When lawmakers want to make a new law, they write a bill. That bill goes to a committee that then debates the contents of the proposed law and writes the final bill to be voted upon in the House and Senate. Each year, several thousand measures are referred to committees. Only a small percentage are selected for consideration, and those not addressed often receive no further action. In this way, committees determine the fate of proposed laws.
Committees are also uniquely American.
No other system in the world uses committees. Committees even predate political parties in this country. During the Continental Congress in Philadelphia, committees were essential to drafting parts of their work. According to Christopher Deer, author of Committees in Congress , the members of the first Congress in 1789 were reacting to the British House of Commons. Their experiences led them to devise mechanisms allowing the full expression of the will of congressional majorities while maintaining the equality of all legislators.