From the Congressional Glossary – Including Legislative and Budget Terms Chairman / Chair / Chairwoman The presiding officer of a committee or subcommittee. In the Senate, chairmanship is based on seniority of committee tenure, but a senator may not chair more than one standing committee. Traditionally, the majority party member with the greatest seniority on … Read more
From the Congressional Glossary – Including Legislative and Budget Terms Joint Committee Committees including membership from both the House and the Senate. A joint committee may be investigative or research oriented. Joint committees are usually established with narrow jurisdictions and normally lack authority to report legislation. As of 2018 only five joint committees remain: Joint … Read more
From the Congressional Glossary – Including Legislative and Budget Terms Ex Officio photo credit: cwasteson Literally, by virtue of one’s office. The term refers to the practice under Senate rules that allows the chairman and ranking minority member of a committee to participate in any of the subcommittees of that committee, but generally not to … Read more