Steve Scalise

Stephen Joseph "Steve" Scalise (born October 6, 1965) is the current United States House of Representatives Majority Whip and representative for Louisiana's 1st congressional district, serving since 2008. He is a member of the Republican Party and the chairman of the 170-member conservative House Republican Study Committee.

Prior to his congressional tenure, Scalise served for four months in the Louisiana State Senate and twelve years in the Louisiana House of Representatives. On June 19, 2014, Scalise was elected by his Republican colleagues to serve as Majority Whip of the United States House of Representatives. He assumed office on August 1. He is the first Louisianan in the Majority Whip's position since Democrat Hale Boggs of Louisiana's 2nd congressional district held the position from 1962 to 1971.

Early life

Scalise was born in New Orleans, one of three children of Alfred Joseph Scalise, a real estate broker who died on October 8, 2015 at the age of seventy-seven, and the former Carol Schilleci. His siblings are Glenn and Tara Scalise.

Health care

Health care or healthcare is the maintenance or improvement of health via the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in human beings. Health care is delivered by health professionals (providers or practitioners) in allied health professions, chiropractic, physicians, dentistry, midwifery, nursing, medicine, optometry, pharmacy, psychology, and other health professions. It includes the work done in providing primary care, secondary care, and tertiary care, as well as in public health.

Access to health care varies across countries, groups, and individuals, largely influenced by social and economic conditions as well as the health policies in place. Countries and jurisdictions have different policies and plans in relation to the personal and population-based health care goals within their societies. Health care systems are organizations established to meet the health needs of target populations. Their exact configuration varies between national and subnational entities. In some countries and jurisdictions, health care planning is distributed among market participants, whereas in others, planning occurs more centrally among governments or other coordinating bodies. In all cases, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), a well-functioning health care system requires a robust financing mechanism; a well-trained and adequately-paid workforce; reliable information on which to base decisions and policies; and well maintained health facilities and logistics to deliver quality medicines and technologies.

Party leaders of the United States House of Representatives

Party leaders and whips of the United States House of Representatives are elected by their respective parties in a closed-door caucus by secret ballot and are also known as floor leaders. The U.S. House of Representatives does not officially use the term "Minority Leader" although the media frequently does. The House instead uses the terms "Republican Leader" or "Democratic Leader" depending on which party holds a minority of seats.

The current party leaders are: Majority (Republican) Leader Kevin McCarthy, Majority (Republican) Whip Steve Scalise, Minority (Democratic) Leader Nancy Pelosi, and Minority (Democratic) Whip Steny Hoyer.

Job description

Unlike in Westminster style legislatures or as with the Senate Majority Leader, the House Majority Leader's duties and prominence vary depending upon the style and power of the Speaker of the House. Typically, the Speaker does not participate in debate and rarely votes on the floor. In some cases, Majority Leaders have been more influential than the Speaker; notably Tom DeLay who was more prominent than Speaker Dennis Hastert. In addition, Speaker Newt Gingrich delegated to Dick Armey an unprecedented level of authority over scheduling legislation on the House floor.

Whip (politics)

A whip is an official in a political party whose primary purpose is to ensure party discipline in a legislature. Whips are a party's "enforcers", who typically offer inducements and threaten party members to ensure that they vote according to the official party policy. A whip's role is also to ensure that the elected representatives of their party are in attendance when important votes are taken. The usage comes from the hunting term "whipping in", i.e. preventing hounds from wandering away from the pack.

The term "whip" is also used to mean:

Morning Joe

Morning Joe is a weekday morning talk show which premiered on May 9, 2007, on MSNBC. The show features Joe Scarborough discussing the news of the day in a panel format with co-hosts Mika Brzezinski and Willie Geist. It was created as the replacement for Imus in the Morning, which was canceled in April 2007 after simulcasting on MSNBC since 1996.

The talk show airs airs from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time.

History

Morning Joe began as a fill-in program after Don Imus' Imus in the Morning was canceled. Former Florida Congressman Joe Scarborough, then host of the primetime MSNBC program Scarborough Country, suggested the idea of doing a morning show instead. He put together what would become Morning Joe with Scarborough Country executive producer Chris Licht and screenwriter John Ridley. On May 9, 2007, the show debuted as one of a series of rotating programs auditioning for Imus's former slot, with Scarborough joined by co-hosts Mika Brzezinski and Ridley. Scarborough had personally asked Brzezinski to co-host with him the night before the first audition, while she was a "cut-in" presenter during MSNBC's primetime schedule on a freelance basis.