first speaker, muhlenberg of pennsylvania, in the first congress, he simply was a presiding officer. he was paid $2 more than the other members. $6 a day. he got $8 a day. and for that $8 he said i spent most of it on oyster suppers for the members so he didn't feel like it was much of a bonus. he thought he was losing money on the deal. but even muhlenberg, quickly as he got power to appoint committees, found that he was elevated above the other members. >> the door to the house chamber is behind you. the speaker is second in line to succeed the president after the vice president. what does this say about the speaker's authority? >> the speaker has great authority in the constitution in that respect. that was changed in 1947 with the secession act which brought the speaker up into a higher position as the highest elected officer after the president and vice president. and then it goes to the president to pro tem of the senate after that. so the speaker is, after the vice president, something happens to the president, the speaker is in line to succeed. and that 1947 act was an effort

great portraits of the speakers of the house going back to the first speaker, frederick augustus muhlenberg. all of them up to fairly recent times. they don't have every one of the speakers but most of the modern era speakers are in the lobby or somewhere near here. >> who generally has access to the space? do lobbyists come here? >> it's called the speakers lobby, but the only lobbyists in this space are people who have been invited to accompany members for some reason. most of the lobbying that goes on in the offices of the members and in the house and senate office buildings, that's where most of the lobbying occurs. if there lobbying the speaker, they might in the speaker's office. if anyone comes to congress with the business, there are either lobbyists with a certain mission, cause, corporate entity that wants to have influenced. or they are advocates, people who come here for various issues and are not here to be politically -- change the laws, but to advocate nonprofit organizations, humanities groups. virtually every kind of group you can imagine comes to the hill, veterans groups,