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National Journal examines "a shadowy arm of Congress," the so-called conference committees whose work is to reconcile competing versions of House and Senate bills. "No rules govern their activities, and once they've made their decision, their legislative handiwork is presented to rank-and-file lawmakers on a take-it-or-leave-it basis," reports the magazine. The story looks at the role that conference committees played in the federal legislative process in recent years. The author points out that, with the coming of the new administration of George W. Bush, conference committees "will become ground zero in battles between the Republican-controlled House and the Democratic-controlled Senate."

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