Congressional Leadership

Speaker of the House

•The most important position in Congress.
•The elected, presiding officer of the House of Representatives.
•The Speaker is chosen from the majority party in the House and is typically the

longest serving House member.
•The Speaker’s powers revolve around two primary duties:

•1) preside over the House, and
•2) maintain order.

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Speaker of the House
•The Speaker presides over most sessions of Congress.
•No member of the House may speak unless he or she is recognized by the
Speaker and given permission to speak.
•Other duties include: interprets and applies the rules of the House, refers bills
to committees, rules on points of order, puts motions to a vote, and names the
members of all select and conference committees.
•The Speaker must sign all resolutions and bills passed by the House.
•The Speaker may vote, but typically only does so in the event of a tie.

Multiple Choice

Which house of Congress does the Speaker of the House belong to?

• Senate

• House Of Representatives

• Presidential Cabinet

• Supreme Court

Multiple Select

What are the primary duties of the Speaker of the House?

• Preside over the Senate

• Preside over the House of Representatives

• Maintain Order

• Decide if the laws are constitutional

President of the Senate
• The President of the Senate is always the Vice President of the

United States and is the Senate’s presiding officer.

• Unlike the Speaker of the House, the President of the Senate is

not an elected member of Congress and may not even be a
member of the majority party in the Senate.

• The President of the Senate does have the following powers:

• recognize members who want to speak
• put measures to a vote, and vote ONLY in the event of a tie
• In addition, the President of the Senate may NOT debate a bill.

Multiple Choice

The President of the Senate is always___?

• Speaker of the House

• The Vice President

• The Secretary of State

• The President

Multiple Select

What are the powers of the President of the Senate (select all that apply)

• recognize members who want to speak

• Veto Bills

• Put measures to a vote

• Vote only in the event of a tie

President Pro Tempore

•The presiding officer of the Senate in the Vice President’s absence.
•The President Pro Tempore is elected by the members of the Senate and is always a member of the majority party.
•Like the Speaker, the President Pro Tempore is typically the longest serving member of the Senate’s majority party.

Multiple Choice

True or False; The President Pro Tempore is typically the longest serving member of the Senate's majority party

• True

• False

Majority Floor Leader

•Both the House and the Senate have a majority floor leader.
•They are chosen by party members within their respective houses of Congress from the majority party.
•Their role is to carry out decisions of the party caucuses, steer floor action and votes
to their party’s advantage, and serve as the chief spokesperson for his or her

party.
•The minority floor leaders serve the same roles as the majority floor leaders, but they are chosen
from the minority party in each house of Congress.

Multiple Choice

True or False: The Minority Floor leaders do not serve the same roles as the majority floor leaders

• True

• False

Whips

•Whips are essentially assistant floor leaders
•Both the majority party and the minority party of both the House and the
Senate have whips who are appointed by their party colleagues.
•The whips are a liaison between the party’s leadership and the other members.
•The primary duty of the whip is to keep track of the number of votes on
measures that are being debated and voted on in both the House and the
Senate.
•The whips also make sure that all party members are present in chambers for
votes.

Multiple Choice

What is the primary duty of the whip?

• They serve lunch to the members of congress

• They are the assistant to the supreme court justices

• they keep track of the number of votes on measures in both houses

Committees
•Standing committees - permanent committees in the
both the House and the Senate

•Similar bills are sent to various standing committees.
•The House and Senate have their own standing committees.
•The House of Representatives currently has 20 standing committees, and the Senate

has 16 standing committees.

•Select committees - sometimes referred to as special committees.

•They are set up for specific purpose and usually for a limited period of time.
•The Speaker and the President of the Senate assign the members to select committees.
•Select committees are formed to investigate a current matter.

Committees continued

•Joint committees - composed of members of both the House and the Senate.

•Some joint committees are select committees and some are permanent.

•Conference committee - temporary, joint committee that is organized to iron

out differences in the versions of a bill from the House and the Senate.

•The final bills from both the House and Senate must be identical before they can be

sent on to the President.
•Once a compromise is reached, the conference committee disbands.

Match

Match the correct Committe to the definition

• Standing Committee

• Select Committee

• Joint committee

• Conference Committee

permanent committees in both the houses

Also referred to special committees

composed of members of both houses

Once a compromise is reached it disbands

• permanent committees in both the houses

• Also referred to special committees

• composed of members of both houses

• Once a compromise is reached it disbands