The Art of Power: My Story as America’s First Woman Speaker of the House

Nancy Pelosi’s political power and negotiations occur in the context of the constitutionally-defined roles of the House of Representatives and the Speaker of the House, so an understanding of those two roles is essential for following the sometimes-dense explanations of the passage of bills in the book.

The House of Representatives is one of two chambers of Congress, the legislative branch of the government. It comprises members from all 50 states, with the number of members allocated per state based on the population of that state. Members serve for two years, which Pelosi points to as the reason members are so responsive to the needs of their constituents. The constitutional responsibilities and powers of the House of Representatives include introducing bills that eventually make their way to the Senate for debate and then back to the House for reconciliation if passed. The House also has “the power of the purse,” meaning that it allocates funding for legislation. It also has the power to initiate impeachment proceedings against the president of the United States.

Getting a bill passed begins with a bill that originates in either chamber of the House, continues with work on the bills in committees, passage of the bill through a vote on the floor of the legislative chamber, and sending the bill over to the other chamber of the House.