In the last two
years we have learned a lot about how Congress works (or doesn't),
and all of this knowledge will help us keep tabs on the new members
as well as the old ones.
One of the
important lessons we have learned is that leadership matters. This
email outlines the crucial leadership positions that the new
Republican majority in the House will be filling over the next few
days. Below, you will find a list of the major positions, a
description of each position, the Representatives running for each
position so far, and action items so that you can voice your
opinion on who you would like to see lead the new Republican
majority. After all, you helped put them there and you deserve a
say in who leads the new Congress.
**Remember, Party
leaders of the United States House of Representatives are elected
by their respective parties in a closed-door caucus. It is our goal to be a part of this
process for the first time in history.**
**POSITIONS
& CANDIDATES** (Job Descriptions below Take Action
Section)
Speaker of the
House
Candidates:
John Boehner
(Ohio)
House Majority
Leader
Candidates:
Eric Cantor
(Virginia)
Majority
Whip
Candidates:
Kevin McCarthy
(California), Pete Sessions* (Texas)
House Republican
Conference: Chairman, Vice-Chairman, Secretary
Candidates for
Conference Chairman:
Michele Bachmann
(Minnesota), Jeb Hensarling (Texas), Marsha Blackburn*
(Tennessee)
Candidates for
Conference Vice-Chairman:
Cathy
McMorris-Rodgers (Washington)
Candidates for
Conference Secretary:
Jason Chaffetz*
(Utah), Judge John Carter (Texas)
Republican
Policy Committee Chairman
Candidates:
Tom Price
(Georgia)
**TAKE ACTION**
(Job Descriptions Below this Section)
First, read
the materials below this take action section and then do some more
research if you need to and then decide who you would like to be
elected to these major GOP leadership positions. You can find out
how Representatives voted on important legislation at http://www.votesmart.org/voting_category_about.php
or http://www.opencongress.org/roll_call/all so
that you can see if the leadership candidates really have what it
will take to stay strong.
Next, if
your current Representative is a Republican, call their offices and
let them know who you would like to see nominated and elected. If
you just elected a Republican as your representative, call their
campaign offices or email them and let them know who you want them
to support in leadership positions as one of their first decisions
in Congress.
Lastly, if
you are represented by Democrats now and after the election, help
out by calling some of those new, freshman Republicans that just
got elected. Just look up their campaign websites and you should be
able to find contact information.
The reason this is
so important and that the focus is solely on the Republican Party
is because they will be in control of the House come January, and
these decisions will be made in the next few days. We must have our
voices and opinions heard on these crucial leadership positions if
we are to increase our chances of repealing Obamacare and passing
other important legislation.
**JOB
DESCRIPTIONS**
Speaker of the
House
Candidates:
John Boehner
(Ohio)
Description:
As the
highest-ranking member of the House, the Speaker is elected by a
vote of the members of the House. While it is not required,
the Speaker usually belongs to the majority political party.
The Constitution does not require that the Speaker be an elected
Member of Congress. No non-member has ever been elected
Speaker.
The Speaker rarely
presides over regular meetings of the full House, instead
delegating the role to another representative. The Speaker does,
however, typically presides over special joint sessions of Congress
in which the House hosts the Senate. The Speaker exerts power over
the legislative process by setting the House legislative
calendar determining when bills will be debated and voted on. The
Speaker often utilizes this power to help fulfill his or her
responsibility of making sure bills supported by the majority party
are passed by the House. The Speaker also serves as chair of the
majority party's House steering committee, which chooses the chairs
of standing committees. The Speaker determines which committees
consider bills, appoints most of the members of the Rules Committee, and appoints all members of
conference committees. When the Presidency and Senate are
controlled by a different party from the one controlling the House,
the Speaker can become the de
facto "leader of the opposition."
The Speaker of the
House of Representatives is elected by his or her fellow Members to
preside over the House. The Speaker typically maintains three
roles, as the Representative for his or her district, as a leader
of his or her party, and as the leader of the House as a whole.
The party that holds a majority of the seats in the House
will generally elect a Representative of their own party to serve
as Speaker.
House Majority
Leader
Candidates:
Eric Cantor
(Virginia)
Description:
The Majority Leader of the United States House of Representatives acts as
the leader of the party that has a majority of the seats in the
house (currently at least 218 of the 435 seats). They work with the
Speaker of the House and the Majority Whip to coordinate ideas and maintain
support for legislation. The role of the majority leader has been
defined by history and tradition. This officer is charged with
scheduling legislation for floor consideration; planning the daily,
weekly, and annual legislative agendas; consulting with Members to
gauge party sentiment; and, in general, working to advance the
goals of the majority party. Unlike Westminster-style legislatures,
however, the House Majority Leader is subordinate to the Speaker of
the House, who is by tradition the actual head of the majority
party in the House of Representatives, although the Speaker usually
does not participate in debate and rarely votes on the floor.
The majority party
members and the minority party members meet in separate caucuses to
select their leader. Third parties rarely have had enough members
to elect their own leadership, and independents will generally join
one of the larger party organizations to receive committee
assignments.
Majority
Whip
Candidates:
Kevin McCarthy
(California), Pete Sessions* (Texas)
Description:
In addition to the
majority and minority party leaders, each party elects assistant
floor leaders, or "Whips." The Whips assist the leadership in
managing the party's legislative program on the floor of the
House and provides information to party members about
important legislative-related matters. The Whips keep track of all
politically important legislation and ensure that all members of
their parties are present when important measures are to be voted
upon. When a vote appears to be close, the Whips contact absent
members of their party and advise them of the vote. Due to the
larger number of members in the House of Representatives, House
Whips appoint "deputy whips" to assist them in their
activities.
House Republican
Conference: Chairman, Vice-Chairman, Secretary
Candidates
for Chairman:
Michele Bachmann
(Minnesota), Jeb Hensarling (Texas), Marsha Blackburn*
(Tennessee)
Candidates
for Vice-Chairman:
Cathy
McMorris-Rodgers (Washington)
Candidates
for Secretary:
Jason Chaffetz*
(Utah), Judge John Carter (Texas)
Description
of the Conference:
The House
Republican Conference is the organizational body for all GOP
Members of the U.S. House of Representatives. It is responsible for
electing the House Republican leadership, approving GOP Member
committee assignments, managing leadership-driven floor debates,
and executing a communications strategy that is executed within the
party and is conveyed to constituents through the media.
The conference
officially elects party floor leaders; the party whips nominate
each party's candidates for the Speakership and other offices in
the House. The chairs of the party conferences, and other
subordinate party
leaders are elected by vote of the caucus or
conference at the
beginning of each Congress.
Description
of the Chairman's position:
The Conference
Chairman is the spokesman for the Republicans in the House, and is
responsible for finding ways to drive our message of honesty,
ingenuity, responsibility, and reform to Members of Congress, the
press, and Americans. The Chairman is in charge of coordinating
media strategy, meetings of the caucus of House Republicans, and
ensuring Members' staff have the resources needed to provide
hard-hitting and effective answers to their constituents.
Republican
Policy Committee Chairman
Candidates:
Tom Price
(Georgia)
Description:
The Republican
Policy Committee allows every Member of the Republican Conference
to develop sound legislative ideas into legislation. These bills
can then be introduced and considered in the appropriate committee
of jurisdiction. The Policy Committee offers an opportunity for
participation by Members whose legislative ideas do not in every
case coincide with their committee assignments, as well as an
especially useful mechanism for addressing important issues that
cut across committee jurisdictions.
The Policy
Committee is comprised of the elected and appointed Republican
Leadership; the ranking members of five key committees
(Appropriations, Budget, Commerce, Rules, and Ways and Means);
Representatives elected from each of the Nation's regions; three
Representatives elected by the two newest classes of Members; and
at-large members appointed by the Republican Leader.
Newly-elected Representatives have four opportunities to
serve on the Policy Committee: as a Member elected by other
newly-elected Members to represent them on the Committee; as a
Class representative to the House Leadership; as one of the
regional representatives elected to serve on the Committee; or as
an at-large Member appointed by the Republican Leader.
NOTE
The current
Chairman, Rep. Thaddeus McCotter (MI) has been trying to abolish
this committee for a while stating that it is redundant and
therefore a waste of money that we can no longer afford. This is an
effort we may want to investigate and consider supporting. Do some
research and see what you think. If it really looks as though this
committee is a waste, then we may want to advocate for shutting it
down. http://policy.house.gov/lead-example-abolish-republican-house-policy-committee.
*Candidates marked
with a star have not officially announced their candidacy yet, but
are said to be thinking about it.
**TAKE ACTION**
REPEATED
You've read through
the materials, now comes the time for action. What do we need to
do?
First, do
some more research if you need to and then decide who you would
like to be elected to these major GOP leadership positions. You can
find out how Representatives voted on important legislation at http://www.votesmart.org/voting_category_about.php
or http://www.opencongress.org/roll_call/all so
that you can see if the leadership candidates really have what it
will take to stay strong.
Next, if
your current Representative is a Republican, call their offices and
let them know who you would like to see nominated and elected. If
you just elected a Republican as your representative, call their
campaign offices or email them and let them know who you want them
to support in leadership positions as one of their first decisions
in Congress.
Lastly, if
you are represented by Democrats now and after the election, help
out by calling some of those new, freshman Republicans that just
got elected. Just look up their campaign websites and you should be
able to find contact information.
The reason this is
so important and that the focus is solely on the Republican Party
is because they will be in control of the House come January, and
these decisions will be made in the next few days. We must have our
voices and opinions heard on these crucial leadership positions if
we are to increase our chances of repealing Obamacare and passing
other important legislation.
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