Lame duck session how to#

And in 1998, a Republican-controlled House approved articles of impeachment against President Bill Clinton.ДЄnother important aspect of the 20th Amendment was shortening the lame-duck periods for presidents-elect. After Ronald ReaganвЂ™s victory in 1980, the lame-duck Congress found a way in a bipartisan manner to pass budget resolutions that were delayed during the election year. In 1974, Congress approved the nomination of Nelson Rockefeller as Vice President during a lame-duck session. Four years later, the Senate met in a lame-duck session to consider censuring Senator Joseph McCarthy.

In 1950, Chinese troops entered the Korean War during a lame-duck session and Congress debated the use of nuclear weapons in the conflict.

Lame duck session how to#

In 1940, Congress met to decide how to address the threat of World War II. In the post-20th Amendment world, condensed lame-duck sessions havenвЂ™t lacked drama. This amendment also shortened the period between a PresidentвЂ™s election and inaugural, and it also fixed the problem of an outgoing, lame-duck House of Representatives choosing a President if an election went to the House due to a lack of a majority vote in the Electoral College. Section 2 said that, вЂњthe Congress shall assemble at least once in every year, and such meeting shall begin at noon on the 3rd day of January, unless they shall by law appoint a different day.вЂќ The terms of newly elected Senators and Representatives started on the same day. The 20th Amendment shortened this period. The sessionвЂ™s length didnвЂ™t allow Congress to conduct meaningful business on financial matters, but it left politicians in place that werenвЂ™t accountable to voters for a few extra months.

This guaranteed that the last session of a Congress would be a lame-duck session that lasted from December 1st until March 4th. But Congress resumed on the first Monday in December, and a new Congress began on March 4th of odd-numbered years. On the following day, January 3, a new session begins and every other year it contains new members of Congress.Д«ut before the 20th Amendment to the Constitution, which was ratified on Januand took effect in 1935, lame-duck sessions were considerably different.Д¬ongressional elections were held in November, as they are today. Today, the session period usually lasts from mid-November to the Christmas period in election years, but it can extend to January 2nd of the following year. In the 1830s, вЂњlame duckвЂќ started to be used to describe American politicians had lost an election, or decided not to run for re-election, but still held office for a brief period. The Congressional Research Service traces the phrase вЂњlame duckвЂќ to the British during the Colonial era, when it was used to describe businessmen who had financial troubles and who resembled wounded game birds. One of the most important, but least discussed, constitutional amendments made government more responsive by greatly shortening the time outgoing elected officials have a role in passing laws.ДЄ вЂњlame-duck sessionвЂќ happens when Congress meets after an election, when these outgoing members still have voting powers to approve laws, and in the case of the Senate, approve nominees from the Executive Branch.