Officers, Officials, and Employees

CHAPTER 6 Officers, Officials, and Employees A. The Speaker § 1. Definition and Nature of Office § 2. Authority and Duties § 3. Power of Appointment § 4. Restrictions on the Speaker’s Authority § 5. The Speaker as a Member § 6. Preserving Order § 7. Ethics Investigations of the Speaker B. The Speaker Pro Tempore § 8. Definition and Nature of Office; Authorities § 9. Oath of Office §10. Term of Office §11. Designation of a Speaker Pro Tempore §12. Election of a Speaker Pro Tempore; Authorities C. Elected House Officers §13. In General §14. The Clerk §15. The Sergeant–at–Arms §16. The Chaplain §17. The Chief Administrative Officer D. Other House Officials and Capitol Employees Commentary and editing by Andrew S. Neal, J.D. and Max A. Spitzer, J.D., LL.M. 389 VerDate Nov 24 2008 15:53 Dec 04, 2019 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00389 Fmt 8875 Sfmt 8875 F:\PRECEDIT\WORKING\2019VOL02\2019VOL02.PAGETURN.V6.TXT 4473-B Ch. 6 PRECEDENTS OF THE HOUSE §18. The Parliamentarian §19. General Counsel; Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group §20. Inspector General §21. Legislative Counsel §22. Law Revision Counsel §23. House Historian §24. House Pages §25. Other Congressional Officials and Employees E. House Employees As Party Defendant or Witness §26. Current Procedures for Responding to Subpoenas §27. History of Former Procedures for Responding to Subpoenas F. House Employment and Administration §28. Employment Practices §29. Salaries and Benefits of House Officers, Officials, and Employees §30. Creating and Eliminating Offices; Reorganizations §31. Minority Party Employees 390 VerDate Nov 24 2008 15:53 Dec 04, 2019 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00390 Fmt 8875 Sfmt 8875 F:\PRECEDIT\WORKING\2019VOL02\2019VOL02.PAGETURN.V6.TXT 4473-B Officers, Officials, and Employees A. The Speaker § 1. Definition and Nature of Office The Speaker of the United States House of Representatives is a unique figure in American government. The speakership is a position rife with con- tradictions and dual roles. On the one hand, the Speaker is an institutional representative, elected by a vote of the entire membership as the principal officer of the House.(1) On the other hand, the Speaker is a party offi- cial—the leader of a political group with a particular policy agenda.(2) Like the Speaker of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, the Speaker of the U.S. House has traditionally been a member of the same body over which he or she presides. Unlike the British Speaker, however, the U.S. Speaker does not renounce partisan affiliation, and continues to represent his or her district as a member of a particular political party. The Speaker in some ways stands aside from the legislative process, serving neither as chair nor even as a member of any standing committee and traditionally re- fraining from regular legislative activities (such as sponsoring legislation, engaging in debate, or voting).(3) But in another sense, the Speaker is cen- tral to the legislative process in the House, presiding over the entire House and exercising considerable influence over the activities of the majority party to which he or she belongs. As a result of these contradictory roles and responsibilities, each speakership is unique. The specific authorities vested in the Speaker of the House have varied considerably over time, from eras of relatively diffuse decision- making in the House to eras of tight centralization. The powers bestowed upon the Speaker by the membership, how the individual serving as Speak- er exercises those powers, and the environment in which such individual op- erates, must all be taken in account when assessing what it means to be the Speaker of the House of Representatives. 1. ‘‘The Speaker is said to represent all of the Members of the House...’’ Deschler’s Prece- dents Ch. 6 § 2.1. 2. For more information on the role of party organizations in the House, see Precedents (Wickham) Ch. 3. 3. See § 5, infra. 391 VerDate Nov 24 2008 15:53 Dec 04, 2019 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00391 Fmt 8875 Sfmt 8875 F:\PRECEDIT\WORKING\2019VOL02\2019VOL02.PAGETURN.V6.TXT 4473-B Ch. 6 § 1 PRECEDENTS OF THE HOUSE This division describes the nature of the Office of Speaker, outlines the Speaker’s jurisdiction and duties,(4) and illustrates limitations on the Speak- er’s power.(5) For more information on the role of the Speaker during the assembly of Congress,(6) the role of the Speaker in administering the oath to Members–elect,(7) the duties of the Speaker with respect to House and Capitol facilities,(8) and the role of the Speaker in recognizing Members and enforcing appropriate standards of decorum,(9) the reader is encouraged to consult additional chapters in this series. Historical Overview Even a modest summary of the history of the speakership would exceed the scope of this publication, and the reader is encouraged to consult additional sources on individual Speakers or the speakership generally.(10) For the purpose of documenting the Speaker’s relationship to the legislative procedure of the House, it is sufficient to note that this relationship has evolved substantially since the House first began its proceedings in 1789. At the beginning of the 19th century, the Speaker was not seen as a par- ticularly influential or important figure.(11) By the end of the century, however, the speakership had accumulated a variety of prerogatives, culmi- nating in an era of powerful Speakers.(12) With the ‘‘revolt’’ against Speaker 4. See §§ 2, 3, infra. 5. See § 4, infra. 6. See Precedents (Wickham) Ch. 1. 7. See Precedents (Wickham) Ch. 2. 8. See Precedents (Wickham) Ch. 4. 9. See Deschler’s Precedents Ch. 29 and Precedents (Wickham) Ch. 29. 10. For a bibliography of works relating to the speakership, see DONALD R. KENNON, ED. THE SPEAKERS OF THE U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES: A BIBLIOGRAPHY, 1789–1984 (Baltimore Johns Hopkins University Press 1986). 11. The first Speaker of the House, Frederick Muhlenberg of Pennsylvania, did not exercise much control over the proceedings, beyond serving as a neutral presiding officer con- sistent with British tradition. Speaker Henry Clay of Kentucky, first elected in the 12th Congress in 1811, is sometimes credited with dramatically increasing the power of the speakership. ‘‘Clay used both institutional and personal power to transform the office in several important ways.’’ History of the House of Representatives, 1789–1994, H. Doc. 103–324, 103d Cong. 2d Sess. (1994), p. 100. 12. By the end of the 19th century, the Speaker chaired the Committee on Rules, assigned all Members to the standing committees of the House, and used the power of recogni- tion to manage debate in the House. Speakers Thomas B. Reed of Maine and Joseph Cannon of Illinois were sometimes derided by opponents as ‘‘tsar’’ or ‘‘tyrant’’ for the perceived arbitrary exercise of these authorities. See RONALD M. PETERS, JR., THE AMERICAN SPEAKERSHIP: THE OFFICE IN HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE (Johns Hopkins Uni- versity Press 1990), pp. 62–87. 392 VerDate Nov 24 2008 15:53 Dec 04, 2019 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00392 Fmt 8875 Sfmt 8875 F:\PRECEDIT\WORKING\2019VOL02\2019VOL02.PAGETURN.V6.TXT 4473-B OFFICERS, OFFICIALS, AND EMPLOYEES Ch. 6 § 1 Joseph Cannon of Illinois in 1910, however, many institutional privileges of the speakership were either eliminated or transferred to other entities.(13) The preeminence of the committee system throughout the middle decades of the 20th century was bolstered by both seniority rules and the relatively stable political coalitions that existed following the New Deal era.(14) The institutional reforms of the 1970s returned some measure of power back to the speakership as the committee system was substantially restructured and the Committee on Rules began to assert more control over the legislative process.(15) By the beginning of the 21st century, the authority of the Com- mittee on Rules to provide for highly–structured consideration of legislation was widely acknowledged, and the Speaker’s influence over the committee represents the primary avenue by which the Speaker affects the agenda of House business.(16) Election of the Speaker No matter the historical era or relative power of the speakership, the choice of Speaker has always been an important one for the House of Rep- resentatives. Article I, section 2, of the U.S. Constitution provides that the ‘‘House of Representatives shall chuse their Speaker,’’(17) but gives no fur- ther indication as to how the election of such individual should take place. This lacuna has been filled by customs and traditions, House rules and precedents, and certain statutory requirements. On opening day of a new Congress, the Speaker has not yet been elected, and thus cannot preside over the membership at organization.(18) Instead, by long–standing custom (fortified by standing rules and certain statutory authorities), the Clerk of the House for the preceding Congress convenes the 13. As a result of the changes to the standing rules put in place by the opponents of Speak- er Cannon, the Speaker was removed from the Committee on Rules, and the Speaker’s authority to assign Members to committees was transferred to the party caucuses. With much of the Speaker’s former power exercised by the majority party caucus, the period following Speaker Cannon is sometimes referred to as the era of ‘‘King Caucus.’’ A History of the Committee on Rules, Committee Print, 97th Cong. 2d Sess. (1983), p. 98. 14. The Democratic party was the majority party in the House of Representatives for all but two Congresses between the 73d Congress (1933–1935) and the 103d Congress (1993–1994). 15. For more on these reforms, see § 30, infra. 16. See, e.g., Rules Committee Print 115–37, Democratic Caucus, 115th Cong., Rule 19(A)(1) and Republican Conference, 115th Cong., Rule 12(b)(1).

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