page_title: Select or special committee
section_title: Notable select committees
hierarchical_section_title: Select or special committee / Notable select committees
context_page_description: A select or special committee of the United States Congress is a congressional committee appointed to perform a special function that is beyond the authority or capacity of a standing committee. A select committee is usually created by a resolution that outlines its duties and powers and the procedures for appointing members. Select and special committees are often investigative, rather than legislative, in nature though some select and special committees have the authority to draft and report legislation.
  A select committee generally expires on completion of its designated duties, though it can be renewed. Several select committees are treated as standing committees by House and Senate rules and are permanent fixtures in both bodies, continuing from one Congress to the next. Examples include the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence in the House and the Select Committee on Intelligence in the Senate. The Senate Indian Affairs Committee is a select committee, though the word select is no longer a part of its name.
  Some select committees are called special committees, such as the Senate Special Committee on Aging.
context_section_description: While earlier select committees often narrowly tailored to specific issues, some select committees ultimately had a noticeable impact on federal legislation and American history. One was the select committee dealing with Missouri's admission to the Union as a new state. The committee was established in 1821 and lasted just 7 days. Chaired by Henry Clay, the committee helped draft the Missouri Compromise, which attempted to resolve the question of whether slavery would be permitted in newly admitted states.
  Some select committees went on to become permanent standing committees. The most notable of these is the Ways and Means Committee. It was first established as a select committee July 24, 1789 during a debate on the creation of the Treasury Department. Representatives had concerns over giving the new department too much authority over revenue proposals, so the House felt it would be better equipped if it established a committee to handle the matter. This first Committee on Ways and Means had 11 members and existed for just two months. It later became a standing committee in 1801, and still operates as a standing committee today.
caption: Henry Clay, Chairman of the Select Committee on the Various Propositions for the Admission of Missouri into the Union
exif: {"Image ImageWidth": "2898", "Image ImageLength": "3496", "Image BitsPerSample": "[16, 16, 16]", "Image Compression": "Uncompressed", "Image PhotometricInterpretation": "2", "Image Make": "OLYMPUS OPTICAL CO.,LTD", "Image Model": "E-10", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image SamplesPerPixel": "3", "Image XResolution": "400", "Image YResolution": "400", "Image PlanarConfiguration": "1", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Adobe Photoshop CS5 Macintosh", "Image DateTime": "2011:06:20 17:10:35", "Image ExifOffset": "308", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "666", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "3044", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1", "EXIF FNumber": "11/5", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Manual", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "80", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2004:07:16 12:22:08", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "0", "EXIF ApertureValue": "2275007/1000000", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "103/50", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire", "EXIF FocalLength": "20", "EXIF ColorSpace": "Uncalibrated", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "2898", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "3496"}