President has power to call congress back.

The important factor would appear to be not the nature of the recess or ad- journment but, rather, that the Congress is not in session and that an extraordinary occasion has arisen which requires that it be in session and that it convene, therefore, at a date earlier than it otherwise would. It is beyond question that the two houses of the Congress do not have the power, even by statute, to defeat the constitutional power of the President, under Article II, Section 3, to convene the Congress on such an occasion.

While the motives of the Congress in passing Senate Concurrent Resolution 33 may not be entirely clear, I may say that neither the resolution on its face nor its legislative history indicates a congressional intention to deny this power of the President.

I conclude, therefore, that the President has the power, under Article II, Sec- tion 3 of the Constitution, to call a special session of the Congress during the current adjournment.

GEORGE T. WASHINGTON

Assistant Solicitor General