Strange terminology, USHR

[Gary Novosielski]

I was gazing at C-SPAN this morning and ran across the term Permanent Select Committee.  Isn't this an oxymoron, equivalent to Standing Special Committee?

Yes, I know it's not RONR, but I thought someone might know.

[Drake Savory]

Blame Jim Wright.

IIRC it is because the PSC does not have the legislative power that a standing committee has.

[Joshua Katz]

 Yes, this is the thing that doesn't make any sense about DC 😜

[Gary Novosielski]

10 hours ago, Joshua Katz said:

 Yes, this is the thing that doesn't make any sense about DC 😜

Yes, thank goodness everything else makes sense. 🙄

[Rob Elsman]

This committee is a "select committee" organized under U.S. House Rule X, clauses 10 and 11. It is the only committee in the House designated as a "permanent select" committee to emphasize its ongoing responsibilities in contrast to "select" committees. It is specifically named and has a listed jurisdiction.

[Shmuel Gerber]

1 hour ago, Rob Elsman said:

This committee is a "select committee" organized under U.S. House Rule X, clauses 10 and 11. It is the only committee in the House designated as a "permanent select" committee to emphasize its ongoing responsibilities in contrast to "select" committees. It is specifically named and has a listed jurisdiction.

Oh, well that explains it. 

[TheGrandRascal]

Actually, there very much are combination "standing/special" committees. I call them "recurring committees." Just like standing committees, they are usually provided for in the bylaws, and have official names -- but, unlike standing committees, they are usually needed only periodically, or on exceptional occasions, or at certain times. Typical examples within ordinary societies include:

trial committee,

auditing committee,

nominating committee,

or

election committee.

 

As you can see if you stop to ponder these examples, these are all committees that many organizations have a periodic -- but not necessarily a continuous -- need for. Hence my term, "recurring committee" -- a committee with aspects of both the standing, and the special, committee.

 

It's a type of committee that I've never seen any Parliamentary authority (Robert's or otherwise) take any cognizance of.

Edited April 1, 2020 at 02:46 PM by TheGrandRascal

[Gary Novosielski]

9 hours ago, TheGrandRascal said:

It's a type of committee that I've never seen any Parliamentary authority (Robert's or otherwise) take any cognizance of.

It seems to me that any of these would be called standing committees.  The term recurring makes clear that they are not appointed to consider a single item, but rather to consider a specific class of business whenever it occurs. That's a standing committee.  The fact that they may not meet until needed, perhaps for long stretches of time, does not change things.  They are established, appointed, organized and ready to meet when called upon.

[Dan Honemann]

Well, neither the Nominating Committee nor the Auditing Committee referred to in the sample bylaws is a standing committee. 

[Gary Novosielski]

6 hours ago, Daniel H. Honemann said:

Well, neither the Nominating Committee nor the Auditing Committee referred to in the sample bylaws is a standing committee. 

Okay, but then they must be Special Committees, yes?  

(And the same might be said of the Program Committee, since it has but one task.)