Civics 101

Gather round, children. #2 pencils ready?  There will be quiz after tonight's class in Civics 101.  If the Administration really did use a quirk in the law and a 41 second session of the Senate to keep as bunch of "recess appointees" in office...well, there's something seriously wrong with our system.

...The Senate calendar on the Democratic site shows no meeting until Congress opened on January 18, 2006, which would lead one to assume that date marked the opening of the second year of the 109th Congress. But the Library of Congress indicates a session was held on January 3, 2006, thus officially opening the 109th. And lo and behold, the Daily Digest reports a 41-second pro forma Senate session, from 12:00:04 PM to 12:00:45 P.M., on that date. The Senate convened, immediately adjourned and thus began a "recess in the middle of the session," not meeting again until January 18, 2006. The day following the less-than-a-minute convening, of course, Bush made his recess appointments—now officially during a session of Congress—which allowed his eminently rejectable appointees to complete the "balance of the session in progress plus the full length of the session that follows." Meaning we’re stuck with [...]

Tags: Recess Appointments, Bush Administration, 41 Second Session

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