There is a Subcommittee on Pay, Promotion, and Retirement that would consider the pay bill. Once a bill is introduced, it is assigned to a committee. A bill is scheduled to have hearings, at which time witnesses may be called to testify as to why a bill is needed, and sub-committee members ask questions of the witnesses to determine the need or validity of the bill. Once the hearings are held, the members of the subcommittee will then vote on the bill to see if it should proceed further, on to the full committee. If the vote fails, then the bill dies.
Some bills are broad enough to warrant direct consideration by the full committee itself.
These types of bills, and bills that are referred to the full committee by a subcommittee, are debated in the committee, which might call witnesses, too. Finally, a vote on the bill is taken at the committee level. If the bill is defeated in the committee vote, it dies. If it passes, a committee report is attached to the bill and it is sent to the full house. In the House, a bill approved by a committee is referred to the whole House.