Take Action - A Message from the Tea Party Patriots

From the Tea Party Patriots Email:Influence House Leadership

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 athttp://www.votesmart.org/voting_category_about.php orhttp://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 athttp://www.votesmart.org/voting_category_about.php orhttp://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.