The 20th Amendment shortened this period. The session’s length didn’t allow Congress to conduct meaningful business on financial matters, but it left politicians in place that weren’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.īut before the 20th Amendment to the Constitution, which was ratified on Januand took effect in 1935, lame-duck sessions were considerably different.Ĭongressional 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, “lame duck” 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 “lame duck” 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.Ī “lame-duck session” 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.
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