The Legislative Branch of the United States government (the U.S. Congress) is composed of two chambers: the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. The legislative branch drafts proposed laws, confirms or rejects presidential nominations for heads of federal agencies, federal judges, and the Supreme Court, and has the authority to declare war. This branch includes Congress (the Senate and House of Representatives) and special agencies and offices that provide support services to Congress. Congressional agencies include the Congressional Budget Office, Congressional Research Service, and previously included the Office of Technology Assessment.

Congress will write, debate, and pass laws, which are then sent to the President for their approval and final signature. Congressional Committees are a legislative sub-organization in Congress handling a specific duty (Figure 1). Committees decide which bills and resolutions move forward to consideration by the House or Senate as a whole (Figure 1). 

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Legislation and Science Policy

Scientists are generally familiar with the role of the executive branch agencies. Those agencies handle the everyday implementation of science policy, and in the context of research funding and support, act in the most outward-facing roles. While the agencies and the president have a great deal of influence over policy, often the greatest changes to the science policy landscape come from new laws passed by Congress, which will outlast individual presidential terms. Nearly every agency in the federal government is created by a corresponding piece of legislation. Through the federal budget process, Congress directs funding to specific programs within agencies in the respective appropriation bills. Legislation can provide support for initiatives the executive branch wants to do. For instance, Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush were both interested in increasing government support of nanotechnology research. The 21st Century Nanotechnology Research and Development Act was the authorizing legislation passed in 2003 to create the National Nanotechnology Initiative to carry out this goal. It would be impossible to list every law that impacts science policy, so we provide two examples of bills with broad impact in policy for science and science for policy.

The Bayh–Dole Act or Patent and Trademark Law Amendments Act (Pub. L. 96-517, December 12, 1980) is a major piece of legislation dealing with intellectual property arising from federal government-funded research. Bayh-Dole permits universities that receive federal funding, businesses, or non-profit organizations to elect to pursue ownership of an invention, rather than obligating the researchers to assign inventions to the federal government. Bayh-Dole is considered influential in increasing technology transfer from basic research to eventual private sector use and the growth of the biotechnology industry. 

The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008, or GINA, prevents health insurers and employers from using genetic information in decisions about health insurance coverage as well as hiring, firing, or promotion of workers. Many scientists thought such legislation was important for reasons of fairness as well as to ensure continued public support for genetics research and the use of genetic tools in healthcare.

The Role of Congressional Committees

There are three main types of committees in Congress: standing, select or special, and joint. Most standing committees review legislation on specific topical areas and recommend funding levels for government operations and for new and existing programs. Select committees examine emerging issues that do not fit clearly within existing standing committee jurisdictions or cut across jurisdictional boundaries. Permanent joint committees include members of both the House and Senate and conduct studies or perform housekeeping tasks rather than consider measures. Committee hearings are a method by which committee members gather information to inform committee business.

All bills must go through a legislative hearing in a relevant committee in the respective house the bill is introduced in. (In theory, a bill could be voted on directly if the majority of that chamber’s members want to vote on it, but this is very rare.) Bills usually “die” in a committee before going further through the legislative process. A bill may die because it was never brought up for action by the committee or the committee may vote to not send it back it to the rest of the chamber after the hearing. 

In both the House and Senate, a bill will be referred to the committee with the most relevant jurisdiction or a key role in the proposed bill. This can be flexible though, and can be influenced by language in the bill, so drafters may work to structure the bill to send it to more favorable committees. For instance, a bill on tobacco could primarily treat it as an agricultural commodity (jurisdiction of the Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry) or a medically harmful substance (Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee). Many bills are referred to multiple committees if they cross jurisdictions. 

If a bill survives a hearing, it will be go through mark-up by the committee. Committee members will get to suggest changes to the draft language. When the committee is done with mark-up, it will vote to approve the final language of the bill before sending it to the floor to be voted on by the entire chamber. Committees and mark-up are especially important to bills in the House, because its parliamentary rules make it difficult for Representatives to offer amendments on the floor. In the Senate, it is common for Senators to propose amendments on the floor even after the committee mark-up is reported. 

Role of hearings – coming soon 

I think this makes more sense as part of the role of committees section

The House of Representatives

The Senate