1. Leadership in Congress
Unit 4: Institutions

2. I. House of Reps.

3. Appoints select and conference committees
Speaker
Presides over House
Appoints select and conference committees
Appoints Rules Committee members and its chairman
Assigns bills to committees
Third in line for presidency after VP
Informal powers i.e. access to media
Speaker of the House

4. Chew on This! What are the different ways this position can influence the legislative process?

5. What is this position doing to influence (change) how laws get passed?
Majority leader/Minority Leader
Partisan positions elected by party members in Congress
Manages the Floor,(where voting happens) help lead and provide strategies for passing bills
Keep Chewing on This!
What is this position doing to influence (change) how laws get passed?

6. Assistant to floor leaders Inform party leaders on “mood” of House
Majority Whip/Minority Whip
Assistant to floor leaders
Inform party leaders on “mood” of House
Keep nose count on important votes
Persuade party members to vote with party (voting by “party line”)
Liaison between party leadership and rank and file membership
Whip will round up all the possible votes you vote what the party wants aka “Party discipline”

7. Like the flavor? No? Keep chewing…!
How does the Whip help the Speaker and/or the Majority Leader push or kill legislation?

8. II. Senate

9. Vice President Pres of Senate Presides over Senate
Votes in case of ties
Ceremonial job

10. Presides in absence of VP Fourth in line for presidency
President Pro Tempore
Ceremonial job
Presides in absence of VP
Fourth in line for presidency

11. Recognized first for all debates True leader of majority party
Majority Leader
True leader in Senate
Recognized first for all debates
True leader of majority party
Influences committee assignments for senators
Influences Senate agenda, along with Minority Leader-”Bipartisan”
Informal powers i.e. use of media
Senate Majority Leader

12. You are burning calories now with all your chewing!
How is this similar or different to Speaker of the House?

13. They call you guys the chewers!!
Minority Leader and Party Whips: Same as House
The longer you chew the more you help with digestion!-Get it?????
They call you guys the chewers!!

14. Lecture DQs
Note- modified version of Question #2- FRQ 2003
Identify 2 ways party leadership in Congress can influence legislative process.
Explain how “partisan politics” impacts leadership in each way identified above

15. Sample Response Committee Assignments
Partisan politics influences committee assignments most notably in the HOR. Since the speaker of the House sets the legislative agenda, appoints all members of the Rules committee, this helps push partisan bills through process
Rules Committee appointed by Speaker
Rules committee will help push Republican supported bills through the process. This makes the majority party have complete control of which bills make it through to the floor for full vote