Meg Goetz was the first woman to be appointed as a

Reading clerk of the United States House of Representatives The Reading Clerk of the United States House of Representatives reads bills, motions, and other papers before the House and keeps track of changes to legislation made on the floor. During the vote for Speaker at the beginning of each Congress, o ...

, a face familiar to viewers of

C-SPAN Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN ) is an American cable and satellite television network that was created in 1979 by the cable television industry as a nonprofit public service. It televises many proceedings of the United States ...

, the network which covers House proceedings.Wednesday Journal - U.S. House
''

Washington Journal ''Washington Journal'' is an American television series on the C-SPAN television network in the format of a political call-in and interview program. The program features elected officials, government administrators and journalists as guests, an ...

'' (1995 interview with Ms. Goetz, starting at 1:40 of program, says she was appointed to position in 1982, and works two hour shifts on the floor at a time, trading off with her GOP counterpart, and directly reports to the

Clerk of the House The clerk, chief clerk, or secretary of a legislative chamber is the senior administrative officer responsible for ensuring that its business runs smoothly. This may encompass keeping custody of documents lain before the house, received, or produ ...

) A graduate of

Chestnut Hill College Chestnut Hill College is a private Catholic college in the Chestnut Hill section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The college was founded in 1924 as a women's college by the Sisters of St. Joseph. It was originally named Mount Saint Joseph College ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, she has degrees in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

and

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and intera ...

. She was appointed Democratic reading clerk by Speaker

Tip O'Neill Thomas Phillip "Tip" O'Neill Jr. (December 9, 1912 – January 5, 1994) was an American politician who served as the 47th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1977 to 1987, representing northern Boston, Massachusetts, as ...

in 1982 and served until 1998 when she retired from the House. The reading clerks prepare the official version of all House-passed legislation and maintain all official papers on behalf of the House of Representatives relative to legislation. They report to the House membership all bills, motions, amendments, and all official communications. They also serve as House liaisons to the U.S. Senate, formally transmit all official actions taken by the House, and prepare the official records of all changes to legislation made on the floor. During the vote for Speaker at the beginning of each Congress, or when the electronic voting system fails, the reading clerk calls the roll of House membership. Ms. Goetz is currently the Vice President for Advocacy for the

American Indian Higher Education Consortium The American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC) was established in 1972 to represent the interests of the newly developed tribal colleges, which are controlled and operated by American Indian nations. The four founders were Gerald One F ...

, an advocacy group in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

AIHEC Staff Listing
, aihec.org, Retrieved May 20, 2011 She was replaced as House reading clerk for the Democrats by

Mary Kevin Niland Mary Kevin Niland is a former Reading Clerk of the United States House of Representatives, a face familiar to viewers of C-SPAN, the network which covers House proceedings. The reading clerk reads bills, motions, and other papers before the Hous ...

who was appointed by then Minority Leader Richard Gephardt.

External links

References

Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Reading Clerks of the United States House of Representatives Chestnut Hill College alumni {{US-gov-bio-stub