[Deschler-Brown Precedents, Volume 17, Chapters 34 - 40]
[Ch. 39. Recess]
[Â§ 1. In General]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


[Page 725-726]
 
                               CHAPTER 39
 
                                 Recess
 
Sec. 1. In General


    Thomas Jefferson wrote in Jefferson's Manual ``[w]here it is 
convenient that the business of the House be suspended for a short time 
. . . it adjourns during pleasure . . . or for a quarter of an 
hour.''(1) Yet, during most of the history of the House of 
Representatives, no authority existed beyond unanimous consent to 
either declare a recess or to offer a motion for a 
recess.(2)
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 1. House Rules and Manual Sec. 586 (2007). See 5 Hinds' Precedents 
        Sec. Sec. 6663-6671 and 8 Cannon's Precedents Sec. Sec. 3354-
        3362 for other precedents involving recess.
 2. See, Sec. 2.1, infra.
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    Beginning in the 102d Congress, a motion to authorize the Speaker 
to declare a recess was given a privilege equal to that of the motion 
to adjourn (clause 4 of Rule XVI);(3) and, beginning in the 
103d Congress, the Speaker was authorized to declare a recess ``for a 
short time when no question is pending before the House'' (clause 12(a) 
of Rule I).(4)
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 3. House Rules and Manual Sec. 911 (2007). See also Ch. 40, infra.
 4. House Rules and Manual Sec. 638 (2007).
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    Beginning in the 108th Congress, the Speaker was authorized to 
suspend business and declare an emergency recess subject to the call of 
the Chair when notified of an imminent threat to the safety of the 
House,(5) and, inter alia, ``to reconvene the House before 
the time previously appointed solely to declare the House in recess 
within the limits of clause 4, section 5 article I of the 
Constitution'' upon notification to Members.(6)
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 5. Rule I clause 12(b)(1), House Rules and Manual Sec. 639 (2007).
 6. Id. at clause 12(c)(2).
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    The Committee of the Whole cannot take a recess except with the 
permission of the House.(7) Pursuant to clause 8(a) of Rule 
I, Speakers pro tempore occupying the Chair temporarily possess full 
authority under that rule to declare recesses.(8)
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 7. See 5 Hinds' Precedents Sec. Sec. 6669-6671; and 8 Cannon's 
        Precedents Sec. 3362.
 8. House Rules and Manual Sec. 632 (2007).
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    Except for an emergency recess under clause 12(b)(1) of Rule 
I,(9) a recess cannot be taken during a recorded vote or a 
call of the roll.(10) A roll call cannot be interrupted by 
the arrival of an hour fixed for a recess by rule or prior

[[Page 726]]

vote of the House.(11) However, when the hour previously 
fixed for a recess arrives, the Chair has declared the House in recess 
during a division vote.(12)
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 9. Id. at Sec. 639.
10. 5 Hinds' Precedents Sec. Sec. 6054, 6055.
11. Id. at Sec. 6054.
12. 4 Hinds' Precedents Sec. Sec. 2955-2960.
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    A recess may not be voted by less than a quorum, and consequently 
the motion for recess is not in order in absence of a 
quorum.(13)
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13. Id. at Sec. Sec. 2958-2960.
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    All recesses, when declared, are indicated with six bells and six 
lights. If a recess is declared subject to the call of the Chair, three 
bells and three lights indicate the resumption of the session in 15 
minutes, while a recess that is declared to a time certain for less 
than 15 minutes is shown to have terminated merely by one long bell 
showing that the House is back in session.