Congressional Committees What is the Central Idea? Congressional committees have been referred to as the "backbone of Congress". However, the system by which the majority of the work in Congress is accomplished is not defined in the Constitution. The work of Congress soon became so vast that it became essential to the governing of the nation, to divide the work of legislating into specialized committees. These committees in both the House and the Senate serve to first consider specific legislation on topics such as the military (armed services committee), foreign policy (foreign relations committee) or spending (appropriations committee) before passing bills onto the entire House or Senate for consideration. ​