For many years, I always kept my political preferences to myself. I didn’t tell people who I was voting for in upcoming elections because I was afraid I would be judged negatively. However, everything changed during the 2016 presidential election cycle. I supported one of the candidates wholeheartedly. Because I felt this person could make a positive difference in my country, I shared my support of him on social media outlets. I encouraged my family and friends to vote for him. I even wrote blogs outlining my preferred candidate’s strengths. On this blog, I hope you will discover the importance of publicly supporting a political candidate. Enjoy!
The House of Representatives is one of the chambers of Congress, along with the Senate, that writes and passes federal laws. Each state gets two senators to represent them, but the number of representatives assigned to each state is determined based on population.
You've probably heard people refer to the Speaker of the House, but what does that actually mean? The Speaker of the House is the person who leads the entire House of Representatives. They have certain powers that other house members don't have, such as giving representatives time to speak on the floor, signing passed bills, etc.
Here are some of the things that the Speaker of the House of Representatives does:
Leads House Sessions
The Speaker of the House is basically in charge of the entire House of Representatives; they lead all the other representatives during sessions. That includes giving them time to speak on the floor, overseeing debates, etc. Without the Speaker of the House, there would be no one to control things, and the House would be less productive.
Prioritizes Bills
The House of Representatives is constantly flooded with new bills, and the Speaker determines which bills are most important. It would be impossible to read and consider every single bill, so the Speaker will help organize them by importance, so the representatives can choose which bills to vote on.
Assigns Bills to Committees
Bills are often assigned to committees whose members are experts on certain subjects. There are committees for education, war, budgets, energy, etc. If a bill comes in that's related to one of those subjects, the Speaker will assign it to the proper committee to study the bill and determine the effects it would have on the country.
Coordinates With the Senate and the President
For a bill to become law, it must pass in the Senate and the House of Representatives, and then the president must sign it—although there are ways to bypass the presidential veto. The Speaker of the House will coordinate with the Senate and the President to help get important bills to pass.
Is Second in Line to Replace the President
If anything ever happens to the President that makes them unable to continue serving, they will be replaced by the Vice President. However, if something happens to both the President and the Vice President, the Speaker of the House will become President. It's part of a plan to ensure there is someone to lead the country in cases of assassinations, foreign attacks, sicknesses, natural deaths, etc.
Contact a local political service, such as Democrats for the Illinois House, to learn more.
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