Congressional Leadership

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Congressional Leadership John Hernandez Politics & U.S. Documents Librarian February 8, 2007
,Today’s Menu Background & discussion of contemporary Congressional leadership roles
Brief who’s who for the 110th Congress Information resources for learning more ,Political Parties & Congress Parties have been vital to the work and organization of Congress since its inception
Parties serve to help select and elect candidates and to distribute power within Congress Party with the most seats controls key positions Parties increased in significance since the Civil War, with some decline in the 20th Century Contest today is between Republican and Democratic parties as majority or minority ,Leadership in Congress Defined by a mix of Constitutional mandate, established rules, and tradition
Largely a function of personal character Provides structure through which parties exert influence in Congress Demonstrates the dynamics of political partisanship in Congress Provides checks and balances with the Executive Support or opposition to President’s bills
Responses to State of the Union addresses ,Leadership Responsibilities Promoting legislative agenda of the party
Monitoring and shepherding of party’s bills
Obstructing passage of opposition party’s bills Making committee assignments Supporting candidates in their home districts Forging political coalitions Issuing rewards and punishments ,Leadership Positions Speaker of the House
President of the Senate Majority/Minority Floor Leaders Majority/Minority Whips Republican/Democratic Conference Chairs Standing committee chairs and ranking members Congressional membership organization chairs ,Speaker of the House Presiding officer (U.S. Const. art. 1, § 2, cl. 5)
Elected by members of House
Each party nominates a candidate, majority wins Second in line of Presidential succession after the VP (Presidential Succession Act of 1947) Has a lot of power Controls the legislative calendar
Leads appointment process of committee chairs Leader and national spokesperson of the majority party ,House Majority Leader Second in command to Speaker
Responsible for day-to-day management of legislative affairs on the House floor Responsible for building majority party consensus Officially designated in 1899, usually a lieutenant appointed by Speaker until 1911 Sometimes was the chair of Ways & Means or Appropriations committees
Since 1911, elected by members of majority party ,House Minority Leader Official role emerged in 1899
Elected by members of the minority party to serve as their spokesperson Criticizes the program of the majority party Seeks to block majority bills from passing ,President of the Senate Vice-President is the President of the Senate (U.S. Const. art. 1, § 3)
Only votes in the case of a tie, has little power Opens electoral ballots for Presidential elections President Pro-Tempore (“President for a time”) presides when the VP is not present Elected by resolution in the Senate
Usually the majority party member with the longest record of continuous service Third in line of Presidential succession Term of service solidified in 1890 ,Senate Majority Leader Role first established in 1925 (Republicans)
Elected by members of the majority party Senior Senate official, has the right of priority recognition on the Senate floor Primary spokesperson for majority party Day-to-day manager of business on the Senate floor Schedules the sequence and manner of debate on all legislation Responsible for building and managing majority party consensus ,Senate Minority Leader Established in 1920 (Democrats)
Elected by members of the minority party Senior official for the minority party Primary spokesperson for the minority Responsible for setting the legislative agenda and strategy of the minority party ,Majority & Minority Whips Term “whip” comes from British hunting lore: the whip keeps the foxhounds in line
Role first emerged in late