The First Day of a New Congress: A Guide to Proceedings on the House Floor Page: 2 of 14
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The First Day of a New Congress:
A Guide to Proceedings on the House Floor
Summary
This report focuses on the floor activities of the House during its first formal
session in a new Congress, and serves as a guide for those participating in or
watching these proceedings.
The House is not a continuing body. It ends at the conclusion of each two-year
Congress and must reconstitute itself at the beginning of the next Congress. Article
1, Section 2 of the Constitution sets terms for Members of the House at two years.
The House must choose its Speaker and officers and determine the chamber's
internal rules every two years.
The Constitution mandates that Congress convene at noon on January 3, unless
it has earlier passed a law designating a different day. Although no officers have
been elected when the House first convenes, some officers from the previous
Congress perform certain functions.
The House follows a well-established first day routine of electing and swearing
in the Speaker, administering the oath of office to its Members, electing and swearing
in its administrative officers, and adopting its rules of procedure. It also establishes
its daily hour of meeting.
On opening day, the House usually adopts resolutions assigning its Members to
serve on committees. This process usually extends throughout January and often for
several more weeks. The committee assignment process occurs primarily within the
party groups - the Republican Conference and the Democratic Caucus.
Assignments cannot be considered on the House floor until both of these groups have
adopted rules governing committee assignments.
Other routine organizational business may also be taken up on the House floor
on the first day. The Speaker usually announces his policies on certain floor
practices; a resolution is adopted providing for a joint session of Congress to receive
the President's State of the Union Message; and often a resolution is adopted to allow
a judge or a Member of Congress to administer the oath of office to Members-elect
who are absent due to illness or other reasons.
Some resolutions on opening day are dependent on specific circumstances and
do not occur at the beginning of each new Congress. In inaugural years, the House
must adopt a resolution to authorize the use of the Capitol for the inauguration
activities. At the outset of a new Congress following a presidential election, the
House must also adopt a resolution providing for the counting of electoral votes for
the President and Vice President of the United States by the new Congress.
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Reference the current page of this Report.
Amer, Mildred. The First Day of a New Congress: A Guide to Proceedings on the House Floor, report, December 8, 2006; Washington D.C.. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc821845/m1/2/: accessed April 24, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.