Congressional Leaders

112th United States Congress

Term: January 3, 2011 – January 3, 2013 President of the Senate: Joe Biden President pro tempore of the Senate: Dan Inouye Speaker of the House: John Boehner Members: 435 Representatives

100 Senators6 Territorial Delegates

House Majority: Republican Senate Majority: Democratic

Organization of Congress

• Every two years, a new Congress is seated on January 3rd.

• The first order of business is the election of leaders and adoption of new rules. – Both houses of Congress are organized on the basis

of party for both leadership and committee purposes.

Organization

Each house has the power to organize itself:1) Political Parties - No mention of political parties in Constitution

- Create own rules - Majority party - Minority party - Each party has a leader 2) Whips 3) Committees

Congress Organizes

House of Reps• A clerk calls chamber

to order and checks roll.

• The members choose a Speaker who takes an oath and swears in the rest of the House.

• House elects various positions, adopts new rules and organizes committees.

Senate• “Continuous body"• New and reelected

members are sworn in and committee vacancies are filled.

• Congress adjourns until the State of the Union Address, given usually at the end of January or beginning of February–WHY?

Duties of Party Leaders

• Spokesperson for the party• Advocates party policy and viewpoints• Keeps party united• Schedule of business

Senate• President of the Senate: Joe Biden• President pro tempore: Dan Inouye (D-Hawaii)

Majority (Democratic) leadership• Majority Leader and Democratic Conference Chairman: Harry

Reid (Nevada) • Assistant Majority Leader (Majority Whip) Richard Durbin

(Illinois)

Minority (Republican) leadership• Minority Leader: Mitch McConnell (Kentucky) • Assistant Minority Leader (Minority Whip): Jon Kyl (Arizona)

The President of the Senate• Under the Constitution, the

Vice President serves as President of the Senate. He may vote in the Senate in the case of a tie, but is not required to.

• The President Pro Tempore (and others designated by him) usually perform these duties during the Vice President's frequent absences from the Senate.

House of Representatives• Speaker: John Boehner (R-Ohio)

Majority (Republican) leadership• Majority Leader: Eric Cantor (Virginia)• Majority Whip:

Kevin McCarthy (California)

Minority (Democratic) leadership • Minority Leader: Nancy Pelosi (California)• Minority Whip: Steny Hoyer (Maryland)• Chief Deputy Minority Whip: James Clyburn

Speaker of the House

House Officer, Party Leader, and Representative

• The Speaker of the House of Representatives is widely viewed as symbolizing the power and authority of the House.

• The Speaker’s most prominent role is that of presiding officer of the House.

– Administers proceedings on the House floor,

– Has power to recognize members on the floor to speak or make motions

– Power to appoint Members to conference committees.

Selection of the Speaker• When the House of Representatives

convenes at the beginning of a new Congress, its first order of business is to elect a Speaker.

• To be elected Speaker a candidate must receive an absolute majority of the votes cast. – Speaker is going to be a member of the majority

party

Majority, Minority Leaders and Whips

Senate

• Majority Leader – Steers the party’s bills through the Senate– Plans the Senate’s work schedule and agenda in

consultation with the minority leader– Makes sure that majority members attend

important sessions – Organizes support on key bills

• Minority leader– Develops criticism of the majority party’s bills– Keeps minority party members working together

House of Representatives

• Majority Leader– Top assistant to the Speaker of the House– Helps plan the party’s legislative program– Steers important bills through the House– Makes sure the chairpersons of the committees

finis work on bills important to the party

• Minority Leader– Helps plan the party’s legislative agenda– Steers important bills through the House

Role of the Whips

Whips perform three primary functions:

–mobilizing the vote on key legislative objectives

– Distributes information to Members and

leadership

– coordinating strategy within the chamber

Mobilizing the Vote

• Before a major vote comes to the floor, the Whip

polls members on their support of the legislation.  

• The Whip ensures that the leadership position

has strong support.  

Distributing Information

• The Whip provides information to Members such as the upcoming schedule of legislation.  

Coordinating Strategy• The Whip coordinates strategy and scheduling with the

Speaker and Majority Leader on the floor of the House of

Representatives.

•  The Whip is expected to "get out the vote," by ensuring that

Members will be present on the floor during close votes.  

• The Whip is largely responsible for coordinating voting

strategy among the party members to ensure final passage.