 "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 lower chamber of the United
States Congress.
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 many 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." Source
Wikipedia |
