U3 P2 Flashcards
Speaker of House of Representatives
A) Elected at the start of each new Congress. The majority party’s choice wins.
B) Duties include:
1) Presiding over the House (run meetings & keep order)
2) Refers bills to committees, which can greatly increase or decrease their chances for passage.
3) Helps appoint majority party’s House members to committees (some committees are considered better than others).
The House Floor Leaders
A) Both party caucuses elect one. Majority party’s choice becomes the Majority Leader, and the minority party’s becomes the Minority Leader.
B) Majority Leader helps the Speaker schedule bills for debate (earlier=better).
C) Minority Leader is that party’s chief spokesperson in the House.
The House Whips & The Senate Whips
A) Elected just like the House Floor Leaders (see 2A).
B) They “whip party members into line” before important votes.
C) They influence members with verbal persuasion, or threats (loss of choice committee assignments, campaign support, recruiting challengers to run against them, cuts in staff, moving them to/from bigger offices).
The Senate Presidents
A) Vice President is President of the Senate. He breaks tie votes, and is supposed to preside over meetings, but rarely does.
B) The longest serving member of the majority party is elected the Senate President pro tempore, and is supposed to run meetings in the V-P’s absence, though he rarely does so. Usually, junior Senators take turns presiding.
The Senate Floor Leaders
A) Elected just like the House Floor Leaders (see 2A).
B) Majority Leader schedules bills for debate, and is that party’s chief spokesperson in the Senate.
C) Minority Leader is that party’s chief spokesperson in the Senate.
D) In recent years, leading filibusters (deliberately blocking passage of a bill) has become an important duty for the Minority Leader as well.
