Speaker of the United States House of Representatives

In the United States, the Speaker of the House of Representatives is the presiding officer of the lower house of Congress, the House of Representatives. The current Speaker is Dennis Hastert, a Republican Congressman from Illinois, who has held office since January 6, 1999.

Partisan role

The Speaker is the head of the majority party in the House of Representatives, outranking the Majority Leader. He or she is responsible for ensuring that the House passes legislation supported by the majority party. In pursuing this goal, the Speaker may utilize his or her power to determine when each bill reaches the floor. He or she also chairs the majority party's House steering committee. While the Speaker is the functioning head of the House majority party, the same is not true of the President pro tempore of the Senate, whose office is primarily ceremonial and honorary.

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When the Speaker and the President belong to the same party, the Speaker normally plays a less prominent role as the leader of the majority party. (For example, the current Speaker, Dennis Hastert, has played a very low-key role during the presidency of fellow Republican George W. Bush.) On the other hand, when the Speaker and the President belong to opposite parties, the public role and influence of the Speaker tend to increase. The Speaker can be seen as the "leader of the opposition," the symbol of his or her party, and the chief public opponent of the President's agenda. Recent examples include Tip O'Neill (who was a vocal opponent of President Ronald Reagan's domestic and defense policies) and Newt Gingrich (who fought a bitter battle with President Bill Clinton for control of domestic policy).

Related Topics:
George W. Bush - Tip O'Neill - Ronald Reagan - Newt Gingrich - Bill Clinton

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