Question

Explain the role of the Speaker of the House. List the responsibilities the position includes and discuss the kinds of power or influence these responsibilities grant the Speaker.

Answer 1

The speaker of the house is in front of the house of representatives. She usually does not preside over the debates personally, instead she delegates this function to another member of the majority party´s chamber. In addition to presiding over the chamber, she has administrative and procedural functions and remains a Representative of his own district.

It occupies second place in the line of presidential succession, after vice presidency of the United States, which also assumes ex officio the presidency pro tempore of the senate. It is a similar charge to the election of a prime minister in a parliamentary regime.

Answer 2

The Speaker of the House of Representatives of the United States of America fulfills many roles which are nonetheless not specifically defined by the Constitution. The shaping of this office has been made through historical precedents and experiences. First of all there is a partisan role as the Speaker is the de facto leader of the majority party in the House of Representatives. Although the Speaker does not usually participate in debates, they determine the time when a bill will be submitted to the floor for a vote and uses such prerogative to favor the passing of laws drafted by his/her own party. If the President belongs to the opposing party the Speaker will be the most public and vocal opponent to the policies of the POTUS.

As the highest-ranking Congress official in the American government, the Speaker has the power of naming a pro tempore Speaker to preside over the House in his/her absence. The Speaker enforces decorum in the House and uses the Sergeant-at-Arms for that purpose. The Speaker chooses 9 of the thirteen members of the Committee on Rules and selects all members of the conference and select committees and determines which committee will examine which bill. Other powers are:

- Selects the inspector general, the parliamentarian, the historian and the general counsel of the House.

- Receives reports from the president, other commissions and agencies of the federal government.

- Receives written notifications that a president has been found incapable of fulfilling his/her duties as POTUS.

- Is a Chairperson of the House Office Building Commission.

- Is the administrator of the video and audio system of the House.

- Is the third in the presidential line of succession (should the President or Vice-president prove unfit or unable to fulfill such role).