Congressional Hearings: What are they?
By Susanne Caro, North Dakota State University, TECHSERT/GODORT
“A hearing is a meeting or session of a Senate, House, joint, or special committee of Congress, usually open to the public, to obtain information and opinions on proposed legislation, conduct an investigation, or evaluate/oversee the activities of a government department or the implementation of a Federal law. In addition, hearings may also be purely exploratory in nature, providing testimony and data about topics of current interest.”
-Government Publishing Office.
Hearings can be a useful source of information with testimony by experts, personal accounts, and reports of findings.
What can a committee do?
A committee can investigate, can invite specialists or subpoena witnesses. “Refusal to cooperate with a congressional subpoena can result in charges of contempt of Congress, which could result in a prison term” (whitehouse.gov) A contempt charge must be considered and voted on by a chamber (House or Senate), but most charges are dropped because documents or testimony are provided.
People who have been held in contempt include: Henry Kissinger (1975), Rita Lavelle (1983, EPA official sentenced to 6 months in prison and fined $10,000), and Attorney General Janet Reno (1998). Although Congress can investigate just about any subject, including those involving criminal behavior, it cannot initiate criminal prosecution. Such matters can be referred to the Department of Justice for investigation
Hearing Highlights:
·The first congressional investigative hearing was held in Philadelphia in 1792 to investigate General St. Clair's 1792 defeat by Miami, Shawnee, Buckongahela, and Delaware peoples at the Battle of the Wabash.
-In 1938, the Red Scare led to the creation of a special investigative committee: House Un-American Activities Committee. “Committee members branded witnesses as “red” if they refused to comply or hesitated in answering committee questions.” [Source: Background Essay, Truman Presidential Museum and Library] The committee was made a standing committee in 1945 and was eliminated in 1975.
·In 2008, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform released the Mitchell Report: The Legal Use of Steroids in Major League Baseball. The report named 89 major league players believed to have used steroids.
·In 2022, a hearing on Department of Defense Appropriations asked about UFOs and led to the release of a report on Unidentified Aerial Phenomena.
State Legislative Hearings:
State legislatures also hold hearings. You can find information on hearings and watch recorded hearings at www.ndlegis.gov If you are interested in using Congressional hearing for research, the Library of Congress has guides to assist you:
Published Hearings - How to locate a published congressional hearing: a beginner's guide
Unpublished Hearings - How to locate an unpublished congressional hearing: a beginner's guide
You can hearings at govinfo.gov
UNTIL NEXT TIME!