III 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 581 

Prohibiting the Senate from adjourning, recessing, or convening in a pro 

forma session unless the Senate has provided a hearing and a vote 

on the pending nomination to the position of justice of the Supreme 

Court of the United States. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 27, 2016 

Mr. BLUMENTHAL (for himself, Mr. LEAHY, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. BENNET, Mr. 

BOOKER, Mrs. BOXER, Mr. BROWN, Ms. CANTWELL, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. 

CARPER, Mr. CASEY, Mr. COONS, Mr. DONNELLY, Mr. DURBIN, Mrs. 

FEINSTEIN, Mr. FRANKEN, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Mr. HEINRICH, Ms. 

HEITKAMP, Ms. HIRONO, Mr. KAINE, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mr. MARKEY, 

Mrs. MCCASKILL, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr. MERKLEY, Ms. MIKULSKI, Mr. 

MURPHY, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. PETERS, Mr. REED, Mr. REID, Mr. SANDERS, Mr. SCHATZ, Mr. SCHUMER, Mrs. SHAHEEN, Ms. STABENOW, Mr. 

TESTER, Mr. UDALL, Mr. WARNER, Ms. WARREN, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, 

and Mr. WYDEN) submitted the following resolution; which was referred 

to the Committee on Rules and Administration 

RESOLUTION 

Prohibiting the Senate from adjourning, recessing, or convening in a pro forma session unless the Senate has 

provided a hearing and a vote on the pending nomination 

to the position of justice of the Supreme Court of the 

United States. 

Whereas the Constitution of the United States provides that 

the President shall ‘‘nominate, and by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall appoint’’ justices of 


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•SRES 581 IS 

the Supreme Court of the United States (in this preamble referred to as the ‘‘Supreme Court’’); 

Whereas the constitutional duty of the Senate of providing 

advice and consent on nominees to be a justice of the Supreme Court is one of the most important and solemn responsibilities of the Senate; 

Whereas the Senate has taken action on every pending nominee to fill a vacancy on the Supreme Court in the last 

100 years; 

Whereas the Senate has confirmed 13 justices of the Supreme Court in the month of September, including Chief 

Justice John Roberts and Justice Antonin Scalia; 

Whereas there has never been a time in history when an 

elected President has been denied the ability to fill a Supreme Court vacancy, by and with the advice and consent 

of the Senate, prior to the election of the next President; 

Whereas the Senate has confirmed more than a dozen justices of the Supreme Court in Presidential election years, 

including 5 in the last 100 years; 

Whereas the Senate has confirmed justices of the Supreme 

Court in election years in which the executive and legislative branches of the Federal Government were divided between 2 political parties, including confirming Associate 

Justice Anthony Kennedy in 1988; 

Whereas the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate has 

never denied a hearing to a nominee to be a justice of 

the Supreme Court since the committee began holding 

public confirmation hearings for such nominees in 1916; 

Whereas the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate has 

a long tradition of reporting nominees to be a justice of 

the Supreme Court for consideration by the full Senate, 


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•SRES 581 IS 

even in cases in which the nominee lacked the support of 

a majority of the committee, including the nominations of 

Associate Justice Clarence Thomas in 1991 and Robert 

Bork in 1987; 

Whereas the Federal Judiciary is a coequal branch of the 

Federal Government and the Supreme Court serves an 

essential function resolving questions of law that affect 

the economy and people of the United States and the 

protection of the United States and its communities; 

Whereas forcing the Supreme Court to function with only 8 

sitting justices has created several instances, and risks 

creating more instances, in which the justices are evenly 

divided as to the outcome of a case, preventing the Supreme Court from resolving conflicting interpretations of 

the law from different regions of the United States and 

thereby undermining the constitutional function of the 

Supreme Court as the final arbiter of the law; 

Whereas the Supreme Court recusal policy adopted in 1993 

and signed by Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, Associate Justices John Paul Stevens, Antonin Scalia, Sandra 

Day O’Connor, Anthony Kennedy, Clarence Thomas, and 

Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and later adopted by Chief Justice 

John Roberts, stresses that ‘‘even one unnecessary 

recusal impairs the functioning of the Court’’ and that 

‘‘needless recusal deprives litigants of the nine Justices to 

which they are entitled, produces the possibility of an 

even division on the merits of the case, and has a distorting effect on the certiorari process, requiring the petition to obtain (under our current practice) four votes out 

of eight instead of four out of nine’’; 


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•SRES 581 IS 

Whereas since 1975, the average number of days from nomination to confirmation vote for a nominee to be a justice 

of the Supreme Court has been 70 days; 

Whereas the vacancy on the Supreme Court caused by the 

death of Associate Justice Antonin Scalia arose on February 13, 2016, and the days since the occurrence of that 

vacancy now number more than 200 days; and 

Whereas, on March 16, 2016, President Obama nominated 

Merrick B. Garland, Chief Judge of the United States 

Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, to 

fill the Supreme Court vacancy caused by the death of 

Associate Justice Antonin Scalia: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, 

2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

3 This resolution may be cited as the ‘‘No Vote No Re4 cess Resolution’’. 

5 SEC. 2. PROHIBITING ADJOURNMENT OR PRO FORMA SES6 SIONS UNTIL ACTION ON NOMINEE TO SU7 PREME COURT. 

8 (a) PROHIBITION.—During the period beginning on 

9 September 27, 2016, and ending on the last day of the 

10 114th Congress, the Senate shall not adjourn, remain ad11 journed, or recess for a period of more than 2 days and 

12 shall not convene solely in a pro forma session unless, by 

13 the date on which the period of adjournment begins or 

14 the date of the pro forma session, the Senate has taken 

15 action on any nomination made by the President for a poVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:33 Sep 27, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR581.IS SR581

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•SRES 581 IS 

1 sition as a justice of the Supreme Court of the United 

2 States by— 

3 (1) holding a hearing on the nomination in the 

4 Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate; 

5 (2) holding a vote on the nomination in the 

6 Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate; and 

7 (3) holding a confirmation vote on the nomina8 tion in the full Senate. 

9 (b) ADJOURNING AND RECESSING.—During the pe10 riod beginning on September 27, 2016, and ending on the 

11 date on which the requirements under paragraphs (1), (2), 

12 and (3) of subsection (a) are met— 

13 (1) a motion to adjourn or to recess the Senate, 

14 or any resolution or order of the Senate including a 

15 provision that the Senate adjourn at a time certain, 

16 shall be decided by a yea-or-nay vote, and agreed to 

17 upon an affirmative vote of two-thirds of the Sen18 ators voting, a quorum being present; 

19 (2) if a quorum is present, the Presiding Offi20 cer shall not entertain a request to adjourn or recess 

21 the Senate by unanimous consent or to vitiate the 

22 yeas and nays on such a motion by unanimous con23 sent; and 

24 (3) if the Senate adjourns due to the absence 

25 of a quorum, the Senate shall reconvene 2 hours 


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•SRES 581 IS 

1 after the time at which it adjourns and ascertain the 

2 presence of a quorum. 

3 (c) NO SUSPENSION OF REQUIREMENTS.—The Pre4 siding Officer may not entertain a request to suspend the 

5 operation of this resolution by unanimous consent or mo6 tion. 

7 (d) CONSISTENCY WITH SENATE EMERGENCY PRO8 CEDURES AND PRACTICES.—Nothing in this resolution 

9 shall be construed in a manner that is inconsistent with 

10 S. Res. 296 (108th Congress) or any other emergency pro11 cedures or practices of the Senate. 

Æ 


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