![]() ![]() Orrin Hatch says taking such a measure "would be a very unwise political thing to do. "It's just that no president has ever exercised that constitutional authority." "But there is this other provision that says, well, if the two houses themselves can't agree on an adjournment, the president can adjourn Congress," Ritchie says. And ever since late May, Congress has remained in permanent session, mainly because Republican lawmakers want to prevent any more recess appointments.ĭonald Ritchie, the Senate's official historian, says several presidents have used a constitutional provision that allows them to convene a session of Congress. The only way the president can make a recess appointment for Cordray is if Congress is actually in recess. Obama insisted, "I will not take any options off the table when it comes to getting Richard Cordray in as director of the consumer finance protection board." ![]() The light signifying that Congress is in session may remain on this holiday season as well, since House Republicans have said they will remain in a pro-forma session. Capitol is seen above in 2009 as senators worked late into the night on legislation. Witnesses regularly appear at committee meetings. Obama, however, contends that in today’s world of instant communication and easy travel, he deserves a much larger - almost unlimited - recess appointment power.The U.S. A meeting of a Senate or House committee (or occasionally of either chamber) that only its members may attend. The Recess Appointments Clause was written when conditions made such a power crucial. The first president made the first recess appointment in the first year of his first term, in 1789, when travel was slow and arduous, and Congress was usually not in session. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) held an enrollment ceremony for the Crime Victims Fund Act. The Obama administration argues that the word “happen” is a synonym for “exist.” And it rejects the argument that an intra-session Senate break is a synonym for “adjournment,” not “recess.” This, however, ignores the reasonable reading of the definite article: Recess appointments fill vacancies that “happen,” meaning come about, during “the” recess of the Senate - the one break that occurs between sessions, which until the Civil War usually lasted only three to six months. 4 and made his NLRB appointments, thereby disregarding the Senate’s determination of the rules of its proceedings, and the settled practice both parties have used to remain not in recess even when most senators are away. Under a unanimous consent agreement - no Democrat objected - pro forma sessions occurred on Jan. The Senate convened for a pro forma session. Republicans, wanting to block some Obama nominations, used a practice Democrats used in 2007 when they controlled the Senate and wanted to block some George W. The Senate met for a pro forma session with no legislative business scheduled. ![]() The bottler asked the court to declare the NLRB’s intervention unlawful because the board did not have a legitimate quorum, three members having been installed by Obama when the Senate was not in recess as the Framers understood this term. In 2012, the National Labor Relations Board rendered a decision adverse to a soft-drink bottler in Yakima, Wash. Monday’s case concerns whether Barack Obama made recess appointments when the Senate was not in recess, and made them to fill vacancies that did not happen during a recess. “The president,” says the Constitution, “shall have the power to fill up all vacancies that may happen during the recess of the Senate” (emphasis added). On Monday, the Supreme Court’s nine fine minds will hear oral arguments about the meaning of “the” and “happen.” What they decide could advance the urgent project of reining in rampant executive power. ![]() Digital Replica Edition Home Page Close MenuĬonstitutional arguments that seem as dry as dust can have momentous consequences. ![]()
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