[Deschler's Precedents, Volume 1, Chapters 1 - 6]
[Chapter 1.  Assembly of Congress]
[A. Meeting and Organization]
[Â§ 3. Time of Meeting]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


[Page 11-25]
 
                               CHAPTER 1
 
                          Assembly of Congress
 
                      A. MEETING AND ORGANIZATION
 
Sec. 3. Time of Meeting

    The Constitution requires that the Congress assemble at least once 
a year on either the date specified by the Constitution--January 3--or 
on a date appointed by the Congress.(2) Since
                         
[[Page 12]]

the First Congress, the Senate and House have frequently provided by 
law for a convening date different than that designated by the 
Constitution: by resolution of the Continental Congress the first 
session of the First Congress convened on Mar. 4, 1789,(3) 
up to and including May 20, 1820, 18 acts were passed altering the 
constitutional day;(4) between 1820 and 1934 Congress met 
regularly for a new session on the first Monday in 
December.(5) Since January of 1934 the Congress has convened 
pursuant to the twentieth amendment, requiring the Congress to meet on 
the third day of January unless otherwise provided.
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 2. U.S. Const. art. I, Sec. 4, clause 2, providing for annual assembly 
        on the first Monday in December, was superseded by the 
        twentieth amendment, ratified Feb. 6, 1933, requiring in 
        section 2 that Congress assemble on the third day of January, 
        unless otherwise provided.
            Laws appointing a different day for assembling since 
        ratification of the twentieth amendment, see House Rules and 
        Manual Sec. 279 (1973) (comment). Time of convening for a 
        session, see Everett S. Brown, The Time of Meetings of 
        Congress, American Political Science Review 955-960 (Nov. 
        1931).
 3. 1 Hinds' Precedents Sec. 3; 8 Cannon's Precedents Sec. 3371.
 4. 8 Cannon's Precedents Sec. 3371.
 5. 8 Cannon's Precedents Sec. 3371.
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    The twentieth amendment is not the only law relating to the time of 
meeting. Not only the Congress, but also the President has 
constitutional authority to convene the Congress earlier than on the 
constitutional day;(6) in addition, the twenty-fifth 
amendment to the Constitution requires Congress to assemble to 
determine the President's ability, when challenged, to discharge the 
powers and duties of his office,(7) and section 15 of title 
III, United States Code, appoints the sixth day of January for the 
count of the electoral vote by the Senate and the House of 
Representatives.(8)
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 6. U.S. Const., art. II, Sec. 3. The President has often convened the 
        Congress, and on one occasion reassembled Congress on a day 
        earlier than Congress itself had provided for. 1 Hinds' 
        Precedents Sec. Sec. 2, 10-12. Congress provided in the 
        concurrent resolution adjourning sine die the 1st session of 
        the 93d Congress (H. Con. Res. 412) that the leadership could 
        call the Houses back into session.
 7. Ratified Feb. 23, 1967.
 8. On at least one occasion Congress has changed the date for the 
        electoral count. Act of Mar. 24, 1956, Ch. 92, 70 Stat. 54. For 
        the procedure of the count, see Ch. 10, infra.
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    The constitutional provisions relating to the time of meeting and 
to the annual assembly were construed by early Congresses to permit 
them to convene early, either by resolution or by proclamation,
and then to continue the same 
                         
[[Page 13]]

session up to and beyond the day 
appointed by the Constitution for annual assembly.(9) The 
ambiguity of that construction and the extension of power over the time 
of meeting to the President led to the current practice under which an 
existing session necessarily terminates with the day appointed by the 
Constitution for the regular annual session.(10)
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 9. The majority of the first 15 Congresses held only two legislative 
        sessions. 1 Hinds' Precedents Sec. Sec. 5-11; see also 8 
        Cannon's Precedents Sec. 3371, describing the first instance 
        where four sessions were convened.
10 2 Hinds' Precedents Sec. 1160; 5 Hinds' Precedents Sec. 6690; 8 
        Cannon's Precedents Sec. 3375. See Sec. 2.4, supra.
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    Since the adoption of the twentieth amendment, Congress has met 
either on Jan. 3 or shortly thereafter, maintaining two sessions per 
Congress with the exception of the 75th and 76th.(11) In the 
event that Congress adjourns sine die and the President convenes an 
extraordinary session, an entirely new session is begun, and is 
terminated by the arrival of the constitutional day.(12) 
Where, however, the President convenes Congress while adjourned to a 
day certain, the existing session is maintained; no longer is the 
presidentially-convened session necessarily an extra or additional 
one.(13)
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11. A second session of the 75th Congress was convened by the President 
        on Nov. 15, 1937, between the sine die adjournment of the first 
        session and the convening of the third session on the 
        constitutional day, Jan. 3, 1938. 82 Cong. Rec. 7, 75th Cong. 
        2d Sess. The second session of the 76th Congress was convened 
        in like manner on Sept. 21, 1939. 85 Cong. Rec. 7, 76th Cong. 
        2d Sess. See Sec. 2.1, supra.
12. 2 Hinds' Precedents Sec. 1160; 5 Hinds' Precedents Sec. 6690.
13. Ashley v Keith Oil Corporation, 7 F.R.D. 589 (D. Mass. 1947) held 
        that the first session of the 80th Congress was not terminated 
        by a Presidential proclamation convening Congress while 
        adjourned to a day certain, where the Congress itself had 
        construed the reconvention as a continuation of the first 
        session and where the Presidential proclamation did not refer 
        to an extra or additional session. (The issue before the court 
        was the effective date of amendments to the Rules of Civil 
        Procedure, to become law three months after the termination of 
        the first regular session of Congress.) Ashley departed from 
        the early view expressed in Jefferson's Manual (House Rules and 
        Manual Sec. 588 [1973]) that the convening of Congress by the 
        President automatically begins a new session, a theory formerly 
        propounded in the House. 1 Hinds' Precedents Sec. 12.
            See also the remarks in the Senate of Sen. Alexander Wiley. 
        (Wis.) on the Ashley issue, 93 Cong. Rec. 10575, 10576, 80th 
        Cong. 1st Sess., Nov. 17, 1947, and a Library of Congress 
        memorandum inserted by him in the Record at 10576, concluding 
        that the Congress was reconvening pursuant to the Presidential 
        proclamation to resume the first regular session.

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[[Page 14]]

    The opening date of the First Congress operated to fix not only the 
start of a session, but also the beginning of the terms of the Members 
of the House and of the Senate; thus the term of Congress began on the 
fourth of March of odd numbered years and extended through two 
years.(14) Under the twentieth amendment, however, the terms 
of the Members begin on January 3 of the odd-numbered years, regardless 
of an alternate convening date.(15)
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14. A joint committee of the First Congress determined that under the 
        resolution of the Continental Congress and under art. I, 
        Sec. 2, clause 1, of the U.S. Constitution, the terms of 
        Representatives and Senators of the first class commenced on 
        the fourth of March, to terminate with the third of March of 
        the odd-numbered years. 1 Hinds' Precedents Sec. 3. That 
        construction was followed until the adoption of the twentieth 
        amendment. See the act of Jan. 22, 1867, Ch. 10, Sec. 1, 14 
        Stat. 378, cited at 1 Hinds' Precedents Sec. 11.
15. Section 1 of the twentieth amendment. The amendment was ratified on 
        Feb. 6, 1933. For commentary, see House Rules and Manual Sec. 6 
        (1973). See also 2 USC Sec. 34 (salary begins for 
        Representatives-elect at beginning of term, even if before 
        Congress assembles).
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    In addition to the authority of Congress to set the convening date 
of a session or of a new Congress, each House has plenary power over 
the time of its meetings during the session. By simple day-to-day 
adjournment, the House meets on the next following day, with the usual 
exclusion of Saturday and Sunday;(16) similarly, an 
adjournment to a day certain fixes the next meeting day of the House. 
If the time of meeting has not been previously set by either a standing 
order or by a resolution, the simple resolution to adjourn may be 
amended to set the convening time.(17)
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16. The House may provide for Sunday sessions, although Sunday is a 
        dies non in the regular practice of the House. 5 Hinds' 
        Precedents Sec. Sec. 6728-32, 7245.
17. 5 Hinds' Precedents Sec. Sec. 5360-63. For adjournments for a 
        specified time and adjournments for a specified purpose, see 
        Ch. 40, infra.
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    By a new procedure adopted at the opening of the 93d 
Congress,(18) a privileged and non-debatable motion may be 
made at any time to provide for adjournment to a day and time 
certain.(19) On some occasions, particularly 
                         
[[Page 15]]

when the Senate does not acquiesce in 
the request of the House for an adjournment for more than three days, 
the House may provide that meetings be held only on specified days of 
the week, often for merely pro forma sessions without transaction of 
legislative business.(20)
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18. 119 Cong. Rec. 26, 27, 93d Cong. 1st Sess., Jan. 3, 1973.
19. Rule XVI clause 4, House Rules and Manual Sec. 782 (1973).
20. 5 Hinds' Precedents Sec. 6675; 8 Cannon's Precedents Sec. 3369.
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    Any proposition relating to the days on which the House shall sit 
is within the jurisdiction of the Committee on Rules;(1) the 
Committee on the Judiciary considers proposed bills to change the 
convening date of Congress or to amend the constitutional provisions as 
to the time of meeting.(2)
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 1. 4 Hinds' Precedents Sec. 4325; see also Rule XI, House Rules and 
        Manual Sec. 715, and comment thereto, Sec. 717 (1973).
 2. Rule XI clause 13, House Rules and Manual Sec. Sec. 707, 708 
        (1973); 4 Hinds' Precedents Sec. 4077. Formerly, proposed 
        constitutional changes as to the terms of Congress and as to 
        the time of annual meetings were considered by the Committee on 
        the Election of the President, Vice President, and 
        Representatives in Congress. 7 Cannon's Precedents 2026.
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    On the opening day of a new Congress, or on the opening day of a 
new session of an existing Congress, the House meets at 12 o'clock 
meridian time. That hour of meeting, a practice dating from 1816, has 
come to have the force of common law.(3)
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 3. 1 Hinds' Precedents Sec. Sec. 4, 210.
            In 1784 the first order of the House fixing the time of 
        meeting provided that the House meet at 9 in the morning, 
        adjourn at 2 in the afternoon, meet again at 4 o'clock p.m., 
        and adjourn at 8 o'clock p.m. in the evening. Beginning with 
        the Eighth Congress, a standing order was adopted for the daily 
        hour of meeting, and since 1816 the hour has been fixed at 12 
        o'clock meridian. For the history of the hour of daily meeting, 
        see the remarks of Mr. George A. Dondero (Mich.), on Mar. 4, 
        1946, 92 Cong Rec. 1855, 79th Cong. 2d Sess. See also 1 Hinds' 
        Precedents Sec. Sec. 4, 6, and 10.
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    On the opening day of a new Congress, one of the first steps in 
organization is the adoption of a standing order fixing the hours of 
daily meeting for the remainder of the session;(4) that 
order expires with the termination of the first session, and a new 
order must be adopted at the beginning of each new session of the same 
Congress.(5) While a motion to adjourn does not usually fix 
the hour of the next meeting, it may so fix the hour where no standing 
order has yet been adopted.(6) In early Congresses, a motion 
to change the 
                         
[[Page 16]]

hour of daily meeting was made at any 
time as a privileged motion;(7) later rulings characterized 
the resolution fixing the hour as a standing order rather than as a 
rule.(8) The new section of Rule XVI clause 4, provides for 
a privileged motion to adjourn, subject to majority vote, which may fix 
the day and hour to which the House may adjourn.(9) In 
current practice, a resolution to fix the hour of meeting or to change 
the hour of meeting is offered by the Committee on Rules(10) 
(the committee may also provide for the convening of daily sessions at 
a specific hour while a certain bill is under 
consideration).(11)
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 4. 1 Hinds' Precedents Sec. 104; see also House Rules and Manual 
        Sec. 6 (1973) (comment).
 5. 1 Hinds' Precedents Sec. Sec. 104-109.
 6. 5 Hinds' Precedents Sec. Sec. 5362-63.
 7. 1 Hinds' Precedents Sec. Sec. 110-112.
 8. 1 Hinds' Precedents Sec. Sec. 110, 113-116.
 9. See House Rules and Manual Sec. 182 (1973). For debate on the 
        measure when first proposed, see 119 Cong. Rec. 26, 27, 93d 
        Cong. 1st Sess., Jan. 3, 1973.
            For the former practice, requiring unanimous consent to 
        change the hour of meeting, see Sec. 3.11, infra. If the 
        Committee of the Whole is sitting when the time for the daily 
        meeting of the House arises, the Committee and not the Chairman 
        decides whether the Committee will rise. 5 Hinds' Precedents 
        Sec. 6736.
10. 4 Hinds' Precedents Sec. 4325.
11. Where a special order so provides, the House meets at the specific 
        hour only on days when consideration of the bill is in order. 7 
        Cannon's Precedents Sec. 763.
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    The exercise by the House of its formal rule-making power over the 
time of meeting is strictly construed.(12) In this regard, 
the leadership of the House has extensive informal authority over the 
time of meeting during a session sub
ject to approval by the House itself. For example, the leadership 
                         
[[Page 17]]

may propose, in advance, the time of each adjournment to a day certain 
for the entire session,(13) and may propose times for 
ceremonies, joint sessions, and joint meetings, whose scheduled dates 
are announced to the Members by the Speaker or by the Majority Leader 
or whip. (Such assemblies must be distinguished from regular meetings 
to conduct legislative business; the House usually stands in recess for 
attendance at joint meetings and ceremonies.)(14) The House 
on occasion authorizes the Speaker or the congressional leadership to 
determine the date on which a meeting shall be held. Likewise, 
authority may be vested in the Speaker to designate a date on which the 
regular routine of the House should be resumed.(15) 
Similarly, a resolution of adjournment to a day certain or a sine die 
adjournment resolution may provide that the congressional leaders may 
recall the Congress, on a date earlier than that adjourned to, when in 
their opinion legislative expediency warrants such 
action.(16)
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12. A general rule of statutory construction is that the acts of a 
        legislature meeting at an unauthorized time may be invalidated. 
        Sutherland, Statutes and Statutory Construction Sec. 401 (3d 
        ed. 1943). Federal courts do not, however, question the 
        regularity of the proceedings of Congress as a general rule. 
        Barry v U.S. ex rel Cunningham, 279 U.S. 597, 619 (1929); 
        Yellin v U.S., 374 U.S. 109, 146 (1963).
            The Senate has on occasion met in regular session more than 
        once on the same day. 91 Cong. Rec. 5470, 79th Cong. 1st Sess., 
        June 4, 1945. (A quorum having failed at the noon session, the 
        Senate adjourned, to await the arrival of absentees, until 2:30 
        p.m., when a new session began.) See 5 Hinds' Precedents 
        Sec. 6724 for a similar instance, in the House, occurring in 
        1793.
            In one instance, the Senate met at an earlier hour than 
        that provided for at adjournment, adopted a resolution, and 
        then met at the hour to which it had originally adjourned to 
        ratify the earlier ultra vires action. 109 Cong. Rec. 22697-99, 
        88th Cong. 1st Sess., Nov. 25, 1963. (The Senate amended the 
        previous adjournment resolution in order to authorize the 
        earlier meeting.)
13. See, e.g., announcement of Majority Leader Carl Albert (Okla.) on 
        Jan. 9, 1969, 115 Cong. Rec. 368, 91st Cong. 1st Sess.
14. For procedure in relation to joint meetings, see Ch. 35 and 36, 
        infra. For ceremonial procedure, see Ch. 36, infra.
15. The House may require the giving of notice, issued by the Clerk, 
        for resuming regular business. 8 Cannon's Precedents Sec. 3369.
16. 5 Hinds' Precedents Sec. 6686. For a sine die adjournment 
        resolution containing such a provision, see H. Con. Res. 412.
            On one occasion, the congressional leadership has exercised 
        authority with respect to a joint resolution changing the 
        meeting day of a new Congress; the resolution was pocket vetoed 
        by the President at the request of the leaders, since the date 
        provided for conflicted with the constitutionally required day 
        for the count of the electoral vote. The veto message, alluding 
        to the request of the congressional leadership, appears at 102 
        Cong. Rec. 15152, 84th Cong. 2d Sess., July 27, 1956. (The 
        message was dated Aug. 8, 1956.)
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Setting the Hour or Date of Meeting; Preliminary Matters

Sec. 3.1 When the legislative day of the House extends beyond the 
    calendar day, the House then adjourns to meet at noon of the same 
    calendar day on which it has adjourned, unless otherwise provided.

    On Dec. 9, 1970,(17) Mr. Wilbur C. Daniel, of Virginia, 
moved that the House adjourn. The House agreed to the motion at 1 o'clock 
                         
[[Page 18]]

and 3 minutes a.m., Thursday, Dec. 10, 1970, and adjourned to 12 o'clock 
noon on Dec. 10.
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17. 116 Cong. Rec. 40803, 91st Cong. 2d Sess.
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Sec. 3.2 Enactment of a joint resolution changing the convening date of 
    the second session of Congress does not affect the status of 
    pending legislative matters of the first session.

    On Dec. 19, 1945,(18) Mr. John W. McCormack, of 
Massachusetts, asked for immediate consideration of a joint resolution 
convening the second session of Congress on Jan. 14, 1946. After some 
debate on the request, Mr. John H. Folger, of Georgia, arose to state a 
parliamentary inquiry:
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18. 91 Cong. Rec. 12346, 79th Cong. 1st Sess.
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        Mr. Folger: I have a discharge petition on the desk, No. 10, in 
    which I am very, very much interested. I have no objection to this 
    adjournment until the 14th unless I have to go back and get that 
    signed anew. Will that carry over?
        The Speaker:(1) It will carry over.
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 1. Sam Rayburn (Tex.).
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        Mr. Folger: If it will I am all right.
        The Speaker: Everything remains on the calendar just as it is 
    now.

Sec. 3.3 The Speaker may take the floor to ask unanimous consent that 
    the House meet at an early hour on the following day.

    On Sept. 11, 1968,(2) Speaker John W. McCormack, of 
Massachusetts, took the floor to state a unanimous-consent request:
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 2. 114 Cong. Rec. 26488, 90th Cong. 2d Sess.
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        Mr. McCormack: Mr. Speaker,(3) I ask unanimous 
    consent that when the House adjourns today it adjourn to meet 
    tomorrow at 11 a.m.
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 3. Mr. Daniel D. Rostenkowski (Ill.) was the Speaker pro tempore.
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        The Speaker Pro Tempore: Is there objection to the request of 
    the gentleman from Massachusetts?

There was no objection.

Sec. 3.4 The Congress provides by concurrent resolution for a joint 
    session to hear the President deliver a message in person.

    On Jan. 3, 1936,(4) Speaker Joseph W. Byrns, of 
Tennessee, laid the following Senate resolution before the House:
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 4. 80 Cong. Rec. 9, 74th Cong. 2d Sess.
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        Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 
    concurring), That the two Houses of Congress assemble in the Hall 
    of the House of Representatives on Friday, the 3d day of January, 
    1936, at 9 o'clock p.m. for the purpose of receiving such 
    communications as the President of the United States shall be 
    pleased to make to them.

The House agreed to the resolution.


[[Page 19]]

Sec. 3.5 The House began convening under the twentieth amendment to the 
    Constitution with the 74th Congress.

    On Jan. 3, 1935,(5) the Clerk of the House, South 
Trimble, of Kentucky, addressed the opening session as follows:
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 5. 79 Cong. Rec. 9, 74th Cong. 1st Sess.
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        This is the first time in 146 years that an old Congress dies 
    and a new one is born on the 3d day of January.
        Since the birth of the First Congress in 1789 this historical 
    event has taken place every two years on the 4th day of March.
        Today we inaugurate the first session of the Seventy-fourth 
    Congress, convened under the provision of the twentieth amendment 
    of the Constitution of the United States.

Sec. 3.6 Any legal holiday, such as Christmas day,(6) is a 
    regular meeting day of the House of Representatives unless the 
    House adjourns over by unanimous consent (or by motion under Rule 
    XVI clause 4).
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 6. 5 USC 87 (c); Executive Order 10358 of June 11, 1952.
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    On Dec. 23, 1963,(7) in response to a parliamentary 
inquiry by Mr. Charles A. Halleck, of Indiana, Speaker John W. 
McCormack, of Massachusetts, ruled that unanimous consent was required 
to adjourn over Christmas.
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 7. 109 Cong. Rec. 25496, 88th Cong. 1st Sess.
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Resolutions to Set the Date of Meeting

Sec. 3.7 No concurrent resolution is necessary to authorize meetings of 
    Congress beyond the end of July where a continuing national 
    emergency prevents statutory adjournment under the Legislative 
    Reorganization Act of 1946.(8)
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 8. Ch. 753, Sec. 132, 60 Stat. 812, as amended, Act of Oct. 26, 1970, 
        Pub. L. No. 91-510, Sec. 461, 84 Stat. 1140.
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    On July 27, 1949,(9) Mr. Joseph W. Martin, Jr., of 
Massachusetts, arose to state a parliamentary inquiry as to the 
continuation of the session of Congress beyond July 31, 1949. Mr. 
Martin stated that under Sec. 132 of the Legislative Reorganization Act 
of 1946, the Congress could continue to legally meet through either the 
passage of a concurrent resolution so providing or the proclaiming by 
the President of a national emergency; he proposed that there was doubt 
as to the actual continuation of the national emergencies declared by 
the President on Sept.
8, 1939, and May 27, 1941. Speaker Sam Rayburn, of Texas, held 
                         
[[Page 20]]

that the national emergencies declared by the President on those dates were 
still in existence, despite the cessation of actual hostilities. He 
then ruled that it was not necessary to pass a concurrent resolution 
for the continued meeting of Congress beyond the first of August.
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 9. 95 Cong. Rec. 10290, 81st Cong. 1st Sess.
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Sec. 3.8 A joint resolution changing the convening date of a new 
    Congress may be amended, subsequent to passage, by passage of 
    another joint resolution substituting a newly agreed upon date.

    On Dec. 14, 1942,(10) Mr. John W. McCormack, of 
Massachusetts, addressed the Speaker(11) to ask for 
immediate consideration of the following joint resolution:
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10. 88 Cong. Rec. 9518, 77th Cong. 2d Sess.
11. Sam Rayburn (Tex.).
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        Resolved, etc., That the joint resolution entitled ``Joint 
    resolution fixing the dates of meeting of the second session of the 
    Seventy-seventh Congress and of the first session of the Seventy-
    eighth Congress,'' approved January 2, 1942, is amended by striking 
    out ``Monday, January 4, 1943'' and inserting in lieu thereof 
    ``Wednesday, January 6. 1943.''

The House agreed to the resolution.

Sec. 3.9 The Committee on Rules has jurisdiction to report a House 
    resolution providing for pro forma meetings on only specified days 
    of the week, for a certain period of time.

    On Aug. 25, 1949,(12) Mr. Edward E. Cox, of Georgia, of 
the Committee on Rules, submitted the following resolution:
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12. 95 Cong. Rec. 12287, 81st Cong. 1st Sess.
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        Resolved, That until Wednesday, September 21, 1949, the House 
    shall meet only on Tuesday and Friday of each week unless otherwise 
    ordered.

    The House agreed by a two-thirds vote to consider the resolution 
the same day, and the resolution itself was then agreed to. Speaker Sam 
Rayburn, of Texas, announced that no business would be transacted on 
the Tuesday and Friday meetings provided for in the resolution. He also 
alluded to the failure of the Senate to pass the concurrent resolution 
seeking adjournment of the House until Sept. 21, which motivated the 
House leadership to submit the resolution.

Fixing the Hour of Daily Meeting

Sec. 3.10 On the convening day of a new session of Congress a
    simple House resolution establishes the daily hour of meeting.

[[Page 21]]

    On Jan. 15, 1968,(13) Mr. Ray J. Madden, of Indiana, 
offered the following resolution and asked for immediate consideration:
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13. 114 Cong. Rec. 8, 90th Cong. 2d Sess.
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        Resolved, That until otherwise ordered, the daily hour of 
    meeting of the House of Representatives shall be at 12 o'clock 
    meridian.

The resolution was agreed to and a motion to reconsider was laid on the 
table.

Sec. 3.11 Where the House met by standing order at noon, unanimous 
    consent was required to meet at a different hour, before the 
    adoption of rules changes by the 93d Congress authorizing a 
    privileged motion to adjourn to a time certain.

    On Dec. 23, 1963,(14) after an announcement by the 
Speaker(15) that funeral services would be held the next day 
for a late Member of Congress, Mr. Thomas P. O'Neill, Jr., of 
Massachusetts, arose to state a parliamentary inquiry:
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14. 109 Cong. Rec. 25498, 88th Cong. 1st Sess.
15. John W. McCormack (Mass.).
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        Mr. O'Neill: Would it be in order to move that the House meet 
    forthwith when we adjourn today?
        The Speaker: Will the gentleman advise the Chair what he means 
    by ``forthwith''?
        Mr. O'Neill: When we adjourn we will have a new legislative 
    day. Can we then meet at the call of the Chair?
        The Speaker: It would require unanimous consent to meet at any 
    hour other than 12 o'clock noon.

    Mr. Carl Albert, of Oklahoma, then obtained unanimous consent to 
address the House for one minute.

        Mr. Albert: Mr. Speaker, of course any meeting of the House at 
    any hour for the consideration of this matter other than at 12 
    o'clock noon tomorrow would require unanimous consent, as I 
    understand it. May I inquire of the Speaker, so as to have the 
    matter official, would not any meeting of the House other than 12 
    o'clock noon tomorrow require unanimous consent?
        The Speaker: The gentleman has made a correct statement.

    On Jan. 3, 1973,(16) the House agreed to several 
amendments to the rules of the 92d Congress, including the following:
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16. 119 Cong. Rec. 26, 27, 93d Cong. 1st Sess.
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        In Rule XVI, insert at the end of clause 4 the following:

            It shall be in order at any time during a day for the 
        Speaker, in his discretion, to entertain a motion that when the 
        House adjourns it stand adjourned to a day and time certain. 
        Such a motion shall be of equal privilege with the motion to 
        adjourn provided for in this clause and shall be determined 
        without debate.
                         
Changing the Hour of Meeting

Sec. 3.12 The House may agree by unanimous consent to meet, 

[[Page 22]]

    for the remainder of the week, at an hour earlier than that provided 
    for in the standing order of the hour of meeting.

    On July 25, 1956,(17) Mr. John W. McCormack, of 
Massachusetts, requested unanimous consent that for the balance of the 
week the House meet at 10 o'clock a.m. when adjourning from day to day. 
There was no objection.(18)
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17. 102 Cong. Rec. 14456, 84th Cong. 2d Sess.
18. Id.
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Sec. 3.13 The House may vacate, by unanimous consent, a previous order 
    that the House convene at an early hour on the following day.

    On Sept. 1, 1965,(19) the House agreed to a unanimous-
consent request offered by Mr. Carl Albert, of Oklahoma, that the House 
convene at 11 o'clock the following morning. Later on the same day Mr. 
Albert addressed the Speaker(20) to request unanimous 
consent to vacate the order providing for an earlier meeting on the 
next day. There was no objection.
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19. 111 Cong. Rec. 22496, 89th Cong. 1st Sess.
20. John W. McCormack (Mass.).
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    Parliamentarian's Note: The request to rescind the early order was 
undertaken by the leadership because several committees had notified 
the Speaker that conflicting committee sessions were scheduled for the 
morning of the next day.

Sec. 3.14 A unanimous-consent request that the House meet at an earlier 
    hour is not entertained in the Committee of the Whole.

    On Sept. 26, 1966,(1) following agreement on the limit 
of debate for an appropriations bill to be considered the following 
day, Mr. Sam M. Gibbons, of Florida, stated that the remaining question 
was to obtain unanimous consent to convene at 11 o'clock the following 
morning. The Chairman(2) responded:
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 1. 112 Cong. Rec. 23785, 89th Cong. 2d Sess.
 2.  Jack Brooks (Tex.).
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        As to any agreement as to when the House comes back tomorrow, 
    that will be settled, of course, when the Committee rises.

    The Committee then rose and the House agreed by unanimous consent 
to convene the following morning at 11 o'clock a.m.

Construction of ``Noon'' (Senate Decision)

Sec. 3.15 A standing order of the Senate providing for daily
                         
[[Page 23]]

    meeting at 12 o'clock meridian was construed to permit meeting at 
    12 o'clock noon when daylight savings time is in effect.

    On Apr. 30, 1948,(3) Senator John H. Overton, of 
Louisiana, arose to make the point of order that the Senate was not 
legally in session, since the meeting was convened at 12 o'clock noon, 
daylight savings time, and the Senate had formerly provided that the 
hour of daily meeting be at 12 o'clock meridian unless otherwise 
ordered. President pro tempore Arthur H. Vandenburg, of Michigan, 
stated that the Senate had agreed to recess from Apr. 30, 1948, to May 
3, 1948, to meet at 12 o'clock ``noon'', and not 12 o'clock 
``meridian.'' The President pro tempore stated further:
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 3. 94 Cong. Rec. 5167-68, 80th Cong. 2d Sess.
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        Under such circumstances, the real question submitted to the 
    Chair is this: What is ``noon'' in the Senate when the District 
    Commissioners, acting under authority of a law passed by this 
    Congress, advance standard time by 1 hour by an order effective 
    yesterday; particularly when the District Commissioners are acting 
    under a law favorably acted upon by the Senate within the last 60 
    days which it itself asserts that when daylight-saving time is 
    established by the District Commissioners for the period for which 
    it is applicable, it shall ``be the standard time for the District 
    of Columbia.''
        In the opinion of the Chair, Congress is bound by its own 
    legislation in this respect, and any statutes or rules must be read 
    in this interpretation. There is a vast body of precedent--as, for 
    example, when the Senate recognized so-called daylight-saving time 
    all through the first session of the present Eightieth Congress and 
    consistently fixed its meeting time as 12 o'clock noon instead of 
    12 o'clock meridian. In the opinion of the Chair, borne out by the 
    clocks in the Senate Chamber, it is now 12 o'clock noon, which is 
    the hour to which the Senate recessed.
        The point of order is overruled.

Authorizing the Leadership to Reassemble Congress

Sec. 3.16 The two Houses may authorize, in the concurrent resolution to 
    adjourn to a day certain, that the Speaker of the House and the 
    President of the Senate, or the party leaders of both Houses, 
    convene the Houses on a date prior to that set in the resolution, 
    on the grounds of legislative expediency.

    On July 8, 1943,(4) the House agreed to the following 
resolution:
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 4. 89 Cong. Rec. 7516, 78th Cong. 1st Sess.
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        Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 
    concurring), That when the two Houses adjourn on Thursday, July 8, 
    1943, they shall stand ad
                         
[[Page 24]]

    journed until 12 o'clock meridian on Tuesday, September 14, 1943, 
    or until 12 o'clock meridian on the third day after their 
    respective Members are notified to reassemble in accordance with 
    section 2 of this resolution, whichever event first occurs.
        Sec. 2. The President of the Senate and the Speaker of the 
    House of Representatives shall notify the Members of the Senate and 
    House, respectively, to reassemble whenever in their opinion 
    legislative expediency shall warrant it or whenever the majority 
    leader of the Senate and the majority leader of the House, acting 
    jointly, or the minority leader of the Senate and the minority 
    leader of the House, acting jointly, file a written request with 
    the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House that the 
    Congress reassemble for the consideration of legislation.

Sec. 3.17 Form of announcement of congressional leaders calling for 
    reassembly of Congress on an earlier date than that to which it was 
    adjourned.

    On Sept. 5, 1945,(5) the House met at 12 o'clock noon 
and was called to order by Speaker Sam Rayburn, of Texas. After prayer 
was offered and the Journal was read and approved, the Speaker laid 
before the House the formal notification, sent to the Members of the 
House on Sept. 1, 1945, of the reassembling of Congress:
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 5. 91 Cong. Rec. 8320, 79th Cong. 1st Sess.
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        In our opinion legislative expediency warrants the reassembly 
    of Congress and therefore, pursuant to the authority granted us by 
    House Concurrent Resolution 68, Seventy-ninth Congress, you are 
    hereby notified that Congress will reassemble in Washington at 12 
    o'clock meridian on Wednesday, September 5, 1945.

    The notification was signed by the Speaker, the President pro 
tempore of the Senate, and the Majority and Minority Leaders of both 
Houses.

Leadership Authority Over Time of Joint Meetings

Sec. 3.18 The Majority Leader of the House may announce to the House 
    the time and the place of an informal joint meeting of the Members 
    of both Houses.

    On May 23, 1950,(6) House Majority Leader John W. 
McCormack, of Massachusetts, made the following announcement:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 6. 96 Cong. Rec. 7561, 81st Cong. 2d Sess.
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        . . . On Wednesday [May 31, 1950], at the auditorium of the 
    Library of Congress, at 12:30 p.m., the Members of both Houses of 
    Congress, as on previous occasions when General Marshall has 
    addressed us, will have the opportunity and the pleasure of having 
    Secretary of State Acheson address us. . . . This will be a very 
    important talk. After the Secretary of State has finished his 
    remarks, Members will be in a position to and may ask him 
    questions.
                         
[[Page 25]]

    The House then granted unanimous consent for the Speaker pro 
tempore(7) to declare a recess, subject to the call of the 
Chair, on the scheduled date.
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 7.  James P. Priest (Tenn.).
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Sec. 3.19 By unanimous consent the House may authorize the Speaker, in 
    advance, to determine the date of the joint meeting to hear a 
    guest.

    On Oct. 17, 1945,(8) Mr. Brooks Hays, of Arkansas, arose 
to state a unanimous-consent request:
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 8. 91 Cong. Rec. 9756, 79th Cong. 1st Sess.
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        Mr. Speaker,(9) I have learned that Gen. Douglas 
    MacArthur will shortly return to this country. I am sure that all 
    the Members of the House will want to hear him address the 
    Congress. I therefore ask unanimous consent, having discussed the 
    matter with the Speaker and having consulted both the majority and 
    minority leaders, that it be in order for the Speaker to declare a 
    recess subject to the call of the Chair, at a date to be later 
    named, during which period a joint meeting shall be held in this 
    Chamber, at which time General MacArthur will address us.
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 9. Sam Rayburn (Tex.).
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    Mr. Hays later added that according to his request, the joint 
meeting be held on a date agreeable to General MacArthur and to the 
Speaker. There was no objection.

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