Why does the speaker of the house have authority to prevent congress from passing votes ?

Question

This morning Republican congressman went on CNN demanding to have a vote over the energy crisis and for drilling exploration.

They said that the speaker of the house is whats stopping congress from voting over vital issues.

I am not for drilling but I never realized that the speaker of the house has more authority than the president .

If congress determines how this country is run but 1 person has full power to prevent it from running how is that possible...

so confused ....

Answer 1

the speaker of the house sets the 'agenda'.  the agenda is the schedule of what bills get presented to the House of Representatives and when.

Nancy Pelosi is refusing to put pertinent bills in the schedule, or to allow debate or amendments to be offered when she does put bills on the schedule - therefore blocking any action on them.

she is supposed to be the organizer instead of blocker.

the energy bill proposed by the Dems was not open to discussion/debate or amendments.

the energy bill proposed by the Reps was not allowed to be presented at all.

Answer 2

We don't have to worry about finding more places to drill.  Iraq, the country we invaded over 5 years ago, has made an oil discovery so HUGE that it now has more oil than Saudi Arabia.  I don't know why no one has ever said anything about this.  It's like we're all being kept in the dark.  Check my source.