Reading Clerks of the United States House of Representatives | |
---|---|
United States House of Representatives Office of Legislative Operations | |
Inaugural holder | Edward W. Barber (Democratic) William K. Mehaffey (Republican) |
The reading clerk of the United States House of Representatives reads bills, motions, and other papers before the House and keeps track of changes to legislation made on the floor. During the vote for Speaker at the beginning of each Congress, or when the electronic voting system fails, the clerk calls the roll of members for a recorded vote.
This article is part of a series on the |
United States House of Representatives |
---|
History of the House |
Members |
Congressional districts |
Politics and procedure |
Places |
United Statesportal |
Traditionally, the reading clerks are appointed by the leaders of the majority and minority parties. For instance, Paul Hays was appointed by the then-Minority Leader Robert H. Michel, for the Republican party. Beyond this procedure for appointment, the party status has no significance.
Reading clerks work for the Office of Legislative Operations, one of nine offices that fall under the jurisdiction of the clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Reading Clerk | Term |
---|---|
Edward W. Barber | 1863–1869 |
Charles N. Clisbee | 1869–1875 1881–1883 |
T. O. Walker | 1883–1885 |
Thomas S. Pettit | 1875–1881 1885–1889 1893–1895 |
John A. Reeve | 1889–1893 |
Elbert L. Lampson | 1895–1911 |
Patrick Joseph Haltigan | 1911–1937 |
Roger M. Calloway | 1937–1943 |
George J. Maurer | 1943–1965 |
Charles W. Hackney Jr. | 1965–1981 |
Meg Goetz | 1981–1998 |
Mary Kevin Niland | 1998–2008 |
Jaime Zapata | 2008–2009 |
Joe Novotny [1] | 2010–2021 |
Tylease Alli [2] | 2021–present |
Reading Clerk | Term |
---|---|
William K. Mehaffey | 1867–1875 |
Neill S. Brown Jr. | 1875–1889 1893–1895 |
Azro J. Maxham | 1889–1891 |
James C. Broadwell | 1891–1893 |
R. S. Hatcher | 1895–1897 |
Dennis E. Alward | 1897–1913 |
H. Martin Williams | 1913–1919 |
Alney E. Chaffee | 1919–1957 |
Joe Bartlett | 1957–1978 |
Bob Berry | 1978–1987 |
Paul Hays | 1988–2007 |
Susan Cole [3] | 2007–present |
The speaker of the United States House of Representatives, commonly known as the speaker of the House or House Speaker, is the presiding officer of the United States House of Representatives. The office was established in 1789 by Article I, Section II, of the U.S. Constitution. By custom and House rules, the speaker is the political and parliamentary leader of the House and is simultaneously its presiding officer, de facto leader of the body's majority party, and the institution's administrative head. Speakers also perform various other administrative and procedural functions. Given these several roles and responsibilities, the speaker usually does not personally preside over debates—that duty is instead delegated to members of the House from the majority party—nor regularly participate in floor debates.
The positions of majority leader and minority leader are held by two United States senators and people of the party leadership of the United States Senate. They serve as a chief spokespersons for their respective political parties holding the majority and the minority in the United States Senate. They are each elected as majority leader and minority leader by the senators of their party caucuses: the Senate Democratic Caucus and the Senate Republican Conference.
The United States Constitution provides that each "House may determine the Rules of its Proceedings," therefore each Congress of the United States, upon convening, approves its own governing rules of procedure. This clause has been interpreted by the courts to mean that a new Congress is not bound by the rules of proceedings of the previous Congress.
The House of Representatives is the sole chamber of the New Zealand Parliament. The House passes laws, provides ministers to form the Cabinet, and supervises the work of government. It is also responsible for adopting the state's budgets and approving the state's accounts.
Daniel K. Davis is an American politician who is the U.S. representative from Illinois's 7th congressional district, elected in 1996. The district serves much of western Chicago, as well as the Loop. It also includes several of Chicago's inner western suburbs, such as Bellwood, Oak Park, and River Forest. Davis is a Democrat, a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, and a former member of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA).
Steny Hamilton Hoyer is an American politician and retired attorney who has served as the U.S. representative for Maryland's 5th congressional district since 1981. He also served as House Majority Leader from 2007 to 2011 and again from 2019 to 2023. Hoyer first attained office through a special election on May 19, 1981. As of 2023, he is in his 22nd House term. His district includes a large swath of rural and suburban territory southeast of Washington, D.C. Hoyer is the dean of the Maryland congressional delegation and the most senior Democrat in the House.
The Florida House of Representatives is the lower house of the Florida Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida Senate being the upper house. Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution of Florida, adopted in 1968, defines the role of the Legislature and how it is to be constituted. The House is composed of 120 members, each elected from a single-member district with a population of approximately 180,000 residents. Legislative districts are drawn on the basis of population figures, provided by the federal decennial census. Representatives' terms begin immediately upon their election.
The Illinois House of Representatives is the lower house of the Illinois General Assembly. The body was created by the first Illinois Constitution adopted in 1818. The House under the current constitution as amended in 1980 consists of 118 representatives elected from individual legislative districts for two-year terms with no limits; redistricted every 10 years, based on the 2010 U.S. census each representative represents approximately 108,734 people.
The Illinois Senate is the upper chamber of the Illinois General Assembly, the legislative branch of the government of the State of Illinois in the United States. The body was created by the first state constitution adopted in 1818. Under the Illinois Constitution of 1970, the Illinois Senate is made up of 59 senators elected from individual legislative districts determined by population and redistricted every 10 years; based on the 2020 U.S. census each senator represents approximately 213,347 people. Senators are divided into three groups, each group having a two-year term at a different part of the decade between censuses, with the rest of the decade being taken up by two four-year terms. For example, group one elects senators for terms of four years, four years and two years, group two elects senators for terms of four years, two years and four years, and group three elects senators for terms of two years, four years and four years. This ensures that the Senate reflects changes made when the General Assembly redistricts itself after each census.
The Alaska State House of Representatives is the lower house in the Alaska State Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Alaska. The House is composed of 40 members, each of whom represents a district of approximately 17,756 people per 2010 census figures. Members serve two-year terms without term limits. With 40 representatives, the Alaska House is the smallest state legislative lower chamber in the United States. The House convenes at the State Capitol in Juneau.
Kenneth Brian Mehlman is an American social entrepreneur and businessman. He serves as a member, global head of public affairs, and co-head of KKR global impact at investment firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts. He oversees the firm's responsible investment efforts, leading the firm's Environmental Social Governance programs. Prior to joining KKR, Mehlman spent a year as an attorney and partner at law firm Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld. In January 2017, Mehlman announced that he would act as chairman of the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative Policy Advisory Board.
The New Hampshire House of Representatives is the lower house in the New Hampshire General Court, the bicameral legislature of the state of New Hampshire. The House of Representatives consists of 400 members coming from 203 legislative districts across the state, created from divisions of the state's counties. On average, each legislator represents about 3,300 residents, which is the smallest lower house representative-to-population ratio in the country.
James Brian Durkin is an American politician who served as a Republican member of the Illinois House of Representatives from 1995 to 2003 and again from 2006 to 2023. He served as the Minority Leader of the Illinois House of Representatives from 2013 to 2023.
Gus Michael Bilirakis is an American lawyer and politician serving as the U.S. representative for Florida's 12th congressional district since 2013. A member of the Republican Party, he first entered Congress in 2007, where he succeeded his father Michael Bilirakis, representing Florida's 9th congressional district until redistricting. His district includes much of the northern portion of the Tampa Bay area. Bilirakis previously served as the Florida state representative for the 48th district from 1998 to 2006.
The 115th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States of America federal government, composed of the Senate and the House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C., from January 3, 2017, to January 3, 2019, during the final weeks of Barack Obama's presidency and the first two years of Donald Trump's presidency. The seats in the House were apportioned based on the 2010 United States census.
The United States House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together, they comprise the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The House is charged with the passage of federal legislation, known as bills; those that are also passed by the Senate are sent to the president for signature or veto. The House's exclusive powers include initiating all revenue bills, impeaching federal officers, and electing the president if no candidate receives a majority of votes in the Electoral College.
The Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group (BLAG) has been a standing body of the U.S. House of Representatives since 1993 that directs the activities of the House Office of General Counsel. BLAG can direct the General Counsel to participate in litigation or file an amicus curiae brief in cases involving the interests of the House or BLAG can call for legislation or a House resolution authorizing the General Counsel to represent the House itself. BLAG comprises five members of House leadership:
Lois Jane Frankel is an American politician and lawyer who has been the United States representative for Florida's 22nd congressional district since 2023 and from 2013 to 2017 and Florida’s 21st congressional district from 2017 to 2023. As a member of the Democratic Party, Frankel was a 7-term member of the Florida House of Representatives and a two-term mayor of West Palm Beach.
Party leaders of the United States House of Representatives, also known as floor leaders, are congresspeople who coordinate legislative initiatives and serve as the chief spokespersons for their parties on the House floor. These leaders are elected every two years in secret balloting of their party caucuses or conferences: the House Democratic Caucus and the House Republican Conference. Depending on which party is in power, one party leader serves as majority leader and the other as minority leader.
Tylease Alli is an American government official who serves as one of two Reading Clerks of the United States House of Representatives. She has held the office since 2021, and has worked on Capitol Hill in various roles as clerk for the House Committee on Education and Workforce from 2003 to 2019 and as Chief Clerk for the House Committee on Education and Labor from 2019 to 2021.