Who can the president call into special session?

The President also has the right to call the Congress into special session, a power that has been used several times in American history. If Congress cannot agree on a recess date, Article II, Section 3 states that the President "may adjourn them to such time as he shall think proper." No President has ever had to set a date for a Congressional recess, however.

The President has rarely called a special session of Congress. One of the most famous uses of the Special Session was the special session that President Roosevelt called into session when he became President. That special session passed all of the 100 day legislation that FDR had proposed.

Article II, Section 3, of the U.S. Constitution gives the president power to convene Congress, or either house, “on extraordinary occasions.” Usually, when the president calls for an extra session he indicates the exact matter that needs the attention of Congress. However, once convened, Congress cannot be limited in the subject matter that it will consider. The president is also empowered by the Constitution to adjourn Congress “at such time as he may think proper” when the House and Senate disagree with respect to the time for adjournment; however, to date no president has exercised this power. Many constitutional experts believe the provision applies only in the case of extraordinary sessions.

Period when a legislative body convenes outside of normal sessions

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In a legislature, a special session (also extraordinary session) is a period when the body convenes outside of the normal legislative session. This most frequently occurs in order to complete unfinished tasks for the year (often delayed by conflict between political parties), such as outlining the government's budget for the next fiscal year, biennium, or other period. Special sessions may also be called during an economic downturn in order to cut the budget. In other cases, a special session may be convened to address special topics, or emergencies such as war or natural disaster.

Who calls a special session varies - by vote of the legislature during regular session, by the executive, or by the legislature's speaker or presiding officer. The United Nations has both special sessions and emergency special sessions.

United States

In the United States of America, Article II, Section 3 of the United States Constitution gives the President of the United States the power to "on extraordinary occasions, convene both Houses or either of them."[1]

This power exists for urgent or extraordinary situations that require congressional action when Congress is adjourned. Presidents have exercised this power 46 times to recall only the Senate and 28 times to recall both Chambers of Congress, most recently by Harry Truman in 1948.[2]

The Senate itself differentiates between "extraordinary sessions" called by the Presidential proclamation and "special sessions" that merely indicate a session not normally scheduled.[3] The term "session" can refer to either the formal start and end of a Congressional session or the daily sessions of the chambers of Congress.[4] Thus a formal "special session" will only happen when Congress has adjourned sine die and is not simply in recess (in other words Congress may or may not already be in an official session, but in recess, when convened).[4]

Notes

^ United States Archives: Transcript of the Constitution
^ U.S. Senate History
^ "Types of Sessions". Retrieved 26 January 2014.
^ a b Beth, Richard; Tollestrup, Jessica (23 February 2013). "Sessions, Adjournments, and Recesses of Congress" (PDF). Congressional Research Service. pp. Summary. Retrieved 26 January 2014.