A Congressional committee in the parlance of the United States Congress and politics of the United States is a legislative sub-organization that handles a specific duty (rather than the general duties of Congress, i.e. making "necessary and proper" laws).
The House of Representatives relies more on its committees, as it is larger overall (435 as opposed to 100 members in the Senate). There are 20 standing committees (those that conduct business throughout the session, focusing on a certain, long-lasting issue). In the smaller United States Senate, there are only 16 standing committees.
Together, there are certain joint committees (those that are important enough to warrant members from both chambers), select committees (those that only last for a certain amount of time, for a matter that is currently important), and "other" committees (including Indians' Affairs).
Most committees also have one or more subcomitteess.
U.S. House Committee on Agriculture\n* U.S. House Committee on Appropriations\n* U.S. House Committee on Armed Services\n* U.S. House Committee on the Budget\n* U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce\n* U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce\n* U.S. House Committee on Financial Services\n* U.S. House Committee on Government Reform\n* U.S. House Committee on House Administration\n* U.S. House Committee on International Relations\n* U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary\n* U.S. House Committee on Resources\n* U.S. House Committee on Rules\n* U.S. House Committee on Science\n* U.S. House Committee on Small Business\n* U.S. House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct\n* U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure\n* U.S. House Committee on Veterans Affairs\n* U.S. House Committee on Ways and Means\n* Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence\n*Select Committee on Homeland Security
U.S. Senate Committee on Pensions\n* U.S. Senate Committee on Aeronautical and Space Sciences\n* U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry Committee\n* U.S. Senate Committee to Audit and Control the Contingent Expenses of the Senate\n* U.S. Senate Committee on Banking and Currency\n* U.S. Senate Committee on Canadian Relations\n* U.S. Senate Committee on Civil Service and Retrenchment\n* U.S. Senate Committee on Civil Service\n* U.S. Senate Committee on Claims \n* U.S. Senate Committee on Coast Defenses\n* U.S. Senate Committee on Coast and Insular Survey \n* U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce and Manufactures \n* U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce Committee\n* U.S. Senate Committee on Committee on Expenditures in Executive Departments\n* U.S. Senate Committee on Committee on Government Operations\n* U.S. Senate Committee on Conservation of National Resources\n* U.S. Senate Committee on Corporations Organized in the District of Columbia\n* U.S. Senate Committee on Cuban Relations\n* U.S. Senate Committee on Education and Labor \n* U.S. Senate Committee on Education \n* U.S. Senate Committee on Enrolled Bills\n* U.S. Senate Committee on Epidemic Diseases\n* U.S. Senate Committee on Fisheries Committee\n* U.S. Senate Committee on Forest Reservations and the Protection of Game\n* U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs \n* U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Depredations\n* U.S. Senate Committee on Industrial Expositions \n* U.S. Senate Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs\n* U.S. Senate Committee on Interoceanic Canals\n* U.S. Senate Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce\n* U.S. Senate Committee on Interstate Commerce \n* U.S. Senate Committee on Irrigation and Reclamation of Arid Lands \n* U.S. Senate Committee on Irrigation and Reclamation \n* U.S. Senate Committee on Labor and Public Welfare\n* U.S. Senate Committee on Manufactures \n* U.S. Senate Committee on Military Affairs\n* U.S. Senate Committee on Military Affairs\n* U.S. Senate Committee on Mines and Mining\n* U.S. Senate Committee on Mississippi River and Its Tributaries\n* U.S. Senate Committee on Naval Affairs \n* U.S. Senate Committee on Pacific Islands and Puerto Rico \n* U.S. Senate Committee on Pacific Islands, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands \n* U.S. Senate Committee on Pacific Railroads Committees\n* U.S. Senate Committee on Post Office and Civil Service\n* U.S. Senate Committee on Post Office and Post Roads\n* U.S. Senate Committee on Printing \n* U.S. Senate Committee on Private Land Claims\n* U.S. Senate Committee on Privileges and Elections\n* U.S. Senate Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds \n* U.S. Senate Committee on Public Health and National Quarantine \n* U.S. Senate Committee on Public Lands and Surveys \n* U.S. Senate Committee on Public Lands \n* U.S. Senate Committee on Public Works\n* U.S. Senate Committee on Railroads Committee\n* U.S. Senate Committee on Revolutionary Claims\n* U.S. Senate Committee on Roads and Canals \n* U.S. Senate Committee on Rules\n* U.S. Senate Committee on Standards, Weights, and Measures Committee\n* U.S. Senate Committee on Territories and Insular Affairs\n* U.S. Senate Committee on Territories and Insular Possessions\n* U.S. Senate Committee on Territories\n* U.S. Senate Committee on the Census\n* U.S. Senate Committee on the District of Columbia\n* U.S. Senate Committee on the Geological Survey\n* U.S. Senate Committee on the Library\n* U.S. Senate Committee on the Militia\n* U.S. Senate Committee on the Philippines \n* U.S. Senate Committee on Transportation Routes to the Seaboard Committee\n* U.S. Senate Committee to Establish a University of the United States
