The report explains what the committee recommends and why. It may include section-by-section analysis, budget estimates, oversight findings, changes in existing law, recorded committee votes, and dissenting or additional views. Those materials help members and later interpreters understand the proposal.

The report accompanies a measure ordered reported; it is not the bill text and cannot create an obligation on its own. When report language and enacted statutory text diverge, the enacted text governs.

A committee report differs from a conference report. The first explains a committee's legislation before floor action; the second contains the bicameral compromise after House and Senate versions differ. Identify both the producing body and the point in the sequence.

Video lesson: Congressional Committees: Crash Course Government and Politics #7