members of the joint committee will serve as co-chairs, one of which shall be a member of the House of Representatives and one of which shall be a member of the Senate. One co-chair shall be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the leader in the Senate of the same political party as the Speaker. The other co-chair shall be appointed by the minority leader of the House of Representatives and the leader in the Senate of the same political party as the minority leader of the House. The co-chairs shall be appointed not later than 14 calendar days after the members of the joint committee are appointed under this subsection. (5) Vacancies Any vacancy in the joint committee shall not affect its powers, but shall be filled not later than 14 calendar days after the date on which the vacancy occurs, in the same manner as the original appointment was made. If a member of the joint committee ceases to be a Member of the House of Representatives or the Senate, as the case may be, the member is no longer a member of the joint committee and a vacancy shall exist. (f) Hearings and meetings (1) In general The joint committee may, for the purpose of carrying out this section, hold such hearings and meetings, sit and act at such times and places, require attendance of witnesses and production of books, papers, and documents, take such testimony, receive such evidence, and administer such oaths as the joint committee considers advisable. (2) Hearing and meeting procedures and responsibilities of co-chairs (A) Hearings The co-chairs of the joint committee shall make a public announcement of the date, place, time, and subject matter of any hearing to be conducted, not less than 7 days in advance of such hearing, unless the co-chairs determine that there is good cause to begin such hearing at an earlier date. (i) Equal representation of witnesses Each co-chair shall be entitled to select an equal number of witnesses for each hearing held by the joint committee. (ii) Written statement A witness appearing before