Lame Duck Sessions of Congress, 1935-2010 (74th-111th Congresses)

Richard S. Beth
Specialist on Congress and the Legislative Process

Jessica Tollestrup
Analyst on Congress and the Legislative Process

A “lame duck” session of Congress occurs whenever one Congress meets after its successor is elected, but before the term of the current Congress ends. Under present conditions, any meeting of Congress after election day in November, but before the following January 3, is a lame duck session. Prior to 1933, when the 20th Amendment changed the dates of the congressional term, the last regular session of Congress was always a lame duck session. Today, however, the expression is used not only for a separate session of Congress that convenes after a sine die adjournment, but also for any portion of a regular session that falls after an election.

A lame duck session can occur in several ways. (1) Congress has usually provided for its existing session to resume after a recess spanning the election. (In 1954, only the Senate returned in this way, while the House adjourned sine die.) (2) In 1940, 1942, and 2002, at least one house continued meeting in intermittent, or pro forma, sessions during the period spanning the election (in 2008, the Senate used this means to forestall recess appointments). (3) Congress can reconvene after an election pursuant to contingent authority granted to the leadership in a recess or adjournment resolution (the House followed this course in 1998 and 2008). Two other possibilities have not been realized: (4) Congress could set a statutory date for a new session to convene after the election, then adjourn its existing session sine die. (5) While Congress is in recess or sine die adjournment, the President could call it into extraordinary session at a date after the election.

Congress has held 18 lame duck sessions from 1940 through 2010. In these years, election breaks usually have begun by mid-October, and typically lasted between one and two months. Congress has typically reconvened in mid-November and adjourned before Christmas, so that the lame duck session lasted about a month. Yet election breaks have begun as early as August 7 or as late as November 3, and ended as early as November 7 or as late as December 31. Lame duck sessions have ended as early as November 22 and as late as January 3, and have extended over as few as one, and as many as 145, calendar days. Usually, however, each house has actually met on 8-24 days during these lame duck sessions (including pro forma sessions), and from 1994 on, each house has usually met for fewer than 12 days.

Some lame duck sessions were held largely for pro forma reasons (e.g., 1948), on a standby basis (1940, 1942), or to deal with a single specific matter (1954, 1994, 1998, 2008). Some deferred major matters to the next Congress (e.g., 1944, 1982, 2004), especially when the same party would have an increased majority. The President has sometimes presented an extensive agenda to a lame duck session, often with success when it was controlled by his own party (e.g., 1950, 2002, 2004), but less so under conditions of divided government, when he has often vetoed measures (e.g., 1970, 1974, 1982). In recent years, as well, most lame duck sessions have had to complete action on appropriations and the budget. In 1974, 1980, 1982, 2000, and 2004, this effort was at least partially successful, but in 1970, 2002, 2006, and 2010 a final resolution was largely left to the next Congress. This report will be updated after any additional lame duck session occurs.


Date of Report: August 30, 2011
Number of Pages: 32
Order Number: RL33677
Price: $29.95

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