The Joint Committee on the Organization of Congress is the name given to three separate temporary joint congressional committees established during the mid to late 20th century to study and make recommendations on measures to improve the structure of the

U.S. Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washin ...

, including

committees A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly. A committee is not itself considered to be a form of assembly. Usually, the assembly sends matters into a committee as a way to explore them more ...

, staff, and other organizational matters.

History

The committee existed in three different versions during the last 60 years, each with a set timetable and responsibilities.

1945-1947

The committee was established by S. Con. Res. 23,

78th Congress The 78th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from January 3, 1943, ...

. It held 39 public hearings between March 3 and June 29, 1945, as well as four executive sessions. Over 100 witnesses testified, including 45 members of Congress, and an additional 37 members submitted statements. The recommendations of the committee led to streamlining of congressional committees and adoption of the

Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 The Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 (also known as the Congressional Reorganization Act, ch. 753, , enacted August 2, 1946) was the most comprehensive reorganization of the United States Congress in history to that date. Background The n ...

1965-1966

The committee was established on March 11, 1965, by S. Con. Res. 2, 89th United States Congress. Its mission was to study the operation of Congress and recommend improvements "with a view toward strengthening the Congress, simplifying its operations, improving its relationship with other branches of the United States Government, and enabling it better to meet its responsibilities under the Constitution." The committee held hearings over a period of 5 months, taking testimony from 199 witnesses, including 106 members of Congress. The committee issued its final report (S. Rept. 1414) on July 28, 1966. This work eventually led to the passage of the

Legislative Reorganization Act of 1970 The Legislative Reorganization Act of 1970 () was an act of the United States Congress to "improve the operation of the legislative branch of the Federal Government, and for other purposes." The act focused mainly on the rules that governed congres ...

1991-1994

The last and most recent version of this committee attempted further reforms, some of which were adopted by Congress when Republicans gained control of the House and Senate after the 1994 congressional elections. Key among these was the

Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 The Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 (CAA) (), the first piece of legislation passed by the 104th United States Congress, applied several civil rights, United States labor law, labor, and occupational health and safety, workplace safety and ...

(), which applied provisions of 11 major labor laws to Congress and its employees for the first time.

References

Sources

''Reorganization of the Senate: Modern Reform Efforts,

Congressional Research Service The Congressional Research Service (CRS) is a public policy research institute of the United States Congress. Operating within the Library of Congress, it works primarily and directly for members of Congress and their committees and staff on a ...

, October 15, 2003'' Organization of Congress {{US-Congress-stub