Ranking member

In United States politics, a ranking member is the second-most senior member of a congressional or state legislative committee from the majority party.^[1]

Another usage refers to the most senior member of a congressional or state legislative committee from the minority party.^[2] This second usage, often used by the media, should properly be referred to as the ranking minority member. On many committees the ranking minority member, along with the chairman, serve as ex officio members of all of the committee's subcommittees.

When party control of a legislative chamber changes, a committee's ranking minority member is likely, though not assured, to become the next chairman of the committee, and vice versa.

Congressional usage

Four Senate committees refer to the ranking minority member as Vice Chairman. The following committees follow the Chairman/Vice Chairman structure for the majority and minority parties.

Other Senate committees refer to the ranking minority members as Ranking Member.^[3]

The House of Representatives does not use the term vice chairman for the ranking minority member, though some committees do have a vice chairman position, usually assigned to a senior member of the majority party other than the chairman. House committees that follow this structure are:

Joint Committees of the House and Senate operate in much the same way, with a chairman and vice chairman from the majority party, alternating between a member of the House and a member of the Senate, and often two ranking members from both bodies.

References

↑ Archived July 24, 2008, at the Wayback Machine.
↑ Archived July 1, 2011, at the Wayback Machine.
↑ "United States Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs : Home". Banking.senate.gov. Retrieved 2013-10-18.

United States Congress

Members and leaders

Members

Current	By length of service Freshmen Youngest members Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico Delegates Longest-serving members ever

Senate	Current by seniority by age Dean of the Senate Former senators Living Earliest serving Earliest living Expelled or censured Classes Born outside the U.S.

House	Current by seniority Dean of the House Former representatives Living Oldest living Earliest serving Expelled, censured, and reprimanded Deaths by year

Leaders

Senate	President (list) President pro tempore (list) Majority and minority leaders Assistant party leaders Democratic Caucus (Chair Secretary Policy Committee Chair) Republican Conference (Chair Vice-Chair Policy Committee Chair)

House	Speaker Leaders Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group Democratic Caucus Republican Conference

Districts

Caucuses,
women and
minorities

Powers, privileges, procedure, committees, history, and media

Powers	Article I Copyright Commerce (Dormant) Contempt of Congress Declaration of war Impeachment Naturalization "Necessary and Proper" Power of enforcement Taxing/spending

Privileges and benefits	Salaries Franking Immunity

Procedure	Act of Congress (list) Appropriation bill Blue slip Budget resolution Censure Closed sessions House Senate Cloture Concurrent resolution Continuing resolution Dear colleague letter Discharge petition Engrossed bill Enrolled bill Expulsion Joint resolution Joint session (list) Lame-duck session Majority of the majority (Hastert Rule) Multiple referral Procedures (House) Quorum call Reconciliation Rider Saxbe fix Sponsorship Suspension of the rules Unanimous consent Veto Line-item veto Pocket veto Veto override

Senate-specific	Advice and consent Classes Executive communication Executive session Filibuster Jefferson's Manual Senate Journal Morning business Nuclear option Presiding Officer Recess appointment Reconciliation Riddick's Senate Procedure Senate hold Senatorial courtesy Seniority Standing Rules Tie-breaking votes Traditions Treaty Clause

Committees	Chairman and ranking member Of the Whole Conference Discharge petition Hearings Markup Oversight List (Joint) List (House) List (Senate) Select and special Standing Subcommittees

Items	Gavels Mace of the House Seal of the Senate

History	Biographical Directory Divided government House Gerrymandering Party control Senate Senate election disputes Senatorial memoirs Representative memoirs

Media	C-SPAN Congressional Quarterly The Hill Politico Roll Call

Offices, employees, services, and the Capitol Complex

Legislative
offices

Offices

Senate	Curator Historical Library

House	Congressional Ethics Emergency Planning, Preparedness, and Operations Interparliamentary Affairs Legislative Counsel Law Revision Counsel Library

Employees

Senate	Secretary Chaplain Curator Inspector General Historian Librarian Pages Parliamentarian Sergeant at Arms and Doorkeeper

House	Chaplain Chief Administrative Officer Clerk Doorkeeper Floor Operations Floor Services Chief Historian Pages (Page Board) Parliamentarian Postmaster Reading Clerk Sergeant at Arms

Library of
Congress

Government
Publishing Office

Capitol

Office
buildings

Senate	Dirksen Hart Mountains and Clouds Russell

House	Building Commission Cannon Ford Longworth O'Neill Rayburn

Other
facilities

Websites: House of Representatives; Senate

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