Senior citizens lost a friend in Congress today. The House of Representative's Select Committee on Aging was allowed to die quietly, its budgets not renewed. Three other select committees _ Hunger; Children, Youth and Families; and Narcotics Abuse and Control _ also were eliminated. The cuts were intended to reduce costs and streamline Congress. The committees eliminated were never intended to be permanent, nor were they ever able to introduce legislation, although their members often did. Permanent standing committees cover the same topics and can report bills. But tell that to the staff members who are losing their jobs, and the chairmen who question whether the reform got thorough consideration. "It's sheer politics," said Rep. William Hughes, D-N.J., the Select Aging chairman. "The reasoning is, "Here are four easy targets.' It's a matter of saving their own committee staffs at the expense of ours." The Aging Committee cost about $1.5-million to run last year. The average cost of the 21 standing committees was $2.5-million. Narcotics was the first committee to feel the ax, at a savings of $730,000. The January vote against re-establishment was 237 to 180. And despite the talk about reform-minded freshmen, the same percentage of returning members voted for the cut. Amendments to save the three other select committees, including Aging, were then abandoned. "Members didn't want to vote against senior citizens," Hughes said. Just how much senior citizens will be affected by the loss of their House advocate has been debated. Members of the 12 standing committee staffs with jurisdiction over aging issues said work often was duplicated. But bay area congressmen said standing committees will fragment senior issues. "There is no other specific committee that has aging jurisdiction," said C. W. Bill Young, R-Indian Rocks Beach, whose 1975 amendment formed the Aging Committee. "One would have Social Security, one would have health, but none have overall responsibility." "I honestly don't think other committees would cover all the aging issues," said Michael Bilirakis, R-Palm Harbor, a former committee member. A spokesman for the American Association for Retired Persons agreed. Seniors "need a specific forum," said Tom Otwell of AARP. "The population is getting older and the issues are certainly not going away." In its 18 years, the Aging Committee has been responsible for about 1,000 hearings and reports, according staff director Brian Lutz. It first gained recognition under chairman Claude Pepper, D-Fla., who led Congress to put limits on mandatory retirement. Its members also forwarded legislation providing flu vaccinations under Medicare, developing home-delivered meals programs under the Older Americans Act, curbing fraud in the sale of "medigap' insurance to the elderly and frequently drawing attention to elder abuse.