Select and Special Committees

Most congressional work happens in standing committees, which exist permanently under chamber rules and have defined legislative jurisdiction. Select committees in the House and select or special committees in the Senate are created by resolution for a specific purpose. Some are temporary and expire when their task ends or the Congress adjourns. Others become effectively permanent, such as the Senate Select Committee on Ethics, the Senate Special Committee on Aging, and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.

Select committees usually study problems, conduct investigations, and make recommendations rather than report legislation, though some, like the intelligence committees, have legislative authority. They are a favored tool for high-profile inquiries because they can be given a focused mandate, dedicated staff, and subpoena power. Famous examples include the Senate Watergate Committee of 1973 to 1974, the Church Committee on intelligence abuses in 1975, the Iran-Contra committees of 1987, the House committee on the September 11 attacks, and the House select committee on the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol.

The majority leadership controls the membership and mandate of a select committee, so creating one is often a partisan decision, and the minority sometimes boycotts or contests its legitimacy. Recent select committees have also addressed long-term policy questions, such as the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party, created in 2023.