What Does the Vice President Do?

By:  Patricia A. O’Malley

Originally published by the 51 Corridor Community Newspaper, January 22, 2009

               On January 20, former Senator Joe Biden took the oath of office as the 47th vice president of the United States. During the presidential election campaign, there was a bit of an uproar when we learned that Republican vice presidential candidate Governor Sarah Palin, R-AK, doesn’t know the duties of the job that she wanted. Maybe someone can send this to her.

               There are actually two parts to the job. The first part is the three duties required in the US Constitution. The vice president, under the title of “President of the Senate”, votes in the Senate only to break a tie. He/she presides over the opening, counting, and reporting of Electoral College votes after a presidential election. The VP also steps in if the president dies or becomes incapacitated in office.  That’s it. There are no other official duties. It doesn’t require much time. Despite what Palin thinks, the VP does not make policy or “run the Senate”. Frankly, I’d like to see someone try to tell Senate leaders Robert Byrd, D-WV, Harry Reid, D-NV, and Mitch McConnell, R-KY, what to do.

               The second part of the job is more flexible, and absorbs most of the VP’s time. It can be interesting or not, depending on the president. The vice president typically advises the president on issues in which he/she specializes. Presidents often assign vice presidents to lead significant projects and represent the White House at important events. The vice president must also keep up on issues and developments in order to advise the president and in case he/she does suddenly become president. Our vice presidents spend a lot of time attending funerals, making speeches, and shaking hands.

               President John Kennedy assigned Vice President Lyndon Johnson to lead the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) during the early years of the space program. President Bill Clinton assigned Vice President Al Gore to lead the White House delegation to the international commission that developed the Internet and promoted its use throughout the country. Vice President Gore was also involved with forming national environmental policies.

               Vice President Dick Cheney took over many of the president’s duties and made the job his own. With no legal authority, Cheney established many federal policies, particularly in foreign relations, the war, and the environment. In September 2001, Cheney bragged in an interview with the New York Times that he – not President Bush – made all of the military and security decisions on September 11, 2001.

               Not all presidents take advantage of their vice presidents’ talents. Many of our VPs have spent their days with little to do. John Nance Garner, vice president during President Franklin Roosevelt’s first two terms, said that the job is “not worth a bucket of warm (spit).” The US has been without a vice president for 45 of its 219 years.

            Given Biden’s talents and experience, I expect that he’ll advise President Obama on foreign relations and lead White House efforts to get new legislation passed in Congress. And for all of this, the vice president receives an annual salary of $221,100 and lives rent free, with her/his family, in the superintendent’s house at the US Naval Observatory in Washington, DC.

For more information, go to www.whitehouse.gov/vicepresident and www.about.com.

Pat O’Malley is a consultant to nonprofit agencies. 

Contact her at communitymatters@patomalley-consulting.com.

Read past columns at www.patomalley-consulting.com