The topic about which I chose to write is the leadership in Congress. I chose this topic because power dynamics have always interested me, and in Congress there are many different levels of authority. Further, in instances where two people are equals, or even sometimes when one person is clearly subordinate, the manner in which our elected representatives behave is astounding.
To begin, it seems appropriate to discuss the general hierarchy in Congress. In our country, we have a bicameral Congress, each house having it's own leadership. In the House of Representatives, the highest level member is the Speaker of the House. The Speaker of the House is the only office within Congress specifically named in the Constitution. While the Speaker doesn't have to be a member of the House, it has never been a non-member. Presently, Rep. John Boehner, a Republican Representative from Ohio. He was elected Speaker at the beginning of this year. The previous speaker was Nancy Pelosi.
The Speaker of the House is a very powerful position. For one, the Speaker is next in line after the Vice President for succession to the White House. Further, since the Speaker is of the same party as the majority, he or she has great influence in directing the legislation that comes from the house. While the Constitution doesn't enumerate the powers of the Speaker, some of the roles of this position include assigning representatives to various committees and assigning which bills go to which committees. (Pearson.)
The second highest level in the House is the majority leader, currently Eric Cantor, from Virginia. Third highest is the Minority Leader, presently Nancy Pelosi, from California. These positions are elected by their respective parties, as are the whips. The purpose of a whip is to ensure that party members vote in accordance with the overall feeling of the party.
The highest ranking member of the Senate is the Vice President of the United States. Though he has the highest level of authority, he rarely plays a role in the proceedings of the senate. Since the vice president is usually only present in anticipation of a tied vote, the senior member of the majority party is usually elected to act in the position of president pro tempore. This person also rarely actually presides over the senate. Usually, the president pro tempore will delegate the responsibility to younger members of the senate. Regardless of who is presiding, they have much less power than the Speaker of the House.
The Senate also has party leaders and whips. The majority leader, Currently Harry Reid, schedules debates and votes withing the Senate, allowing him or her to control the direction in which the Senate. The current minority leader is Mitch McConnell.
Committee chairpersons exercise power in a variety of ways. One way in which chairpersons control things is, during floor proceedings, they allot their time to other representatives and committee members to allow them to speak. For example, they may yield 1, 3, 5, etc. minutes to a member, or as much time as they would use. By doing this, the chairpersons can allow members of the committee who have dedicated their focus to particular elements to give more detailed information than the chairperson may be able to provide. As the person responsible for allocation of time to those desiring to speak, chairpersons can yield as much time as they have to themselves, if they don't desire to allow any others to speak. Further, they can interject between each speaker if they choose, allowing them to reiterate their personal favorite points. (C-SPAN Video 1)
Chairpersons can also direct debate and general discussion within a committee meeting. For example, in a meeting of the Rules Committee, at one point the chairperson asks Representative Rob Bishop to yield, and he replies, “I would be happy, I obviously, to the chairman, I will always yield. I am not a fool.” (C-SPAN Video 2 )
This shows that members of the committee have a great deal of respect for the chairpersons.
This shows that members of the committee have a great deal of respect for the chairpersons.
Sometimes the leadership needs to exercise their authority. In the second video clip, Rep. Louise Slaughter, a ranking member of the Rules Committee, and Rep. Lamar Smith, the Judiciary Committee Chairman, go back and forth in a manner which, at times, is rather unbecoming of a Congressperson. At this time, the Rules Committee ought to have interjected and called them out. (C-SPAN Video 3)
Finally, not all leadership is official. It is customary that junior members of Congress respect and listen to senior members. Younger members are forced to operate within the machinations of the institution of Congress and compromise with older members in order to accomplish their own goals. However, the issue of reciprocity deserves an entire paper unto itself, and so I'll leave it alone for now.
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