Multiple Referral of Legislation in the U. S. Senate

Abstract

A small but significant portion of bills and resolutions in the U.S. Senate are handled not by the single committee but by two or more committees. The practice is of longer standing in the Senate than in the House of Representatives, which instituted multiple referrals only in 1975. Yet since the Senate's multiple-referral rules were broadened in 1977, the proportion of multiply-referred bills has not soared, as it has in the House. Nor have Senate leaders used the device extensively (as House leaders have) as a way of orchestrating and scheduling committee processing of high-priority measures. This paper describes the Senate's use of multiple referrals, using figures on overall frequency of use, committee variations, and typical committee pairs in handling multiply-referred bills. We examine the politics of intercommittee deliberations from the vantage point of the committees and the leadership. Finally, we speculate on the reasons for the two chambers' contrasting experience with multiple referrals.