Ch. 1. Committees in Congress. Perspectives on Committee Power. Conditions Shaping the Role of Committees. Forms of Committee Power in Congress. Types of Committees. Sources of Committee Procedure and Structure. Variation and Change in the Committee Systems
Ch. 2. Evolution and Change in Committees. Development of the Modern Committee Systems. Committee Government: 1947-1964. Reform: 1965-1980. Postreform Committees (1981-1995): Decentralization and Individualism. Republican Rule and the 104th Congress. Committees and Parties in Congress
Ch. 3. Member Goals and Committee Assignments. The Importance of Committee Assignments. Member Goals in the House. Member Goals in the Senate. Jurisdictions, Agendas, and Environments. The Committee Assignment Process. The Distribution of Preferences
Ch. 4. Inside Committees: Leaders, Subcommittees, and Staff. Committee Leaders. Subcommittees. Committee Staff. Patterns of Subcommittee Orientation. The Rise and Decline of Subcommittee Government
Ch. 5. Committees in the Postreform Congress. Agenda and Partisan Change. Managing the Agenda. Committees on the Floor. Conference Committees. Perspectives on Committee Power Revisited.
