Can someone explain to me

[TallahasseeGrannie]

the difference between the Speaker of the House and the House Majority Leader?

Thanks. Trying to stay semi-literate here.

[whistle]

1. House Speaker and the House Majority Leader are explained

<snip>

The presiding officer of the House is known as the Speaker.

Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Representative Dennis Hastert of Illinois is currently the Speaker of the House of Representatives.In the United States, the Speaker of the House of Representatives is the presiding officer of the lower house of Congress, the House of Representatives. The current Speaker is Dennis Hastert, a Republican Congressman from Illinois, who has held office since January 6, 1999.

The office of Speaker was established by the Constitution of the United States, which came into effect in 1789. The Speaker is elected by the House of Representatives, and is its highest officer. Although it is not a Constitutional requirement, as a practical matter the Speaker always belongs to the majority party, and is its leader, outranking even the Majority Leader. The Speaker does not normally personally preside over debates, instead delegating the duty to other members of Congress. Aside from duties relating to heading the House and his or her political party, the Speaker also performs administrative and procedural functions, and remains a representative of his or her congressional district.

The Speaker's counterparts in the Senate are the Vice President of the United States (who under the Constitution is President of the Senate) and the President pro tempore of the Senate.

<more> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speaker_of_the_United_States_House_of_Representatives


<snip>
Each party elects a floor leader, who is known as the Majority Leader or Minority Leader. While the Minority Leader is the full leader of his or her party, the same is not true of the Majority Leader. Instead, the Speaker is the head of the majority party; the Majority Leader is only the second-highest official. Each party also elects a whip, who works to ensure that his or her party's members vote as the party leadership desires. Representatives are generally less independent of party leaders than senators, and usually vote as the leadership directs. Incentives to cooperate include the leadership's power to select committee chairmen. As a result, the leadership plays a much greater role in the House than in the Senate, and the atmosphere of the House is regarded by many as more partisan.

Majority Leader of the United States House of Representatives
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
The Majority Leader of the United States House of Representatives acts as the leader of the party that has a majority control of the seats in the house (at least 218 of the 435 seats). The Majority Leader works with the Speaker of the House and the Majority Whip to coordinate ideas and supporting votes for legislation. The office of Majority Leader was created in 1899 by Speaker David B. Henderson who saw a need for a party leader on the House floor separate from the Speaker himself. The position is currently vacant, as Tom DeLay, the most recent Majority Leader, was forced to step aside on September 28, 2005, after he was indicted in Texas for criminal conspiracy. Roy Blunt is filling the position on an interim basis.

<more> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Majority_Leader_of_the_United_States_House_of_Representatives

[TallahasseeGrannie]

2. Thanks for doing that work

for me. I actually read it to my students today so they know who DeLay is. I was very 'good' and impartial. Just the news and the facts about the way the government is set up.

So you helped teach a class of middle schoolers today. I'm an art teacher so I don't have this stuff on the walls or anything like in the Social Studies rooms.