A concurrent resolution is a

resolution Resolution(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Resolution (debate), the statement which is debated in policy debate * Resolution (law), a written motion adopted by a deliberative body * New Year's resolution, a commitment that an individual mak ...

legislative A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government. Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known as p ...

measure) adopted by both houses of a

bicameral legislature Bicameralism is a type of legislature, one divided into two separate assemblies, chambers, or houses, known as a bicameral legislature. Bicameralism is distinguished from unicameralism, in which all members deliberate and vote as a single grou ...

that lacks the force of

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

(is

non-binding A non-binding resolution is a written motion adopted by a deliberative body that can or cannot progress into a law. The substance of the resolution can be anything that can normally be proposed as a motion. This type of resolution is often used ...

) and does not require the approval of the

chief executive A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

(

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

). Concurrent resolutions are typically adopted to regulate the internal affairs of the legislature that adopted them, or for other purposes, if authority of law is not necessary (such as in the cases of

award An award, sometimes called a distinction, is something given to a recipient as a token of recognition of excellence in a certain field. When the token is a medal, ribbon or other item designed for wearing, it is known as a decoration. An awar ...

s or recognitions).

United States Congress

In the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

, a concurrent resolution is a resolution passed by both the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

and the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

but is not presented to the

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

for signature and does not have the force of law. In contrast,

joint resolution In the United States Congress, a joint resolution is a legislative measure that requires passage by the Senate and the House of Representatives and is presented to the President for their approval or disapproval. Generally, there is no legal differ ...

s and bills are presented to the President and, once signed or approved over a veto, are enacted and have the force of law. Concurrent resolutions are generally used to address the sentiments of both chambers or to deal with issues or matters affecting both houses. Examples of concurrent resolutions include: *providing for a recess or adjournment of more than three days during the session of Congress (required by Article I, Section 5 of the

United States Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the Supremacy Clause, supreme law of the United States, United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, in 1789. Originally comprising seven ar ...

, "Neither House, during the session of Congress, shall, without the consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other place than that in which the two Houses shall be sitting.") *permitting the use of the

Capitol rotunda The United States Capitol rotunda is the tall central rotunda of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. It has been described as the Capitol's "symbolic and physical heart". Built between 1818 and 1824, the rotunda is located below the ...

, which is under the control of both Houses *providing for a

joint session of Congress A joint session of the United States Congress is a gathering of members of the two chambers of the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States: the Senate and the House of Representatives. Joint sessions can be held on ...

, normally to hear a message from the President, such as the

State of the Union address The State of the Union Address (sometimes abbreviated to SOTU) is an annual message delivered by the president of the United States to a joint session of the United States Congress near the beginning of each calendar year on the current conditio ...

*correcting the enrollment of a bill that has already passed both Houses *asking the President to return a bill that has been presented to him, before he has signed or vetoed the bill *launching the

budget process A budget process refers to the process by which governments create and approve a budget, which is as follows: * The Financial Service Department prepares worksheets to assist the department head in preparation of department budget estimates * The A ...

*creating a temporary joint committee Before the

Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

ended the practice in its decision in '' Immigration and Naturalization Service v. Chadha'' 462 U.S. 919 (1983), concurrent resolutions were sometimes used to override executive actions via a mechanism known as the

legislative veto The legislative veto describes features of at least two different forms of government, monarchies and those based on the separation of powers, applied to the authority of the monarch in the first and to the authority of the legislature in the sec ...

. If ''both'' houses of Congress were to

censure A censure is an expression of strong disapproval or harsh criticism. In parliamentary procedure, it is a debatable main motion that could be adopted by a majority vote. Among the forms that it can take are a stern rebuke by a legislature, a spir ...

a President (which has never happened – both the House and Senate have done so individually, but so far never together) the action would, according to

parliamentary procedure Parliamentary procedure is the accepted rules, ethics, and customs governing meetings of an assembly or organization. Its object is to allow orderly deliberation upon questions of interest to the organization and thus to arrive at the sense or t ...

, be in the form of a concurrent resolution, as a joint resolution requires the President's signature or veto and has the power of law. A concurrent resolution does not have the power of law, nor does it require action by the executive to take force. Concurrent resolutions originating in the Senate are abbreviated S.Con.Res. and those originating in the House are abbreviated H.Con.Res.

State legislatures

In some U.S. states, a

state of emergency A state of emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to be able to put through policies that it would normally not be permitted to do, for the safety and protection of its citizens. A government can declare such a state du ...

can be ended by a concurrent resolution from the state legislature.

Examples of concurrent resolutions

* 113th S.Con.Res. 8 - The Fiscal Year 2014 Senate budget, passed on March 23, 2013. * 113th H.Con.Res. 25 - The Fiscal Year 2014 House budget, passed on March 21, 2013. * Senate Concurrent Resolution 10 of the 113th Congress - A bill to use the

United States Capitol Visitor Center The United States Capitol Visitor Center (CVC) is a large underground addition to the United States Capitol complex which serves as a gathering point for up to 4,000 tourists and an expansion space for the US Congress.King Kamehameha. * 115 S.Con.Res.3 - Senator Michael B. Enzi (R-WY) introduced the S. Con. Res. 3 and S.84 on January 3, 2017 a "concurrent resolution setting forth the congressional budget for the United States Government for fiscal year 2017 and setting forth the appropriate budgetary levels for fiscal years 2018 through 2026." On January 12, 2017, a resolution provided for "two hours of general debate on S. Con. Res. 3 under a structured rule, and ninety minutes of debate on S.84." *HJ119 in Florida *H.Con.Res 83 - Sponsored by Representative

Elissa Slotkin Elissa Blair Slotkin (born July 10, 1976) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative from since 2023. She represented the from 2019 to 2023, before redistricting. A member of the Democratic Party, she previously served as a ...

and passed by the House of Representatives on January 10, 2020, following the U.S. drone strike against the

IRGC The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC; fa, سپاه پاسداران انقلاب اسلامی, Sepāh-e Pāsdārān-e Enghelāb-e Eslāmi, lit=Army of Guardians of the Islamic Revolution also Sepāh or Pasdaran for short) is a branch o ...

's commander Major General

Qasem Soleimani Qasem Soleimani ( fa, قاسم سلیمانی, ; 11 March 19573January 2020) was an Iranian military officer who served in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). From 1998 until his assassination in 2020, he was the commander of the Quds F ...

and the subsequent escalation of the 2019-20 Persian Gulf crisis, mandates that President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

cease military activity against

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

without congressional approval. The

constitutionality Constitutionality is said to be the condition of acting in accordance with an applicable constitution; "Webster On Line" the status of a law, a procedure, or an act's accordance with the laws or set forth in the applicable constitution. When l ...

of the resolution is uncertain due to the 1983 '' Immigration and Naturalization Service v. Chadha'' decision by the

Burger Court The Burger Court was the period in the history of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1969 to 1986, when Warren Burger served as Chief Justice of the United States. Burger succeeded Earl Warren as Chief Justice after the latter's retir ...

limiting

References

{{United States Congress, state=collapsed United States congressional resolutions Legislative branch of the United States government

United States Congress

State legislatures

Examples of concurrent resolutions

See also

References