A conference committee is a special joint committee that brings together members of the House of Representatives and Senate to resolve issues in legislation to create a bill based in compromise.
A conference committee is used when the House and Senate versions of a bill differ enough that the bill will not be passed in its current state. These committees must compromise to create a new bill or the legislation will be at risk of dying before a vote. Major issues are typically the focus of conference committees such as health care, education, and human rights legislation.
The First Continental Congress, which was comprised of delegates from the colonies, met in 1774 in reaction to the Coercive Acts, a series of measures imposed by the British government on the colonies in response to their resistance to new taxes.
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