Hearings are committee or subcommittee meetings to receive testimony on proposed legislation, to conduct investigations, or to exercise programmatic oversight. Hearings are the formal method by which committees collect and analyze information in the early stages of policy development. Although each type of hearing (legislative, oversight, and investigative) serves the purpose of gathering information for future committee action, they have distinctly different ways of achieving this common goal. Hearings may be held on specific measures or in the absence of legislation. Relatively few bills receive formal hearings. More often, hearings serve to monitor government programs and activities and expose problems that Congress can later address. Hearings may also provide a forum for constituents to voice their opinions and provide information on pending legislation. When held in a Member's district, state, or a location related to the subject of the hearing, they are known as field hearings.

Clause 1 of House rule XI states that the rules of the House are the rules of the committees and subcommittees so far as applicable. Clauses 2 and 3 of Rule X and clauses 2, 4, and 5 of Rule XI specifically address committees hearings. One particular example is the rule of the House that requires most hearings to be open to the press and public and publicly announced at least a week before they begin.

Despite these rules, committees have broad latitude in how they actually conduct hearings. This latitude is due in part to the fact that committees adopt their own committee rules of procedure and customs that may amplify and supplement the rules of the House but may not contravene them. This latitude surfaces in different ways and is often dependent on the type of hearing.

Legislative Hearings These are the most common type of hearings, which a committee uses to gather information on subject matter that is pertinent to legislation that has been (or will be) referred to the committee. Committees can, and often do, hold hearings on legislation that is expected to be introduced. Although committees are not required to use hearing testimony when marking up or reporting legislation, the information gathered in legislative hearings is often helpful in shaping effective legislation. Hearings are not generally required for a committee to mark up or report a measure. Only in certain procedural circumstances, such as the annual budget resolution, are there any requirements that a committee hold hearings on a bill before reporting a measure.

Oversight Hearings The oversight function of Congress comes from its constitutional duty to maintain a continuous watch over the Administration and the execution of the laws by the departments and agencies of the Executive Branch. The oversight hearing is a tool that a committee uses to invoke the investigative powers of the House as an overseer of federal programs and operations. Each standing committee has its own general and special oversight responsibilities as defined in clauses 2 and 3 of Rule X. Oversight hearings may be called when a program is being poorly administered or an agency is unresponsive to committee inquiries. Oversight hearings are also held when the authorization for a program under a committee's jurisdiction is set to expire and needs to be reauthorized. Hearings may also be called because a committee has made a commitment to review ongoing programs and agencies in its oversight plan, which each committee is required to adopt by February 15 of the first session of every Congress, under clause 2(d) of Rule X.

Investigative Hearings The investigative hearing usually involves allegations of wrongdoing by public officials acting in their official capacity, or private citizens whose activities may suggest the need for future legislation. Investigative hearings, by their nature, can be confrontational and adversarial. For this reason, it is more likely that witnesses will be subpoenaed and sworn in at an investigative hearing than in legislative or oversight hearings, although committees have the power to subpoena witnesses to any type of hearing (clause 2(m) of Rule XI). Consequently, there are specific House rules which govern investigative hearing procedures. Clause 2(k) of Rule XI specifically addresses investigative hearings. For example, clause 2(k)(3) of Rule XI allows witnesses at investigative hearings to be accompanied by counsel for the purpose of advising them of their constitutional rights. Under the standing rules of the House, each standing committee is authorized to conduct such investigations as it considers necessary or appropriate in carrying out the jurisdictional responsibilities given to it under Rule X. However, a select or joint committee must be given specific authority to undertake an investigation. Such authority is granted by a:

• statute conferring investigative powers(26 USC § 8022 conferred investigative duties on the Joint Committee on Internal Revenue Taxation);
• joint or concurrent resolution (H.J. Res. 1 (90th Congress) established a joint committee to investigate crime);
• standing rule of the House (clause 11 (d)(1) of Rule X establishing the Select Committee on Intelligence); or
• resolution creating an investigatory committee (H. Res. 413 (105th Congress) established the Select Committee on U.S. National Security and Military/Commercial Concerns with the Peoples Republic of China).

Congress has used its investigative powers since its inception. Some of the most notable inquiries include: Teapot Dome, Watergate, and Abscam.

Key Parliamentary Term

Committee - A panel of members elected or appointed to perform some service or function for its parent body. Congress has four types of committees: standing, special or select, joint, and, in the House, a Committee of the Whole. Except for the Committee of the Whole, committees conduct investigations, make studies, issue reports and recommendations, and, in the case of standing committees, review and prepare measures on their assigned subjects for action by their respective houses. Most committees divide their work among several subcommittees or, in some cases, task forces, but only the full committee may submit reports or measures to its house or to Congress. With rare exceptions, the majority party in a house holds a majority of the seats on its committees, and their chairmen are also from that party.