#86: CIVICS 101: The Legislative Branch
Q&A #86: What is a select committee?
Our American Government
Our American Government is a small book published by the House of Representatives for citizens and those who seek a greater understanding of the American interpretation of democracy. It follows a question-and-answer format and covers a broad range of topics dealing with the three branches of our Government, the electoral process, and the role of political parties.
The Savvy Citizen is reproducing the 169 questions-and-answers through a series of posts called Civics 101. Each post will contain the Q&A as well as some additional commentary to add historical context, fun facts, or anything we believe will add to our collective understanding of these topics.
Think of it as your adult Civics class but without the test!
Let’s keep at it.
SECTION: The Legislative Branch: The Congress
The Committee System
Q&A #86: What is a select committee?
In the contemporary era, select committees are established by the House and Senate usually for limited time periods and for strictly limited purposes. In most cases, they have not been accorded legislative power—the authority to consider and report legislation to the full Chamber. After completing their purpose, such as an investigation of a Government activity and making a report thereon, the select committee expires.
Recently, however, the Chambers have permitted select committees to continue to exist over long periods; some, such as the House and Senate Select Committees on Intelligence, have been granted legislative authority.
My Thoughts
You can check out the select committees on Congress.gov here. One of the more interesting select committees is the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party. You can learn more about their activites here.
Back next time with Q&A #87: What are joint committees and how are they established?
Meanwhile, don’t forget that we’re organizing the post links on a single page available here.
xo,
Kelley for the Savvy Citizen Team
April 23, 2025