***Urgent question: Christmas break and recess appointments ***

[annabanana]

I have been told that if Reid tries to hold the Senate open through the Christmas holiday to stop recess appointments, if one Repug shows up and asks for a quorum call, the Senate would have to close down.

Do any of our parliamentarians know if this is true?

[gateley]

1. Kick to keep this up there - - you've got me curious. nt

[rurallib]

2. What is a quorum - 3? IIRC

So maybe he has to ask a couple more to pull some duty. I'd like to think that any one of them would be willing to do it for their country.

[spotbird]

3. lol. nt

[babylonsister]

4. No idea here, but why would one rethug of the minority party be able

to do that? And which one would give up their holiday? :evilgrin:

[NC_Nurse]

5. The Vitter and Craig households might be a little tense.

They may volunteer. ;)

[Bitwit1234]

6. Yes someone on one of the other sites explained it BUT

I don't remember. I do know that if enough republicans show up after they call the senate to order they can pass a bill etc without dems present.

[appleannie1]

7. This is what I found

quorum call - A call of the roll to establish whether a quorum is present. If any Senator "suggests the absence of a quorum," the Presiding Officer must direct the roll to be called. Often, a quorum call is terminated by unanimous consent before completion, which permits the Senate to use the quorum call to obtain a brief delay to work out some difficulty or await a Senator's arrival.

http://www.senate.gov/reference/glossary_term/quorum_call.htm

A quorum call or call to quorum is a parliamentary procedure used to summon absent members of a deliberative body if a quorum is not present.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quorum_call

[annabanana]

8. So would a quorum call by a Repug drag the whole Senate

back to Washington?

I am asking because you KNOW the idiot boy is just tapdancing with urgency to appoint a few more loyal bushies where they can do the most harm.

[blondeatlast]

9. For a good question...

:kick:

[Ravy]

10. I would have to guess that it is meaningless.

The Senate does not automatically go into recess when a quorum is not present. It just means that they can't conduct any business. It would delay the day's activities while the roll call is being read, but as far as saying that the Senate was not in session because a quorum of its members was not present would be a stretch.

[bdamomma]

11. kick

[blondeatlast]

12. Still no definitive answer? I'm functional at Robert's Rules, but by no means

expert at Senate rules--anyone???

:kick:

[annabanana]

13. evening kick. . . . . . . n/t