The Chief Administrative Officer of the United States House of Representatives (CAO) is the chief administrative officer of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

, charged with carrying out administrative functions for the House, including

human resources Human resources (HR) is the set of people who make up the workforce of an organization, business sector, industry, or economy. A narrower concept is human capital, the knowledge and skills which the individuals command. Similar terms include ...

, information resources,

payroll A payroll is the list of employees of some company that is entitled to receive payments as well as other work benefits and the amounts that each should receive. Along with the amounts that each employee should receive for time worked or tasks pe ...

, finance,

procurement Procurement is the method of discovering and agreeing to terms and purchasing goods, services, or other works from an external source, often with the use of a tendering or competitive bidding process. When a government agency buys goods or serv ...

, 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 conference The terms party conference (UK English), political convention ( US and Canadian English), and party congress usually refer to a general meeting of a political party. The conference is attended by certain delegates who represent the party membe ...

s (the

Democratic Caucus of the United States House of Representatives The House Democratic Caucus is a congressional caucus composed of all Democratic Representatives in the United States House of Representatives and is responsible for nominating and electing the Democratic Party leadership in the chamber. In its ...

and

Republican Conference of the United States House of Representatives The House Republican Conference is the party caucus for Republicans in the United States House of Representatives. It hosts meetings and is the primary forum for communicating the party's message to members. The Conference produces a daily pub ...

) nominate candidates for the House officer positions after the election of the

Speaker of the House The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England. Usage The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hungerf ...

. 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 CAO was first created during the

104th Congress The 104th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from January 3, 19 ...

, which met from January 3, 1995, to January 3, 1997. It replaced the position of the

Doorkeeper of the United States House of Representatives An appointed officer of the United States House of Representatives from 1789 until 1995, the Doorkeeper of the United States House of Representatives was chosen by a resolution at the opening of each United States Congress. The Office of the D ...

, 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; ) and ''Inside Congress'' (Pocket Books, August 1998; ]. 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.

List of Chief Administrative Officers

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.

References

External links

* Employees of the United States House of Representatives {{US-Congress-stub