Analyze the types of committees that operate in Congress and describe the purposes served by each type of committee. Then discuss how membership on committees is distributed between Republicans and Democrats

What will be an ideal response?

An ideal response will:
1, Define standing committees as relatively permanent congressional committees that address specific areas of legislation; the first stop for potential new laws.
2, Define select committees as usually temporary committees created by congressional leaders to conduct studies or investigations, to resolve matters that standing committees cannot or do not wish to handle. Their distinguishing feature is that they have no power to send bills to the House or Senate floor.
3, Define joint committees as committees with members from both houses that are organized to facilitate the flow of legislation.
4, Explain that the ratio of Democrats to Republicans on each committee is set for each house through a process of negotiation between the majority and minority party leaders. The majority party naturally enjoys a majority on each of the committees and controls the chair, as well as a substantial majority on the most important committees. The ratio of Democrats and Republicans on committees is especially a point of contention between the two parties when they are evenly divided.