Meg Goetz was the first woman to be appointed as a Reading clerk of the United States House of Representatives

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...

, a face familiar to viewers of C-SPAN

C-SPAN

C-SPAN , an acronym for Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network, is an American cable television network that offers coverage of federal government proceedings and other public affairs programming via its three television channels , one radio station and a group of websites that provide streaming...

, the network which covers House proceedings.

A graduate of Chestnut Hill College

Chestnut Hill College

Chestnut Hill College is a coeducational Roman Catholic college in the Chestnut Hill section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. It was founded in 1924 as a women's college by the Sisters of St. Joseph. It was originally called Mount Saint Joseph College and assumed its current name in 1938. In...

 in Philadelphia, she has degrees in political science

Political science

Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...

 and economics

Economics

Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...

. She was appointed Democratic reading clerk by Speaker Thomas P. 'Tip' O'Neill 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

American Indian Higher Education Consortium

The American Indian Higher Education Consortium was established in 1972, in order to represent the interests of the newly developed tribal colleges, which are controlled and operated by American Indian nations...

, an advocacy group in Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

. She was replaced as House reading clerk for the Democrats by Mary Kevin Niland

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...

who was appointed by then Minority Leader Richard Gephardt.