The Accommodating Speaker

In the early 1970s, the Speaker was given the power to appoint all of the members of the Rules Committee. This effectively brought the Rules Committee under the Speaker's control, because the Speaker could remove members of the committee who consistently worked against him. In addition, the Speaker was given much more influence over the assignment of members to other House committees.

Despite these changes, the House was a very different place in the 1970s from what it had been in earlier decades. Partially because of the power of television, individual members of the House enjoyed a greater share of influence. Speakers could not behave as dictators. In order to be effective, they had to follow the personable leadership style established earlier by Speaker Sam Rayburn.

Later Speakers of the House tended to follow this model of leadership. Tip O'Neill (D-MA) served as Speaker from 1977 to 1986 and was known for his open, cooperative leadership style. He worked hard at being accessible to the rank-and-file members of his party. From the outset he maintained an open-door policy, and welcomed members to stop by his office at their convenience. O'Neill also spent a lot of time mixing with members on the floor of the House. He was known for dispensing small good-will gifts and favors to members. Another Speaker during this period -- Tom Foley (D-WA) -- was also known for his easy-going, friendly style of leadership.