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National Resources Committee 



all legislative proi^osals shall be referred to committees 

 for examination, recommendation, and report before 

 coming before the chambers themselves for action. 

 This feature, which finds no counterpart, so far as the 

 writer is aware, in any other country of first rank, is 

 made all the more important by the practice generally 

 adopted by the committees of holding what are known 

 as public hearings upon all measures in respect to which 

 there is any evidence of a desire on the part of any 

 interested party to be heard in support of, or opposi- 

 tion to, the proposal. This system, in addition to its 

 significance as a means of permitting popular partici- 

 pation in the reaching of legislative determinations, has 

 the important interest, from the standpoint of the pres- 

 ent study, that it affords an exceedingly effective means 

 of research into the problems presented by legislative 

 proposals, and of securing the essential data upon 

 which to base intelligent action. In the case of Con- 

 gress, these hearings are almost invariably reported 

 stenographically and printed for the use of committee 

 members and others. These printed hearings often 

 embrace, not oiily the oral testimony of witnesses, but 

 carefully compiled data presented by the witnesses 

 in support of their evidence. 



It results from the foregoing that this system of pub- 

 lic hearings presents an exceptionally effective means 

 of researcli into legislative problems; and the printed 

 hearings constitute research documents of exceptional 

 value. This is especially true of the hearings held by 

 certain of the n\ore important committees — the hear- 

 mgs on the annual appropriation bills by the coimnittees 

 on appropriations which represent an amiual searching 

 inquiry into the mamier in which previous appropria- 

 tions have been expended by administrative agencies 

 and the validity of demands for the future as set forth 

 m the budget submitted by the President ; the hearings 

 by the House Committee on Ways and Means and the 

 Senate Committee on Finance on tariff, taxation, and 

 other financial proposals; the hearings on proposals 

 for amending the constitution and judicial reforms by 

 the Committees on the judiciary of the two Houses; 

 the hearings by the Senate Committee on Foreign Ke- 

 lations and the House Committee on Foreign Affairs 

 on matters relating to treaties and other aspects of 

 foreign relations, etc. 



In view of the importance of these documents it is 

 to be regretted that they are not printed in larger 

 editions and greater opportunity is not afforded to the 

 public to obtain them. In theory, they are printed for 

 the information alone of the committee, and, thus, are 

 not deemed to be "public documents" which, under the 

 general law governing the distribution of public docu- 

 ments, are distributed to "depository public libraries." 

 It is even difficult for the student to get information re- 

 garding their existence and, unless he makes inmiediate 



application for a copy to the comnrittee holding the 

 hearing, he may find great difficulty in securing a copy 

 or of getting access to it in his local library.' Much 

 tlie best source of obtaining knowledge of hearings that 

 have been reported and printed is the volume published 

 by the Senate Library entitled : Index of Congressional 

 Committee Hearings (not confidential in character) 

 Prior to January 3, 1935, in the United States Senate 

 Lihranj. G. P. O. 1935 and Supplement covering the 

 period Januarj* 3, 193.5 to January 5, 1937. 



Although the system of public hearings obtains in 

 the States, and is especially well developed in the 

 New England States, it is exceptional when the hear- 

 ings are reported stenographically and reproduced in 

 typewriting or printing. Though their results are thus 

 not available to the future student they none the less 

 serve a valuable purpose in facilitating legislation. 



Committee Reports 



Another important feature of the American com- 

 mittee system, at least insofar as the National Govern- 

 ment is concerned, is the requirement of the rules that 

 "all bills, petitions, memorials, or resolutions reported 

 from a committee shall be accompanied by reports in 

 writing which shall be printed." These reports, in the 

 ease of minor bills or ones of a noncontentious nature, 

 are often of a perfunctory character, consisting of little 

 more than a statement that the bill has had considera- 

 tion and that favorable action upon it is recommended. 

 When, however, the bill is one of importance, or gives 

 grounds for serious differences of opinion, the report 

 is frequently of considerable length and sets forth in 

 detail the arguments in favor of the action recom- 

 mended ; in particular does it seek to explain all amend- 

 ments recommended to be made in the bill. As bills 

 are rarely reported by committees except when favor- 

 able action is recommended, the reports prepared repre- 

 sent for the most part but the voice of the majority. 

 The rules, however, recognize the right of the minority 

 to explain their views in dissenting reports. In general, 

 these minority reports, as they are called, are made at 

 the same time and in conjunction with the majority 

 reports. Occasionally, however, they are later sub- 

 mitted by unanimous consent in which case they appear 

 as separate documents. 



It is hardly necessary to say that these committee 

 reports often constitute exceedingly valuable docu- 

 ments, representing, as they frequently do, the results 

 of careful research and examination of data. In them 

 are to be found not only the arguments in favor of 

 and against the action recommended but often refer- 



' The Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office, seeks 

 to carry surplus stoclj of Uearings which may usually be secured from 

 him, at a moderate cost. 



