A Twentieth Amendment Parable John C
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Lame Duck Sessions of Congress, 1935-2018 (74Th-115Th Congresses)
Lame Duck Sessions of Congress, 1935-2018 (74th-115th Congresses) Updated October 13, 2020 Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov R45154 Lame Duck Sessions of Congress, 1935-2018 (74th-115th Congresses) Summary A “lame duck” session of Congress occurs whenever one Congress meets after its successor is elected but before the end of its own constitutional term. Under present conditions, any meeting of Congress between election day in November and the following January 3 is a lame duck session. Prior to 1933, when the Twentieth Amendment changed the dates of the congressional term, the last regular session of Congress was always a lame duck session. Today, however, the expression is primarily used for any portion of a regular session that falls after an election. Congress has held 22 lame duck sessions since the implementation of the Twentieth Amendment. From the first modern lame duck session in 1941 to 1998, the sessions occurred sporadically. Beginning in 2000, both houses of Congress have held a lame duck session following every election. In this report, the data presentation is separate for the sporadic period (76th-105th Congresses) and the consistent period (106th-present) in order to identify past and emerging trends. Lame duck sessions can occur in several ways. Either chamber or both chambers may (1) provide for an existing session to resume after a recess spanning the election; (2) continue meeting in intermittent, or pro forma, sessions during the period spanning the election; or (3) reconvene after an election pursuant to contingent authority granted to the leadership in a recess or adjournment resolution. -
Twentieth Amendment Parable, A
ESSAY A TWENTIETH AMENDMENT PARABLE JOHN COPELAND NAGLE* INTRODUCTION Once upon a time, there was a constitutional amendment that had avoided all of the disputes characteristic of constitutional law. The Supreme Court had never even mentioned it. Only four district court decisions had in any sense turned on the Amendment's mean- ing.' Law schools did not hold symposia exploring the subtleties of the Amendment. The definitive law review article on the Amend- ment had yet to be written.2 The most attention the Amendment re- ceived was as an example of a constitutional provision so straightforward that it generated few of the interpretive controversies 3 that lurked elsewhere in the Constitution. * Associate Professor of Law, Seton Hall University. B.A., 1982, Indiana University; J.D., 1986, University of Michigan. I am indebted to Akhil Amar, Barbara Armacost, Phil Frickey, Abner Greene, Ed Hartnett, Sanford Levinson, Lisa Nagle, Mike Paulsen, De- anell Tacha, and Bill Treanor, each of whom offered many helpful suggestions and com- ments on this Essay. I also benefited from a roundtable discussion on Seminole Tribe held at the Seton Hall University School of Law on April 19, 1996. Erik Daab and Mark Epley helped me locate some of the history of the Twentieth Amendment discussed below, and Deborah Levi provided wonderful editorial assistance. Any remaining mistakes are my own. I See Humphrey v. Baker, 665 F. Supp. 23, 30 (D.D.C. 1987) (determining that Twenti- eth Amendment allows Congress to receive messages from President even when it is not in session), aff'd, 848 F.2d 211 (D.C. -
Lame Duck Sessions of Congress, 1935-2008 (74Th-110Th Congresses)
Lame Duck Sessions of Congress, 1935-2008 (74th-110th Congresses) Richard S. Beth Specialist on Congress and the Legislative Process Momoko Soltis Analyst on Congress and the Legislative Process March 2, 2009 Congressional Research Service 7-5700 www.crs.gov RL33677 CRS Report for Congress Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress Lame Duck Sessions of Congress, 1935-2008 (74th-110th Congresses) Summary A “lame duck” session of Congress occurs whenever one Congress meets after its successor is elected, but before the term of the current Congress ends. Under present conditions, any meeting of Congress after election day in November, but before the following January 3, is a lame duck session. Prior to 1933, when the 20th Amendment changed the dates of the congressional term, the last regular session of Congress was always a lame duck session. Today, however, the expression is used not only for a separate session of Congress that convenes after a sine die adjournment, but also for any portion of a regular session that falls after an election. A lame duck session can occur in several ways. (1) Congress has usually provided for its existing session to resume after a recess spanning the election. (In 1954, only the Senate returned in this way, while the House adjourned sine die.) (2) In 1940, 1942, and 2002, at least one house continued meeting in intermittent, or pro forma, sessions during the period spanning the election (in 2008, the Senate used this means to forestall recess appointments). (3) Congress can reconvene after an election pursuant to contingent authority granted to the leadership in a recess or adjournment resolution (the House followed this course in 1998 and 2008). -
Lame Duck Sessions of Congress, 1935-2018 (74Th-115Th Congresses)
Lame Duck Sessions of Congress, 1935-2018 (74th-115th Congresses) Updated October 13, 2020 Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov R45154 Lame Duck Sessions of Congress, 1935-2018 (74th-115th Congresses) Summary A “lame duck” session of Congress occurs whenever one Congress meets after its successor is elected but before the end of its own constitutional term. Under present conditions, any meeting of Congress between election day in November and the following January 3 is a lame duck session. Prior to 1933, when the Twentieth Amendment changed the dates of the congressional term, the last regular session of Congress was always a lame duck session. Today, however, the expression is primarily used for any portion of a regular session that falls after an election. Congress has held 22 lame duck sessions since the implementation of the Twentieth Amendment. From the first modern lame duck session in 1940 to 1998, the sessions occurred sporadically. Beginning in 2000, both houses of Congress have held a lame duck session following every election. In this report, the data presentation is separate for the sporadic period (76th-105th Congresses) and the consistent period (106th-present) in order to identify past and emerging trends. Lame duck sessions can occur in several ways. Either chamber or both chambers may (1) provide for an existing session to resume after a recess spanning the election; (2) continue meeting in intermittent, or pro forma, sessions during the period spanning the election; or (3) reconvene after an election pursuant to contingent authority granted to the leadership in a recess or adjournment resolution.