The House of Representatives 6 Purposes of the House Leadership 1.Organize and unify party members. 2.Scheduling the work of the Houses. 3.Making certain.

The House of Representatives

6 Purposes of the House Leadership

1. Organize and unify party members.

2. Scheduling the work of the Houses.

3. Making certain that law makers are present for key floor votes.

4. Distributing and collecting information.

5. Keeping the House in touch with the President.

6. Influencing lawmakers for support of policies their party wants.

Who is the presiding officer of the House of Representatives?

Who is the presiding officer of the House of Representatives?

Speaker

of the

House

John Boehner

* From Ohio*Second in Line to the Presidency of the United States.

Who is the presiding officer of the House of Representatives?

Who is the presiding officer of the House of Representatives?

•Speaker of the House: •Presides over sessions•Influence proceedings by

•Which members are recognized first•Schedules bills for action•Refers bills to right house committee

•Appoints members of some committees.

Who is the #2 officer in the House of Representatives?

• There is not one.

• If the Speaker must be gone, then the Majority Leader steps in for a few days.

Who are the other leaders of the House of Representatives?

• House Majority LeaderEric Cantor

– Right hand person to the Speaker– Help push through bills– Often ‘bugs’ other members in committee to get a move on.

• Majority WhipKevin McCarthy

– Watchdog to see how people are planning to vote.– Persuade people to do as the party wishes.

House Minority Leader

Nancy Pelosi

House Minority Whip

Steny Hoyer

Who are the other leaders of the House of Representatives?

Can’t Schedule work in the House.

The Senate

The Senate Leaders

• Has no Speaker position.

• Permits more freedom in Senators activities.

• Party leaders do not have more influence over other senators.

Who is the presiding officer of the Senate?

The Vice President of the U.S. who has the title of “President of the Senate.”

Joe Biden

Can cast a vote in case of a tie.When VP is not there (most of the time) the president pro tempore takes over.He/she is elected with the President of U.S.

Who is #2 in the Senate?

President Pro- Tempore

From Vermont

First Elected in 1976

Currently serving his seventh term

Who are the other leaders in the Senate?

Senate Majority LeaderHarry Reid

Makes sure people are attending meetings for his party and gets support on

important bills

Majority WhipRichard Durbin

Assists the Majority leader.Makes sure legislators are present for key votes.

Minority LeaderMitch McConnellDevelops criticisms for

majority party’s bills

Minority WhipTexan John Cornyn

Who are the other leaders in the Senate?

In both the Senate and the House of Representatives,

there are other leaders.

The most important are the committee chairpersons.

Committees

• This is where all the work is done

• Each Congressman is a member (or chair) of several committees

• Some committees are more powerful/exciting than others; selection to a committee based on tenure, politics, and constituency needs

• Allows members to become specialists

Committees

Committees

• Special Interest Groups: Representatives who represent a communities specific interest to produce solutions for that particular field.

– Example: Global Warming, Environmental Groups, Libraries, Education, Racial Groups, Wildlife Protection, etc.

• Political Parties: Many procedures in Congress are organized around political party affiliation.– Example: Republicans sit on one side of

Congress and Democrats sit on the other side, Power to organize each branch of Congress.

Special Interest Groups and Political Parties

Committee Chairpersons

• Make the important decisions: when they will meet, which bills to consider, and for how long

• Decide on experts & witnesses to be called/allowed

• Manage floor debates on bills from their committees

Rules Committee• One of the most

powerful committees• Decides how and when

a bill will be considered (controls flow of traffic)

• Can move a bill up on the Calendar

• Can also place a time limit on debate

Pete Sessions – R TX

House: Rules Committee

Rules CommitteeHouse Rules Committee Function

• Once bills have reached the floor of the House for debate and for a vote to do so by this committees “rule”

• Once major bills come out of this committee then they are entered in the Union calendar.

•Union calendar- lists bills dealing with money issues.•Where rules committee can request for bill to be moved up in voting process.

• Need a quorum for business to happen- 218 members needed.