Final answer:
Only option a (They are both permanent committees) is correct; the House Ways and Means Committee is a permanent standing committee but does not share the other characteristics with the joint taxation committee.
Step-by-step explanation:
To compare the House Ways and Means Committee, a standing committee, to the joint committee that deals with taxation, we need to consider their structures and functions within Congress. Choose all of the following ways in which the House Ways and Means Committee, a standing committee, is comparable to the joint committee that deals with taxation:
- a. They are both permanent committees: The House Ways and Means Committee is a standing committee, denoting its permanent status. However, this is where the similarity ends because joint committees, although enduring entities, do not have the same legislative capacities.
- d. They both have the power to report legislation: While the joint committee does not have bill-referral authority and serves mostly an advisory role, it does provide reports which can inform legislation, a weaker form of reporting when compared to standing committees like Ways and Means.
- e. They each contain members from both chambers: This is incorrect with respect to the House Ways and Means Committee; it only consists of members from the House. Joint committees indeed include members from both the House and the Senate.
As such, only option a is a valid similarity where both are considered permanent structures within Congress. Options b and c do not necessarily apply since the Ways and Means Committee and joint committees are established for different purposes and do not always select chairpersons based on seniority. Option e is entirely incorrect as Ways and Means Committee members only come from the House, not both chambers.