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, or when the electronic voting system fails, the clerk calls the roll of members for a recorded vote.

Reading Clerks of the United States House of Representatives
Republican Susan Cole since 2007 Democratic Tylease Alli since 2021
United States House of Representatives Office of Legislative Operations
Inaugural holder	Edward W. Barber (Democratic) William K. Mehaffey (Republican)

Traditionally, the reading clerks are appointed by the leaders of the majority and minority parties. For instance, Paul Hays was appointed by the then-Minority Leader Robert H. Michel, for the Republican party. Beyond this procedure for appointment, the party status has no significance.

Reading clerks work for the Office of Legislative Operations, one of nine offices that fall under the jurisdiction of the clerk of the United States House of Representatives.

List of reading clerks

Democratic

Reading Clerk	Term
Edward W. Barber	1863–1869
Charles N. Clisbee	1869–1875 1881–1883
T. O. Walker	1883–1885
Thomas S. Pettit	1875–1881 1885–1889 1893–1895
John A. Reeve	1889–1893
Elbert L. Lampson	1895–1911
Patrick Joseph Haltigan	1911–1937
Roger M. Calloway	1937–1943
George J. Maurer	1943–1965
Charles W. Hackney Jr.	1965–1981
Meg Goetz	1981–1998
Mary Kevin Niland	1998–2008
Jaime Zapata	2008–2009
Joe Novotny[1]	2010–2021
Tylease Alli[2]	2021–present

Republican

Reading Clerk	Term
William K. Mehaffey	1867–1875
Neill S. Brown Jr.	1875–1889 1893–1895
Azro J. Maxham	1889–1891
James C. Broadwell	1891–1893
R. S. Hatcher	1895–1897
Dennis E. Alward	1897–1913
H. Martin Williams	1913–1919
Alney E. Chaffee	1919–1957
Joe Bartlett	1957–1978
Bob Berry	1978–1987
Paul Hays	1988–2007
Susan Cole[3]	2007–present