.) In these instances, public notice
of the hearing should be given as soon as possible. These notices appear in the Daily Digest
section of the Congressional Record and in the House’s computerized committee scheduling
service of the HIR.
Often a committee sends advance announcements of a hearing to all its members. Some
committee rules also require that specific pre-hearing information be sent to committee members
or be made available to the public. For instance, several committees require staff to prepare a
concise summary of the subject matter under consideration for committee members. House
Natural Resources Committee rules specify that committee members are to be provided with a
tentative witness list and, to the extent practicable, a memorandum explaining the subject of the
hearing. In addition, the chair is to make available to committee members any official reports
from departments and agencies on the subject matter of the hearing.
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