Standing committees?

Question

How many 2-year term standing committees are in the House? And how many 6-year term standing committees are in the Senate?

Answer 1

With all of the money we pay in taxes why are the committees still standing? That's probably why they always look so tired & unhappy!!

Answer 2

I think there is a misconception in your question: A "Standing Committee" is a permanent committee that continues from one Congress to the next one.It is not limited to a two-year term, although the membership of the committee may change in each Congress. Of course, all of those standing committees remain continuously at work in the Senate from one Congress to another, because only 1/3rd of the Senate runs for re-election every two years.

Currently, there are about 19 Standing Committees in the House (such as Appropriations, Armed Services, Budget, JUdiciary, Rules, Ways and Means, etc.) In addition, each of these may have many subcomittees (Appropriations alone has 13 subcommittees).

There are committees that are formed for specific purposes and for temporary purposes. These are "Select Committees", and are created in one congress, and may or may not continue to another congress. The best examples are the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, and the current Select Committee on Homeland Security. There may be special committees to investigate some aspect of government, such as the Watergate Committee.

In the Senate, there are currently about 16 Standing Committees, (such as Agriculture, Appropriations, Armed Services, Finance, Foreign Relations, Governmental Affairs, Judiciary, Rules and Administration, and Veterans Affairs, etc. )

There are also several Senate Special and Select Committees, such as committees on Aging, Ethics, Indian Affairs and Intelligence.

In addition to all these comittees, there are what are called Joint Congressional Committees, containing members from both the House and the Senate. They oversee some aspect of the Congress, but do not have the power to approve legislation or appropriations. These include the Economic Committee, Library of Congress, Printing, and Taxation Committee (which includes members from the Senate Finance Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee.)