>>12132244 McConnell, Schumer reach deal to block Trump’s potential veto of defense bill

politicians know the scams they can and they will do all of them

Brian Kelly / EyeEm Getty

By Robert Longley

Updated April 05, 2020

In the daily agendas of the House of Representatives and Senate, you will often see that House or Senate leaders have scheduled a “pro forma” session for the day. What is a pro forma session, what is its purpose, and why do they sometimes stir up political firestorms?

==Key Takeaways: Pro Forma Sessions

Pro forma sessions are meetings of the U.S. Congress held “in form only.” Either house of Congress can hold pro forma sessions==

During pro forma sessions, no votes are taken and no other legislative business is conducted.

Pro forma sessions are held for the purpose of meeting the “three-day rule” in Article I, Section 5 of the U.S. Constitution. The three day rule prohibits either chamber of Congress from not meeting for more than three consecutive calendar days during a congressional session without the approval of the other chamber.

The term pro forma is a Latin term meaning “as a matter of form” or “for the sake of form.” While either chamber of Congress can hold them, pro forma sessions are most often held in the Senate.

Typically, no legislative business, such as the introduction or debate on bills or resolutions, is conducted during a pro forma session. As a result, pro forma sessions rarely last more than a few minutes from gavel-to-gavel.

There are no constitutional restrictions on how long pro forma sessions must last or what business may be conducted in them.

While any Senator or Representative present can open and preside over a pro forma session, the attendance of other members is not required. Indeed, most pro forma sessions are conducted before nearly empty chambers of Congress.

A Senator or Representative from one of the nearby states of Virginia, Maryland or Delaware is usually chosen to preside over pro forma sessions since members from other states have usually left Washington, D.C. for vacations or meeting with constituents in their home districts or states.

The Official Purpose of Pro Forma Sessions

The officially stated purpose for pro forma sessions is to comply with Article I, Section 5 of the Constitution, which prohibits either chamber of Congress from adjourning for more than three consecutive calendar days without the consent of the other chamber. Scheduled long-term breaks provided for in the annual legislative calendars for sessions of Congress, such as the summer breaks and district work periods are typically provided for by the passage in both chambers of a joint resolution declaring the adjournment.

However, the numerous unofficial reason for holding pro forma sessions of Congress often results in controversy and politically hurt feelings.

The More Controversial Purpose of Pro Forma Sessions

While doing so never fails to raise controversy, the minority party in the Senate often holds pro forma sessions specifically to prevent the President of the United States from making “recess appointments” of persons to fill vacancies in federal offices that require the approval of the Senate.

The president is allowed under Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution to make recess appointments during recesses or adjournments of Congress. Persons appointed by recess appointments assume their position without the approval of the Senate but must be confirmed by the Senate before the end of the next session of Congress, or when the position again becomes vacant.

As long as the Senate meets in pro forma sessions, Congress never officially adjourns, thus blocking the president from making recess appointments.

However, in 2012, President Barak Obama made four recess appointments during Congress’ winter break, despite a run of daily pro forma sessions called by Senate Republicans. Obama argued at the time that pro forma sessions do not block the president’s “constitutional authority” to make appointments. Despite being challenged by Republicans, Obama’s recess appointees were eventually confirmed by the Democrat-controlled Senate.

https://www.thoughtco.com/pro-forma-sessions-in-congress-3322325

>>12133875

Congress can hold pro forma sessions during Christmas and New Year, I wonder what if anything, can stop them

>>12133875

The President can adjourn congress to stop a pro forma session

Noel Canning Redux: Justices Breyer and Scalia wrote that the President could use the adjournment power to block Senate "intransigence" (Updated)

No President has ever adjourned Congress before. Yet at least.

JOSH BLACKMAN | 4.15.2020 6:45 PM

Today, President Trump said he could adjourn Congress as a means to make recess appointments.

"If the House will not agree to that adjournment, I will exercise my constitutional authority to adjourn both chambers of Congress."

He also referred to pro forma sessions as "phony" and a "scam." I suspect President Obama would agree with him on this point at least.

Article II, Section 3 provides:

[The President] may, on extraordinary Occasions, convene both Houses, or either of them, and in Case of Disagreement between them, with Respect to the Time of Adjournment, he may adjourn them to such Time as he shall think proper

No President has ever used the adjournment power–certainly not to make recess appointments. But this idea is not novel. Justice Scalia flagged it in NLRB v. Noel Canning (2014).

The Constitution also gives the President (if he has enough allies in Congress) a way to force a recess. Art. II, § 3 ("[I]n Case of Disagreement between [the Houses], with Respect to the Time of Adjournment, [the President] may adjourn them to such Time as he shall think proper"). Moreover, the President and Senators engage with each other in many different ways and have a variety of methods of encouraging each other to accept their points of view.

Let's use an example. If the Republican-controlled Senate wants to adjourn right now, and the Democratic-controlled House does not want to adjourn right now, there would be a "disagreement with Respect to the Time of Adjournment." Here, the President's "allies in Congress" (Senate Republicans) could set the stage for him to adjourn Congress. And once the Senate is adjourned for more than ten days, per Noel Canning, the recess appointment power is activated.

Justice Scalia concurred, joined by Chief Justice Roberts, Justice Thomas, and Justice Alito. They made a very similar position: the President's friends in Congress could help trigger an adjournment:

The majority replaces the Constitution's text with a new set of judge-made rules to govern recess appointments. Henceforth, the Senate can avoid triggering the President's now-vast recess-appointment power by the odd contrivance of never adjourning for more than three days without holding a pro forma session at which it is understood that no business will be conducted. Ante, at 2555-2556. How this new regime will work in practice remains to be seen. Perhaps it will reduce the prevalence of recess appointments. But perhaps not:Members of the President's party in Congress may be able to prevent the Senate from holding pro forma sessions with the necessary frequency, and if the House and Senate disagree, the President may be able to adjourn both "to such Time as he shall think proper." U.S. Const., Art. II, § 3. In any event, the limitation upon the President's appointment power is there not for the benefit of the Senate, but for the protection of the people; it should not be dependent on Senate action for its existence

All 9 Justices seemed to agree that the adjournment power could be used to facilitate recess appointments.

Update: My original post attributed a passage to Justice Scalia's concurrence that actually appeared in Justice Breyer's majority opinion. I've revised the post to include Breyer's and Scalia's arguments. They largely agree on this point.

https://reason.com/volokh/2020/04/15/noel-canning-redux-justice-scalia-wrote-that-the-president-could-use-the-adjournment-power-to-block-senate-intransgience/

>>12133435 McConnell Joins With Schumer To Block Potential Trump VETO Of Defense Bill, Keep Big Tech Protection

Since the law says congress must adjourn for 10 days (minus Sunday) for the Pocket Veto to work,would a 10 black out of all technology, or national emergency succeed in stopping pro forma sessions

Pro forma — from a Latin term meaning “as a matter of form” or “for the sake of form” — sessions are brief meetings of the chamber during which no legislative business may be conducted. More often held in the Senate than the House, pro forma sessions are typically used only to satisfy the constitutional obligation that neither chamber can adjourn for more than three days without the consent of the other chamber.

Pro forma sessions can also be used to prevent the President of the United States from making recess appointments, pocket-vetoing bills, or calling the Congress into a special session. For example, during a 2007 recess, Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid, planned to keep the Senate in pro forma session in order to prevent further controversial appointments made by the Bush Administration. “I am keeping the Senate in pro forma to prevent recess appointments until we get this process on track,” said Sen. Reid.

https://www.thoughtco.com/what-are-congressional-sessions-3322284

>>12134182

Amen Anon

>>12134210

Yeah and it seems to me we are watching a movie, it makes no sense except panic and desperation, they think they can prevent POTUS from taking office. What’s really crazy is to be one of them thinking, shit if I betray him and installed again as president, I’m dead. This whole thing sounds like a set up of the rats that pushed all this shit into the bill. The republicans seemed to welcome it. And since when would McConnell work with Schumer? McConnell has a lot to lose.