Joint Committee
A joint committee is a congressional committee made up of members of both the House and the Senate. Most joint committees are permanent, staff-based bodies that serve the whole Congress — overseeing a support function or providing nonpartisan expert analysis — rather than processing legislation, which normally moves through the standing committees of each chamber separately. Only four joint committees exist today, among them the Joint Committee on Taxation and the Joint Economic Committee.
A joint committee is a congressional committee made up of members of both the House and the Senate. Most joint committees are permanent, staff-based bodies that serve the whole Congress — overseeing a support function or providing nonpartisan expert analysis — rather than processing legislation, which normally moves through the standing committees of each chamber separately. Only four joint committees exist today, among them the Joint Committee on Taxation and the Joint Economic Committee.
Example: The Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) was established by the Revenue Act of 1926; per its official history page, the Senate version transformed the proposed commission into a Joint Committee with a permanent staff. Today the JCT nonpartisan staff prepares the official revenue estimates of all tax legislation Congress considers.
Common misconception: A joint committee is not a special fast track for bills. Joint committees generally do not report legislation to the floor at all; the modern joint committees (taxation, economics, the Library, printing) exist for investigation and analysis. A conference committee — the temporary House-Senate group that reconciles competing versions of one bill — is a different institution.
Sources: History | Joint Committee on Taxation (jct.gov)"; Joint Committee on Taxation | congress.gov"