Article. I. - The Legislative Branch
Section 5 - Membership, Rules, Journals, Adjournment
Each House shall be the Judge of the Elections, Returns and Qualifications of its own Members, and a Majority of each shall constitute a Quorum to do Business; but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day, and may be authorized to compel the Attendance of absent Members, in such Manner, and under such Penalties as each House may provide.
Each House may determine the Rules of its Proceedings, punish its Members for disorderly Behavior, and, with the Concurrence of two-thirds, expel a Member.
Each House shall keep a Journal of its Proceedings, and from time to time publish the same, excepting such Parts as may in their Judgment require Secrecy; and the Yeas and Nays of the Members of either House on any question shall, at the Desire of one fifth of those Present, be entered on the Journal.
Neither House, during the Session of Congress, shall, without the Consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other Place than that in which the two Houses shall be sitting.
Okay, enlighten us here. More stuff I'm clueless about.
4 comments:
Hi Julie...
As an avid fan of this series and our government, I can't help but respond to your entries! I hope you don't mind! Emily and I have long been planning a trip to Washington D.C. (I visited in '98, but she's never been), but we wanted to wait until AFTER The Smithsonian finished its two-year renovation of the National Museum of American History (my favorite!). It reopens on Nov. 21!
Anyway... this section of the Constitution just deals with procedural matters. The first part basically says that members of both chambers are responsible for their proceedings, conduct and punishment (and expulsion) of its members. This is just to make sure that rules are followed and that Congress maintains its integrity. It mostly works, but there are ocassionaly bad apples (though, disgraced members of Congress usually resign before they are expelled... like former Oregon Senator Bob Packwood).
When the article mentions a "quorum," that just means the minimum amount of members needed in attendance to conduct business. A quorum in both the House and the Senate are a simple majority: 218 representatives in the House and 51 senators for the Senate. Strictly speaking, if there are fewer than those numbers in either of those bodies, that body can't do anything...
EXCEPT that it can!
You see, in general, when Congress is in session, it's always assumed that there are enough members for a quorum. Members of Congress can ask for a "quorum call," but it's almost always done as a way to delay procedures.
The article also mentions that Congress should keep a "journal" of its proceedings. The actual journals only contain the results of votes, but the
acts of Congress are more fully detailed in the "Congressional
Record," essentially a written record of everything that is said and done in both chambers (they also contain a section for "Extension Remarks," wherein members of Congress can add tributes, speeches, etc.,
that weren't actually uttered on the floor of either chamber). The Congressional Record is maintained by the U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO). Much of the Congressional Record archive is available online at GPO Access.
The last part talks about rules for adjourning a session. Per this article, neither chamber can adjourn a session for more than three days without the consent of the other. As a result, the House and the Senate often will hold pro forma sessions to meet the requirement, even though no business is conducted. The last sentence just guarantees that neither the House or the Senate will hold a session outside of their respective chambers in the
U.S. Capitol building without the consent of the other chamber. This never happens now, but when the Founding Fathers wrote this, they were meeting as
The Philadelphia Convention, as there was no designated place for Congress to meet (the U.S. Capitol building wasn't even finished when Congress began meeting in there in 1800!).
All in all, this is mostly a housekeeping section that dictates how Congress will control itself, its record, respective chambers and members. Still fascinating, though!!
Julie - I haven't forgotten about the tag. I should have some time this afternoon. You are so sweet to be posting on my blog. You have a beautiful family.
Julia : )
Awww shucks, Josh! I'm so glad you're a fan. When I originally wrote this post, the last line read, "Okay, Josh, lay it on us," but I decided that might deter anyone else from commenting, so I changed it. Please know that I look forward to gleaning increased knowledge from you. Comment away, my friend.
Thanks, Julie! :) That made me smile.
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