Information Information

[Congress]

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INFORMATION
Congressional Staff provide assistance to the Presiding Officers of the House of Representatives and the Senate in the administration of the chambers and Congress as a whole.

DUTY STATEMENTS

PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE

Purpose
This duty statement is designed to provide clarity to the holder of this position within the Office of Congressional Affairs.

Outline
The Senate is presided over by the President of the Senate, who is responsible for maintaining the good order and efficient running of the chamber, as well as chairing meetings, facilitating the voting of bills, and ensuring the timely passage of Bills to the President for Approval.

Responsibilities
The President of the Senate is charged with the following responsibilities:

• Liaising with the President on behalf of the Senate
• Liaising with the Speaker on behalf of the Senate
• Custodian of the Senate Standing Orders
• Managing Senate motions and nominations
• Acting as a mentor to new Senators
• Managing the Office of Congressional Affairs
• Placing bills up for vote and moving them from the Senate to the appropriate forum
• Representing and communicating the will of the Senate

SPEAKER

Purpose
This duty statement is designed to provide clarity to the holder of this position within the Office of Congressional Affairs.

Outline
The House of Representatives is presided over by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, who is responsible for maintaining the good order and efficient running of the chamber, as well chairing meetings, facilitating the voting of bills, and ensuring the timely passage of Bills to the Senate. The Speaker position is voted on by the House of Representatives immediately after congressional elections.

Responsibilities
The Speaker is charged with the following responsibilities:

• Liaising with the President on behalf of the House
• Liaising with the President of the Senate on behalf of the House
• Administering the Deputy Speaker election
• Custodian of the House Standing Orders
• Managing House motions
• Managing the Office of Congressional Affairs
• Acting as a mentor to new Representatives
• Placing bills up for vote and moving them from the House to the Senate
• Representing and communicating the will of the House

Spoiler: Putting Bills up for Vote

1. To put a bill up for a vote you first have to change the prefix. You can do this by clicking on the dots on top of the act and clicking 'Edit Thread.' Then you can change the prefix from Bill: Draft to Bill: Vote.

2. After you have changed the prefix you need to add a poll. Click on the dots again and click 'Create Poll'
The poll MUST be created with the following settings:

3. Announce in #House-Announcements that the bills were put up to a vote. The format for doing so is:

VOTATION

The following bills have been put up for a vote:

<Name of Act 1> @<person who wrote the act>
<Link to Act 1>

<Name of Act 2> @<person who wrote the act>
<Link to Act 2>

<Name of Act 3> @<person who wrote the act>
<Link to Act 3>

Discuss the bills in House-Chat

@Represenatives

DEPUTY SPEAKER

Purpose
This duty statement is designed to provide clarity to the holder of this position within the Office of Congressional Affairs.

Outline
The Deputy Speaker will assist the Speaker in the course of their duties as the Speaker sees fit.

Responsibilities
The Deputy Speaker is charged with the following responsibilities:

• Acting on behalf of the Speaker when requested or in the Speaker's absence
• Acting as a mentor to new Representatives
• Organising social functions for the House
• Any other tasks assigned by the Speaker

CLERK

Purpose
This duty statement is designed to provide clarity to the holder of this position within the Office of Congressional Affairs.

Outline
The Clerk is the most senior congressional staff position and is in charge of assisting the presiding officers in managing the presiding officers' office. The Clerk may use Senate or House Announcements to ping all of those required to vote.

Responsibilities
The Clerk is charged with the following responsibilities:

• Maintaining the congressional calendar (Discord events tab)
• Pinging Representatives and Senators who are yet to vote, part-way through voting
• Administering the Oath at swearing-in ceremonies
• Updating relevant sections of the Constitution and rules and laws when bills are passed into law

Spoiler: Merging Bills

1. The amendment should be merged with the original bill that it is editing. You can do this by selecting the threads and selecting 'merge threads'. Careful attention should be paid to the thread number as to avoid having selected threads previously and accidentally merging them. (If you do do this, contact staff and they will assist you to undo the mistake)


2. No action is required on the merge screen. You may choose the notify the thread starter that you are moving the bill. No redirect required. Care should be taken to ensure that the amendment is being merged under the original bill, which will usually be via default as it will be the oldest thread.


3. After that read the amendment and edit the original act to include the amendment. Care should be taken to only amend what is prescribed by the bill. Any editing beyond this is logged and could possibly change the meaning of the law unlawfully.