Jump to content

Chief Administrative Officer of the United States House of Representatives

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Chief Administrative Officer of U.S. House of Representatives
Seal of the United States House of Representatives
Flag of the United States House of Representatives
Incumbent
Catherine Szpindor
since January 3, 2021
AbbreviationCAO
SeatWashington, D.C.
NominatorSpeaker of the House
AppointerThe House
with a majority vote
Term lengthElected at the beginning of the new Congress, and upon a vacancy during a Congress.
Constituting instrumentH. Res. 6 (104th Congress, 1st Session)
PrecursorDirector of Non-Legislative and Financial Services
FormationJanuary 4, 1995
First holderScot M. Faulkner
Websitehttps://cao.house.gov/

The chief administrative officer of the United States House of Representatives (CAO) is charged with carrying out administrative functions for the House, including human resources, information resources, payroll, finance, procurement, and other business services.

Along with the other House officers, the chief administrative officer is elected every two years when the House organizes for a new Congress. The majority and minority party conferences (the Democratic Caucus of the United States House of Representatives and Republican Conference of the United States House of Representatives) nominate candidates for the House officer positions after the election of the speaker of the House. The full House adopts a resolution to elect the officers, who will begin serving the membership after they have taken the oath of office.

The office of the chief administrative officer was first created during the 104th Congress, which met from January 3, 1995, to January 3, 1997. It replaced the position of the doorkeeper of the United States House of Representatives, which was abolished at the same time. Scot Faulkner of West Virginia served as the first CAO. During his tenure he led the reform of the scandal-plagued House financial system, abolished the Folding Room, and privatized postal operations, printing, and shoe repair. Mr. Faulkner's office also implemented the first House Intranet (CyberCongress) and expanded digital camera coverage of the House Chamber and committee rooms. Faulkner's reform efforts are chronicled in the books Naked Emperors (Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., February 2008; ISBN 0-7425-5881-9) and Inside Congress (Pocket Books, August 1998; ISBN 0-671-00386-0].

The current CAO, Catherine Szpindor, took office on January 3, 2021. John Clocker is deputy chief administrative officer for the U.S. House of Representatives.[1]

List of chief administrative officers

[edit]

This table represents those who have served as chief administrative officer of the United States House of Representatives. The table lists the CAO who began each Congress; term of service may end before the sitting Congress if they resigned early.

United States Congress Chief Administrative Officer Term of service
104th Scot M. Faulkner January 4, 1995 – November 22, 1996
Jeff Trandahl November 22, 1996 – July 31, 1997
105th
James M. Eagen, III July 31, 1997 – February 15, 2007
106th
107th
108th
109th
110th
Daniel P. Beard February 15, 2007 – July 18, 2010
111th
Daniel J. Strodel July 18, 2010 – January 7, 2014
112th
113th
Ed Cassidy January 7, 2014 – January 1, 2016
114th
Will Plaster January 1, 2016 – August 1, 2016
Philip G. Kiko August 1, 2016 - January 3, 2021
115th
116th
117th Catherine Szpindor January 3, 2021 – present
118th

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "About > Senior Management". Chief Customer Officer for the U.S. House of Representatives. 2022. Retrieved 2022-01-08.
[edit]