Congressional Reform: A New Brand of Speaker

ByGarrett

Currently the United Kingdom is going through the process of attempting to negotiate and navigate Brexit, the exit of Great Britain from the European Union. Many eyes have been focused on the UK, and specifically the business of the House of Commons and their back and forth with Prime Minister Theresa May. One thing that people may note and find interesting is how the House of Commons is run, and how the Speaker of the House of Commons is different than the Speaker of the House of Representatives here in the United States.

Speaker UK Parliament Commons Bercow
Speaker of the House of Commons John Bercow

The UK’s current Speaker of the House of Commons is The Right Honourable John Bercow. The Speaker of the House of Commons is an elected Member of Parliament (MP), but because of his position he acts in a non-partisan manner. This means he does not usually vote on bills unless it is to break a tie. According to Parliament’s website, (edited for context) the Speaker:

  • Is the chief officer and highest authority of the House of Commons and must remain politically impartial at all times
  • Represents the Commons to the Monarch, the Lords, and other authorities and chairs the House of Commons Commission
  • Is the person who keeps order and calls MPs to speak during Commons debates. The Speaker calls MPs in turn to give their opinion on an issue. MPs signal that they want to speak by standing up from their seat (a custom known as ‘catching the Speaker’s eye’) or they can notify the Speaker in advance by writing.
  • Has full authority to make sure MPs follow the rules of the House during debates. This can include:
    • directing an MP to withdraw remarks if, for example, they use abusive language
    • suspending the sitting of the House due to serious disorder
    • suspending MPs who are deliberately disobedient – known as naming
    • asking MPs to be quiet so Members can be heard

Essentially, the Speaker is more of an administrative leader than a political or party leader. This is largely because of the different legislative systems. The Parliament of the United Kingdom and the United States Congress are two very different bodies in many significant ways.

The system of government in the United States is unique, and in many ways it works for us. However, there are times where we can learn from, and perhaps adapt what is done in, other nations.

What are some ways we could potentially learn from the United Kingdom and improve the House of Representatives and the position and role of the Speaker of the House of Representatives?

There are at least four lessons we can take from the United Kingdom that would help make our Congress more effective and less partisan.

  1. Make the Speaker of the House a non-partisan position
  2. Appoint the Speaker of the House
  3. Clearly define the rights, responsibilities and limitations of the Speaker
  4. The Speaker should be a principled, administrative leader

Make The Speaker Of The House A Non-Partisan Position

Traditionally, the Speaker of the House of Representatives has been a Representative who is a member of the majority party. Effectively, this gives additional weight on the proverbial scales in favour of the majority party, simply by virtue of them being the majority. A non-partisan Speaker however, would provide a balance of power between the parties. Obviously the majority party would have the advantage when it comes to floor votes by the body. However, if the Speaker were not a Representative of any of the parties, then that would limit the advantages the majority has so they would be unable to completely side line and repress the minority as so often happens.

Since the Speaker of the House of Representatives is a partisan position, it can be contentious, and lead to accusations of unfairness. While people are people, and these sorts of accusations could be levelled against anyone, in any system, having a Speaker who is non-partisan and can be a mediator might lessen the contention.

Appoint the Speaker Of The House

If we want the Speaker to be a truly non-partisan position, the Speaker should not be an elected member of Congress. The Majority and Minority Leaders and maybe a few others, with equal representation from each party, should get together and appoint someone to be as the Speaker. As part of the application and interview process the potential Speaker would go through, they should make clear the goals, values and principles their tenure as Speaker would be based on in addition to their knowledge, skills, abilities, and interests.

Clearly Define The Rights, Responsibilities, And Limitations Of The Speaker

The Speaker would not have a vote since they are not an elected member of the House, but they would be an administrator and run the day to day workings of the House. Currently, while the rules of the House do define many things pertaining to the rights and responsibilities of the Speaker, many things are based on tradition. Traditions are great, but when it comes to the rights and responsibilities of the leader of a House of Congress, and how our government functions, we should not rely on tradition. These things should be spelled out very clearly.

In administering and overseeing the daily workings of the House, the Speaker would:

  • Assign proposed legislation to committees for consideration
  • Have the right and responsibility to chair conference committees between the parties, or between the House and Senate to find a compromise between bills and proposals. The Speaker would not be able to dictate changes, but would be a mediator
  • Appoint members to committees based on lists of suggestions submitted by the parties. An effort should be made to match knowledge, skills, abilities, and experience with the Committees. The Speaker would perhaps not be required to appoint members of the committees by a 50-50 split, or proportionally according the party strength in the House, but would instead be obligated to populate the committees as fairly as possible
  • Be able to briefly answer questions when asked to opine, but would not make speeches for or against proposed legislation
  • Have the opportunity to be the voice of the people and refer to committee or bring to the floor legislation submitted by the citizens of the United States if the legislation meets a minimum amount of support. For example, if an online petition were to have a minimum of 100,000 signatories it could be referred to committee for consideration.
  • Rather than turn the chamber over to one of the elected members, the Speaker could have one or two Associate Speakers who would assist the Speaker in tasks, and serve as Speaker pro tempore when the Speaker was absent from the House floor

The Speaker Should Be A Principled Administrative Leader

Instead of a political leader, the Speaker should be a principled administrative leader. Instead of acting as either an accomplice who aids and abets a President of the same party, or the antagonistic resistance leader against a President of the opposing party, an administrative Speaker would be there to represent the needs of the people and focus on the work of the House. The Speaker would be responsible to choose which bills to bring to the floor, and to make the decision in a nonpartisan, fair manner. House rules could be put in place to help with this decision making process.

Additionally, the Speaker would have the responsibility to help craft legislation by mediating between the parties and helping to find legislation that would be able to be passed. Scheduling votes and sifting through proposed amendments would be another major responsibility of the Speaker. As previously mentioned, the Speaker should have, as the foundation of their tenure as Speaker, goals, principles, and values identified during the application and interview process.

In a related proposal, partisanship could be reduced if the chairs of Congressional Committees were similarly appointed individuals not members of Congress, whether they were appointed by the members of the Committee, the party leaders, or the Speaker. One consideration that would have to be addressed would be whether to continue to have the Speaker of the House be second in line of succession to the Presidency. It might make sense to change the second in line to the House

Garrett Leeds is the founder of the Life, Liberty, and Pursuit of Happiness Project

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