[Deschler's Precedents, Volume 1, Chapters 1 - 6]
[Chapter 3.  Party Organization]
[C. Party Committees and Informal Groups]
[Â§ 16. Campaign Committees; Informal Party Groups]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


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                               CHAPTER 3
 
                           Party Organization
 
                C. PARTY COMMITTEES AND INFORMAL GROUPS
 
Sec. 16. Campaign Committees; Informal Party Groups

    Party campaign committees exist for the purpose of aiding in

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the election of party members to the House.(18) The campaign 
committees raise and distribute campaign funds for use in the general 
elections in order to effectuate such purpose.(19) The 
Chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in past 
Congresses has been an ex officio member of the Steering 
Committee.(20)
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18. See the discussion of party campaign committees in Congressional 
        Quarterly's Guide to the Congress of the United States, 
        Congressional Quarterly Service (Washington, D.C., 1971), p. 
        606.
19. Certain provisions of Rule XLIII of the House rules are of interest 
        on the subject of campaign funds generally. See Rule XLIII 
        clauses 6, 7 (House Rules and Manual Sec. 939, 1973).
20. See Sec. 13, supra.
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    In addition to the formal party structure with which this chapter 
is primarily concerned, there exist a number of informal party groups. 
For example, the Democratic Study Group(1) conducts research 
and prepares reports with respect to issues relating to proposed 
legislation, and has been influential in promoting certain party 
reforms, such as procedures in the caucus for voting on nominations for 
standing committee chairmen. The Democratic Study Group maintains a 
``whip'' system for purposes of ensuring its members' attendance in the 
House when matters of interest to the group are under consideration.
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 1. For further discussion of the Democratic Study Group, see Ripley, 
        Randall B., Party Leaders in the House of Representatives, The 
        Brookings Institution (Washington, D.C., 1967), pp. 38 (note), 
        124, 176.
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    The Republican Wednesday Club also conducts research and furnishes 
information to its members with respect to issues that are of interest 
to the club. The status of pending legislation is discussed at meetings 
of the club.(2)
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 2. For further discussion of the Wednesday Club and other Republican 
        clubs, see Ripley, Randall B., Party Leaders in the House of 
        Representatives, The Brookings Institution (Washington, D.C., 
        1967), pp. 178 and 179 (note).
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    The above groups are discussed merely by way of example, there 
being a number of informal groups of a political or social nature among 
the membership of the House. The membership of some of the informal 
groups is bipartisan.

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