<P> The House uses committees and their subcommittees for a variety of purposes, including the review of bills and the oversight of the executive branch . The appointment of committee members is formally made by the whole House, but the choice of members is actually made by the political parties . Generally, each party honors the preferences of individual members, giving priority on the basis of seniority . Historically, membership on committees has been in rough proportion to the party's strength in the House as a whole, with two exceptions: on the Rules Committee, the majority party fills nine of the thirteen seats; and on the Ethics Committee, each party has an equal number of seats . However, when party control in the House is closely divided, extra seats on committees are sometimes allocated to the majority party . In the 109th Congress, for example, the Republicans controlled about 53% of the House as a whole, but had 54% of the Appropriations Committee members, 55% of the members on the Energy and Commerce Committee, 58% of the members on the Judiciary Committee, and 69% of the members on the Rules Committee . </P> <P> The largest committee of the House is the Committee of the Whole, which, as its name suggests, consists of all members of the House . The Committee meets in the House chamber; it may consider and amend bills, but may not grant them final passage . Generally, the debate procedures of the Committee of the Whole are more flexible than those of the House itself . One advantage of the Committee of the Whole is its ability to include otherwise non-voting members of Congress . </P> <P> Most committee work is performed by twenty standing committees, each of which has jurisdiction over a specific set of issues, such as Agriculture or Foreign Affairs . Each standing committee considers, amends, and reports bills that fall under its jurisdiction . Committees have extensive powers with regard to bills; they may block legislation from reaching the floor of the House . Standing committees also oversee the departments and agencies of the executive branch . In discharging their duties, standing committees have the power to hold hearings and to subpoena witnesses and evidence . </P> <P> The House also has one permanent committee that is not a standing committee, the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, and from time to time may establish committees that are temporary and advisory in nature, such as the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming . This latter committee, created in the 110th Congress and reauthorized for the 111th, has no jurisdiction over legislation and must be chartered anew at the start of every Congress . The House also appoints members to serve on joint committees, which include members of the Senate and House . Some joint committees oversee independent government bodies; for instance, the Joint Committee on the Library oversees the Library of Congress . Other joint committees serve to make advisory reports; for example, there exists a Joint Committee on Taxation . Bills and nominees are not referred to joint committees . Hence, the power of joint committees is considerably lower than those of standing committees . </P>

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