During the 1993 House-Senate conference on the omnibus reconciliation bill, the Byrd rule suffused conference bargaining and limited the negotiating ability of the House. Many provisions required extensive revision by conferees to meet the requirements of the Byrd rule, which angered many House conferees. Some actions that could promote greater bicameral cooperation involve the issues of conference size and formal and informal means of coordination. House conferees too, use their Chamber's procedural requirements as a way to constrain the Senate's conferees. Size and Composition of Conference Committees Today, many Members of Congress and other analysts have expressed concern about large and diverse conference committees.
Big conferences tend to slow down and complicate decision making.
In 1981 the largest conference committee in history, a total of over 250 conferees from both Chambers, met to reconcile over 300 matters in bicameral disagreement. That size record still stands, but big conferences are fairly commonplace today. A diverse mix of conferees serves on these joint panels. Prior to the mid-1970s, conferees nearly always were the most senior lawmakers from the committees that reported the legislation. Today, conferees are often chosen from several panels and reflect complex selection arrangements.