Congressional Hearings Hot Topics: What is a Hearing?

Undergraduates frequently need to write persuasive speeches and papers. This guide notes the relevancy of U.S. Congressional Committee hearings to these assignments and how to locate these government information primary resources.

What is a hearing?

 What is a hearing? 

"A meeting or session of a committee of Congress -- usually open to the public -- to obtain information and opinions on proposed legislation, to conduct an investigation, or oversee a program."  (Our American Government, 2003, p. 80)

Why do Congressional Committees conduct hearing?

Why do Congressional Committees conduct hearing?

 

There are four basic reasons for conducting hearings:  

  • consider new legislation -- "Legislative" hearings consider "measures or policy issues that may become public law." 
  • review current laws -- "Oversight" heairngs "review or study a law, issue, or an activity, often focusing on the quality of federal programs and the performance of government officials." 
  • examine event/situation -- "Investigative" hearings    are conducted "when there is a suspicion of wrongdoing on the part of public officials acting in their official capacity, or private citizens whose activities suggest the need for a legislative remedy" and "often lead to legislation to address the problems uncovered."
  • confirm nominations -- "Confirmation" hearings "advise and consent" on "nominations to executive and judicial positions."

When are hearings held in the legislative process?

When bills are proposed the bill can be referred to a specific committee for study.  The committee in-turn may decide to hold hearings.  There resources below explain the legislative process.

What is included as part of a hearing?

What  is included as part of a hearing?

There are five content elements that make up the body of a Congressional Committee Hearing:

  • Opening statements by chair and ranking minority member
  • Written witness testimony
  • Oral remarks summarizing testimony
  • Examination/questioning of witnesses
  • Exhibits (articles, letters, reports)

Who testifies at a hearing?

Who testifies at a Congressional Committee hearing? 

The Committee members and staff orchestrate the event to include a variety of experts from various perspectives.  Invited witnesses fall into five basic categories:

  • Celebrities
  • Academics/Scholars
  • Government Officials
  • Advocates for Interest Groups
  • Private Citizens and Other Individuals

Methods of Distribution and Access to Hearings

There are severals sources for Congress to distribute hearing content and several sources for the public to gain access.  These include the following:

  • Congressional Committee Websites
  • FDsys.gov for digital official transcripts
  • Federal Depository Libraries for paper and microfiche copies of official transcripts
  • Licensed full text databases and indexing such as ProQuest Congressional 
  • C-Span Video Library

This Congressional Hearings Hot Topic guide is a tool to improve access to the hearing content available on Committee Webpages.

Want to learn more about hearings?

Below is a sampling of reports written the Congressional Research Service (CRS) that help to define Congressional Committee "hearings" and also explain some of the procedures.  Similar reports can be found at Open CRS