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Both the House of Representatives and the Senate are organized into committees. Committees are especially important in the House of Representatives because of its size.
Standing committees are permanent committees that continue from one Congress to the next. In the 119th Congress, the House has twenty standing committees, each with an average of thirty-nine Members. Together, they have a total of 97 subcommittees that collectively act as the eyes, ears, and hands of the House.
Committees consider issues roughly parallel to those of the departments in the president's Cabinet. For example, there are committees on agriculture, education, the judiciary, veterans affairs, transportation, and commerce.
