[Deschler-Brown Precedents, Volume 17, Chapters 34 - 40]
[Ch. 35. Presidential Messages & Executive Communications]
[Â§ 1. In General; Scope]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


[Page 69-78]
 
                               CHAPTER 35
 
           Presidential Messages and Executive Communications
 
Sec. 1. In General; Scope


    This chapter takes up the rules and practice governing Presidential 
messages and executive communications to the Congress or to the House 
alone. The transmittal of the budget and related documents by the 
President to Congress is treated elsewhere in this work,(1) 
as are House resolutions of inquiry and executive responses 
thereto.(2) Presidential messages dealing with vetoes and 
reasons for not approving legislation transmitted to the President are 
taken up more fully in another chapter,(3) as are most 
messages pertaining to the assembly of Congress(4) or to 
adjournments.(5)
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 1. See Ch. 13, supra, and Ch. 41, infra.
 2. See Ch. 15, supra.
 3. See Ch. 24, supra.
 4. See Ch. 1, supra.
 5. See Ch. 40, infra.
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    The Constitution (art. II, Sec. 3) dictates that the President 
shall from time to time give to the Congress information on the state 
of the Union, and recommend for consideration such measures as he shall 
judge necessary and expedient. Dates for submission of certain 
Presidential reports and messages are established by law.(6)
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 6. For example, the date for the submission of the President's Budget 
        for the next fiscal year has been established by law since 
        1974. See 31 USC Sec. Sec. 1105, 1106. On one occasion, due to 
        uncertainty over unfinished appropriations from the previous 
        fiscal year and possible changes in mandatory programs and tax 
        policy, the President satisfied 31 USC Sec. 1105 by 
        transmitting an incomplete budget and announcing his intention 
        to subsequently submit supplementary material by a date 
        certain. See 142 Cong. Rec. 2335, 2336, 104th Cong. 2d Sess., 
        Feb. 6, 1996. For more on the President's transmittal of the 
        budget, see Ch. 13, supra, and Ch. 41, infra.
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    There is a distinction between a Presidential message and an 
executive communication. A message from the President is addressed to 
the Congress, delivered through the door under seal, and laid before 
the House and read as soon as practicable after its reception. It 
sometimes requires House action. An executive communication, on the 
other hand, is addressed and delivered to the Speaker. It is usually 
referred by the Speaker to an appropriate committee without House 
action.(7) Receipt of the communication is noted in the 
Executive Communications portion of the Congressional Record for

[[Page 70]]

the day on which the message is referred.
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 7. Sec. 1.2, infra.
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    The messenger delivering a Presidential message is introduced at 
the bar of the House with the words ``Mr. [or Madam] Speaker, a message 
from the President.'' The Speaker addresses the messenger as ``Mr. [or 
Madam] Secretary.'' Upon being recognized by the Speaker, the messenger 
of the President makes an announcement as follows:

        I am directed by the President of the United States to deliver 
    to the House a message in writing [or ``sundry messages in 
    writing'' if there be more than one].

    If the occasion requires, the messenger adds the following:
    and to announce his approval of sundry House bills.(8)
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 8. 5 Hinds' Precedents Sec. 6591.
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    There have been instances where, through inadvertence, nonrelevant 
papers have been enclosed with a written message sent by the President; 
in such cases, he has been allowed to withdraw them.(9)
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 9. Id. at Sec. 6651.                          -------------------
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Receipt of Presidential Message as Privileged

Sec. 1.1 The receipt of a Presidential message is a matter of high 
    privilege and such a message is to be laid before the House and 
    read as soon as practicable, the precedents of the House not 
    justifying its being held at the desk until another legislative 
    day.

    On June 24, 1968,(1) when the Chair announced he would 
lay before the House a message from the President, a parliamentary 
inquiry was raised as to the necessity of presenting a message in 
writing from the President on the date of its receipt:
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 1. 114 Cong. Rec. 18330, 90th Cong. 2d Sess. For an instance where the 
        House by unanimous consent authorized the Speaker to postpone 
        the referral of a message until a later day, see Sec. 3.1, 
        infra.
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        The SPEAKER pro tempore.(2) The Chair lays before 
    the House a message from the President of the United States.
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 2. Carl Albert (OK).
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        Mr. [Durward G.] HALL [of Missouri]. Mr. Speaker, a 
    parliamentary inquiry.
        The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman will state it.
        Mr. HALL. Mr. Speaker, in the opinion of the Chair is it 
    necessary that a Presidential message when delivered in writing be 
    presented to the Members of the House immediately or could it be 
    held until the next legislative day?
        The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair will advise the 
    distinguished

[[Page 71]]

    gentleman that when the House is in session, a message from the 
    President is laid before the House.
        Mr. HALL. Mr. Speaker, a further parliamentary inquiry, is this 
    done by tradition, at the will of the Chair, or is it supported by 
    a rule of the House?
        The SPEAKER pro tempore. It is supported by the custom of the 
    House and the provisions of the constitution.

Presidential Messages and Executive Communications Distinguished

Sec. 1.2 Unlike a Presidential message, which is delivered through the 
    door and laid before the House, a communication from one of the 
    executive departments or other element of the executive branch, 
    including a communication from the President, is referred by the 
    Speaker directly to the appropriate committee without announcement 
    to the House.

    On May 28, 1969,(1) in response to a parliamentary 
inquiry, Speaker John W. McCormack, of Massachusetts, stated that a 
communication from the President had on that date been referred to 
committee without an announcement to the House.
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 1. 115 Cong. Rec. 14217, 91st Cong. 1st Sess.
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         Mr. [H. R.] GROSS [of Iowa]. Mr. Speaker, a parliamentary 
    inquiry.
        The SPEAKER. The gentleman will state his parliamentary 
    inquiry.
        Mr. GROSS. Is there pending on the Speaker's desk a 
    communication from the Postmaster General?
        The SPEAKER. The Chair will respond by saying that there is a 
    communication from the President on the postal service system. It 
    has been referred to the Committee on Post Office and Civil 
    Service.
        Mr. GROSS. Mr. Speaker, when was the referral made?
        The SPEAKER. The Chair will advise the gentleman that the 
    referral was made after it was received this afternoon, as are all 
    other communications of a similar nature.

Sec. 1.3 Executive communications, although customarily referred to 
    committee under the applicable House rule,(1) may, at 
    the discretion of the Speaker, be handled in the same manner as 
    Presidential messages and laid before the House.
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 1. Rule XIV clause 2, House Rules and Manual Sec. 873 (2007).
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    On Feb. 1, 1964,(2) Speaker John W. McCormack, of 
Massachusetts, laid before the House a communication from the President 
transmitting an appendix to the budget. The appendix had been received 
in the Speaker's Rooms after the House adjourned on Jan. 31. The 
President had previously,

[[Page 72]]

on Jan. 21, 1964,(\3\) transmitted a message to the House 
with the 1965 budget of the United States Government.(4)
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 2. 110 Cong. Rec. 1580, 1581, 88th Cong. 2d Sess.
 3. Id. at pp. 704-712.
 4. Parliamentarian's Note: The communication transmitting the appendix 
        was laid down in the manner of a message from the President in 
        order to maintain consistency in the treatment of the budget 
        and related documents.
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        The SPEAKER laid before the House the following communication 
    from the President of the United States; which was read and 
    referred to the Committee on Appropriations and ordered to be 
    printed:

                                                  The White House,

                                     Washington, February 1, 1964.

                        The Speaker of the House of Representatives.

        Sir: I have the honor to transmit herewith the Budget of the 
    U.S. Government, 1965--Appendix.
        This appendix contains further information and detail 
    concerning the proposals made in the Budget of the United States, 
    1965, which was transmitted with my message of January 21, 1964, to 
    the Congress.

              Respectfully yours,

                                                Lyndon B. Johnson.

    On Feb. 3, 1998,(5) Speaker pro tempore Robert 
Goodlatte, of Virginia, laid before the House a communication from the 
President transmitting the budget for fiscal year 1999, which had been 
received in the Speaker's Rooms on Feb. 2, when the House was not in 
session. Ordinarily, the President's budget is transmitted under seal 
as a Presidential message and delivered to the Clerk if the House is 
not in session.(6)
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 5. 144 Cong. Rec. 517, 642, 643, 105th Cong. 2d Sess.
 6. For similar examples of messages transmitted to the Speaker (rather 
        than the Clerk) when the House was not in session, see 144 
        Cong. Rec. 1224, 105th Cong. 2d Sess., Feb. 11, 1998, and 126 
        Cong. Rec. 9148, 9149, 96th Cong. 2d Sess., Apr. 28, 1980.
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        The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Goodlatte) laid before the House 
    the following communication from the President of the United 
    States:

                                                  The White House,

                                     Washington, February 2, 1998.

                                                 Hon. Newt Gingrich,

            Speaker of the House of Representatives, Washington, DC.

        Dear Mr. Speaker: Pursuant to 31 U.S.C. 1105, attached is the 
    Budget of the United States Government for Fiscal Year 1999.

              Sincerely,

                                               William J. Clinton.


                                    -------------------EXECUTIVE 
                            COMMUNICATIONS, ETC.

        Under clause 2 of rule XXIV,(7) executive 
    communications were taken from

[[Page 73]]

    the Speaker's table and referred as follows: . . .
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 7. Now House Rules and Manual Sec. 873 (2007).
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        6752. A communication from the President of the United States, 
    transmitting the Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal 
    Year 1999, pursuant to 31 U.S.C. 1105(a); (H. Doc. No. 105-177); to 
    the Committee on Appropriations and ordered to be printed.

    On Oct. 10, 1963,(8) Speaker John W. McCormack, of 
Massachusetts, laid before the House a communication from the President 
dealing with the sale of surplus American wheat to Russia, which 
message was read and referred to the Committee on Agriculture.
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 8. 109 Cong. Rec. 19283, 19284, 88th Cong. 1st Sess.
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        The SPEAKER laid before the House the following communication 
    from the President of the United States, which was read, referred 
    to the Committee on Agriculture, and ordered to be printed:

                                                 October 10, 1963.

                                             Hon. John W. McCormack,

           Speaker of the House of Representatives, Washington, D.C.

        Dear Mr. Speaker:  In view of previous expression of 
    congressional interest and concern, it is appropriate that I report 
    to the Congress the reasons for this Government's decision not to 
    prohibit the sale of surplus American wheat, wheat flour, feed 
    grains, and other agricultural commodities for shipment to the 
    Soviet Union and other Eastern European countries during the next 
    several months. . . .

              Sincerely,
                                                  John F. Kennedy.

Sec. 1.4 In one instance, the Speaker announced to the House his 
    receipt of an executive communication in advance of referring it to 
    committee.

    On Mar. 19, 2003,(1) Speaker J. Dennis Hastert, of 
Illinois, announced to the House his receipt the previous evening of a 
communication from the President consistent with a law authorizing the 
use of military force. In order to quell false speculation as to the 
contents of the communication, the Speaker inserted the text of the 
communication into the Congressional Record and announced his intention 
to refer it to the Committee on International Relations in the regular 
course.
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 1. 149 Cong. Rec. 6530, 108th Cong. 1st Sess.
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        (Mr. HASTERT asked and was given permission to address the 
    House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks and include 
    therein extraneous material.)
        Mr. HASTERT. Mr. Speaker, and for the information of all 
    Members, I am in receipt of a report from the President pursuant to 
    the Use of Force Resolution approved by the Congress last year.
        This report summarizes diplomatic and other peaceful means 
    pursued by the United States, cooperating with foreign countries 
    and international organizations to obtain Iraqi compliance

[[Page 74]]

    with all relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions 
    regarding Iraq.
        Pursuant to House Rule XII, I will refer this report to the 
    Committee on International Relations. In addition, for the 
    information of Members, I will submit the document in its entirety 
    for printing into the Congressional Record. . . .
        Any further announcement will be shared with the Congress.

                                                  The White House,
                                       Washington, March 18, 2003.

                                             Hon. J. Dennis Hastert,
                            Speaker of the House of Representatives,
                                                     Washington, DC.

        Dear Mr. Speaker: Consistent with section 3(b) of the 
    Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 
    2002 (Public Law 107-243), and based on information available to 
    me, including that in the enclosed document, I determine that:
        (1) reliance by the United States on further diplomatic and 
    other peaceful means alone will neither (A) adequately protect the 
    national security of the United States against the continuing 
    threat posed by Iraq nor (B) likely lead to enforcement of all 
    relevant United Nations Security resolutions regarding Iraq; and
        (2) acting pursuant to the Constitution and Public Law 107-243 
    is consistent with the United States and other countries continuing 
    to take the necessary actions against international terrorists and 
    terrorist organizations, including those nations, organizations, or 
    persons who planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist 
    attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001.

              Sincerely,
                                                   George W. Bush.

Sec. 1.5 A letter from the President, addressed to the Speaker and 
    suggesting that the contents be brought ``to the attention of your 
    colleagues,'' was, by unanimous consent, read and made a part of 
    the proceedings of the House.

    On Dec. 12, 1967,(1) Speaker John W. McCormack, of 
Massachusetts, laid before the House a letter addressed to him by the 
President.
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 1. 113 Cong. Rec. 35938, 90th Cong. 1st Sess.
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        The SPEAKER. Without objection, the Clerk will read a letter 
    received by the Speaker from the President of the United States.
        There was no objection.
        The Clerk read as follows:

                                                  The White House,

                               Washington, D.C., December 6, 1967.

                                                Hon. John McCormack,

                                               Speaker of the House,

                                     U. S. House of Representatives.

        Dear John: On the third anniversary of his administration--
    Mexican President Diaz Ordaz held a press conference in which he 
    was asked to comment on the present state of United States-Mexican 
    relations. . . .
        I bring these words of tribute to the U.S. Congress and the 
    American people to your attention, thinking that you might want to 
    bring them to the attention of your colleagues in the House of 
    Representatives.

[[Page 75]]

              Sincerely,

                                                Lyndon B. Johnson.

Message on Removal of Executive Officer

Sec. 1.6 The President has transmitted a message for the information of 
    Congress giving his reasons for removing the Chairman of the Board 
    of the Tennessee Valley Authority.

    On Mar. 23, 1938,(1) the Speaker(2) laid 
before the House the following message from the President; it was read, 
and, with the accompanying papers, referred to the Committee on 
Military Affairs and ordered printed.

 1. 83 Cong. Rec. 3952, 75th Cong. 3d Sess.
 2. William B. Bankhead (AL).

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                             To the Congress of the United States:

        I transmit herewith for the information of the Congress my 
    opinion setting forth the reasons which impelled me to remove 
    Arthur E. Morgan, and my letter to him removing him, as a member 
    and Chairman of the Board of the Tennessee Valley Authority. I 
    further transmit the opinion of the Attorney General in regard to 
    my power to remove for cause members of the Board of the Tennessee 
    Valley Authority. I also append the transcript of the hearings 
    which were laid before me on March 11, 18, and 21, 1938, and which 
    I think merit the serious consideration of all those interested in 
    the T. V. A. I have filed my letter to Arthur E. Morgan and the 
    transcript of the hearings, together with all exhibits marked for 
    identification in the transcript, with the Secretary of State. . . 
    .

                                            Franklin D. Roosevelt.

                                  The White House, March 23, 1938.

Messages Relating to the Office of the President

Sec. 1.7 The President customarily notifies the Congress officially, by 
    message, of the death of a former President.

    On Jan. 23, 1973,(1) President Richard M. Nixon informed 
the House and Senate, by message, of the death of former President 
Lyndon Baines Johnson. When this message was laid before the House and 
read, it established a predicate for the adoption of a concurrent 
resolution (2) permitting the remains of the former 
President to lie in state in the Rotunda of the Capitol. Following

[[Page 76]]

the adoption of the concurrent resolution, the House agreed to a 
resolution (3) expressing its profound sorrow on the death 
of the former President and authorizing the preparation of appropriate 
arrangements for House participation in the funeral.
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 1. 119 Cong. Rec. 1838, 1839, 93d Cong. 1st Sess. For the message from 
        President William J. Clinton officially informing the House of 
        the death of former President Richard Milhous Nixon, see Ch. 38 
        Sec. 5.2, infra. For the message from President George W. Bush 
        officially informing the House of the death of former President 
        Ronald Wilson Reagan, see Ch. 38 Sec. 5.1, infra. There 
        apparently was no message officially informing the House of the 
        death of former President Gerald R. Ford on December 26, 2006.
 2. H. Con. Res. 90, 93d Cong. 1st Sess.
 3. H. Res. 152, 93d Cong. 1st Sess.
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        The SPEAKER laid before the House the following message from 
    the President of the United States:

                             To the Congress of the United States:

        It is my sad duty to inform you officially of the death of 
    Lyndon Baines Johnson, the thirty-sixth President of the United 
    States. . . .

                                                    Richard Nixon.

                                The White House, January 23, 1973.

Sec. 1.8 A Presidential resignation is transmitted not to the Congress 
    but to the Secretary of State.

    Section 20 of title 3, United States Code, provides that the only 
evidence of a resignation of the office of President shall be an 
instrument in writing, subscribed by the President, and delivered to 
the office of the Secretary of State.(1)
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 1. President Richard M. Nixon thus submitted his resignation on Aug. 
        9, 1974 in this manner. See Ch. 14, Sec. 2.1, supra.
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Unwritten Presidential Messages

Sec. 1.9 When the Speaker, pursuant to an order of the House, appoints 
    a committee to notify the President that the House has completed 
    the business of the session and is prepared to adjourn, the 
    President customarily responds by a verbal communication, which is 
    transmitted to the House by an oral report given by a member of the 
    committee.

    Since the first Congress began the practice, upon nearing the end 
of their business for a session and preparing to adjourn sine die, of 
notifying the President of their intention to so adjourn,(1) 
the House has continued and formalized this practice, which is now more 
of a ritual than an actual notification. In the modern practice, as the 
House nears the completion of its business for a session, a House 
resolution is offered as privileged calling for the appointment of a 
two-Member committee to notify the President.(2) The Speaker 
customarily appoints the Majority

[[Page 77]]

and Minority Leaders to the committee, which then repairs to the 
Speaker's Office and at a convenient time places a telephone call to 
the President. Although the customary text of the House resolution 
specifies that the committee is to ``join a similar committee of the 
Senate,'' in recent years the calls have been placed separately by the 
leaderships of the two bodies.
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 1. See H. Jour. Vol. I, p. 129 or 1 Annals of Congress, p. 964, 1st 
        Cong. 1st Sess., Sept. 29, 1789. See also Ch. 40, generally.
 2. See, e.g., 147 Cong. Rec. 27600, 107th Cong. 1st Sess. Dec. 20, 
        2001; 120 Cong. Rec. 41855, 93d Cong. 2d Sess., Dec. 20, 1974.
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    When the telephone call has been completed and the House is ready 
to adjourn, the ``committee to notify the President'' enters the 
Chamber by the west door, is announced by an officer of the House, and 
gives its report.(3)
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 3. See, e.g., 139 Cong. Rec. 32441, 103d Cong. 1st Sess., Nov. 26, 
        1993; 120 Cong. Rec. 41857, 93d Cong. 2d Sess., Dec. 20, 1974. 
        On occasion the House has adjourned sine die before receiving 
        the committee's report. See, e.g., 146 Cong. Rec. 27083, 27084, 
        106th Cong. 2d Sess., Dec. 15, 2000.
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Informal Visits to Congress

Sec. 1.10 On the occasion of an informal visit by the President to the 
    House of Representatives, the House stood in recess and the 
    President greeted Members, officers, and employees who filed 
    through the well of the House.

    On Jan. 28, 1969,(1) the House(2) stood in 
recess to receive, in the well of the House, the President of the 
United States:(3)
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 1. 115 Cong. Rec. 1984, 91st Cong. 1st Sess.
 2. The Senate was twice visited informally by President Harry S 
        Truman. On one occasion, President Truman sat in the chair he 
        formerly occupied as a Senator, and the other was on the 
        anniversary of the death of his predecessor. He addressed the 
        body on both occasions. 93 Cong. Rec. 9804, 9805, 80th Cong. 
        1st Sess., July 23, 1947; 95 Cong. Rec. 4360, 4361, 81st Cong. 
        1st Sess., Apr. 12, 1949.
 3. See Sec. 2.14, infra, for an instance in which the Speaker declined 
        a request from the President to address the House in actual 
        session on pending legislation.
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                             VISIT OF THE PRESIDENT

        (Mr. ALBERT asked and was given permission to address the House 
    for 1 minute.)
        Mr. [Carl] ALBERT (of Oklahoma). Mr. Speaker, the House is 
    highly honored today by a visit by the President of the United 
    States. In view of that fact, Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent 
    that it may be in order for the Speaker to declare a recess subject 
    to the call of the Chair.
        The SPEAKER.(4) Without objection, it is so ordered.
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 4. John W. McCormack (MA).
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        There was no objection. . . 
    .                          -------------------

                                   RECESS

        The SPEAKER. The House will now stand in recess subject to the 
    call of

[[Page 78]]

    the Chair and the bells will be rung 15 minutes before the House 
    meets again.
        Accordingly (at 12 o'clock and 3 minutes p.m.), the House stood 
    in recess subject to the call of the Chair.
        (At 12 o'clock and 4 minutes p.m., the President of the United 
    States, escorted by the Majority Leader and the Minority Leader, 
    entered the Chamber through the south door at the right of the 
    Speaker's rostrum, and joined the Speaker in the Well of the House. 
    The Minority Leader, the Majority Leader, the Speaker, and the 
    President constituted the receiving line and Members formed in 
    lines and filed into the Well to greet the President personally.
        (At 1 o'clock and 7 minutes p.m., the President, accompanied by 
    the committee of escort and the Speaker, retired from the Hall of 
    the House of Representatives.)

                                  after recess

        The recess having expired, the House was called to order by the 
    Speaker pro tempore (Mr. Fascell) at 1 o'clock and 25 minutes p.m.