Secret Sessions of the House and Senate: Authority, Confidentiality, and Frequency
Released: 2014-12-30T00:00:00

Secret, or closed, sessions of the House and Senate exclude the press and the public. They may be held for matters deemed to require confidentiality and secrecy—such as national security, sensitive communications received from the President, and Senate deliberations during impeachment trials. Although Members usually seek advance agreement for going into secret session, any Member of Congress may request a secret session without notice. When the House or Senate goes into secret session, its chamber and galleries are cleared of everyone except Members and officers and employees specified in the rules or designated by the presiding officer as essential to the session. When the chamber is cleared, its doors are closed.

Authority: Constitution, Chamber Rules, and Precedents

Authority for the House and Senate to hold secret sessions appears in Article I, Section 5, of the Constitution: "Each House may determine the Rules of its Proceedings.... Each House shall keep a Journal of its Proceedings, and from time to time publish the same, excepting such Parts as may in their Judgment require Secrecy.... " Both chambers have implemented these constitutional provisions through rules and precedents.

In the House, Rule XVII, clause 9 governs secret sessions. A secret session may be held when the House has received confidential communications from the President or when a Member informs the House that the Member has communications that should be kept secret. A secret session may occur pursuant to a special rule or by a motion to resolve into a secret session made in the House. The House has also agreed on one occasion to a unanimous consent request authorizing the chair to resolve the House into secret session pursuant to this rule. A motion to resolve into secret session is in order in the House; it is not in order in the Committee of the Whole. A Member who offers such a motion announces the possession of confidential information and moves that the House go into a secret session. The motion is not debatable, and no point of order is available to require the communication at issue to be disclosed before the vote. If the motion is agreed to by a simple majority (a quorum being present), the chamber and galleries are cleared. When the only persons present are Members, officials allowed under Rule XVII, clause 9, and staff designated by the Speaker as essential to the proceedings, the chamber doors are closed, and the House begins the secret session. The Member making the motion is then recognized under the hour rule for debate.

In addition, under Rule X, clause 11, paragraphs (g)(2)(D) through (g)(2)(G), the House Select Committee on Intelligence may move that the House hold a secret session to determine whether classified information held by the committee should be made public. This procedure is invoked only if the committee desires such a disclosure and the President personally objects to it.

In the Senate, any Senator may make a motion that the Senate go into closed session, and, if seconded by another Senator, the Senate will immediately proceed into a secret session. Under Senate Rule XXI, the presiding officer exercises no discretion about going into secret session if the motion is made and seconded. The motion is not debatable. A Senator may interrupt another Senator to make the motion and may cause the other Senator to lose the floor.

Once in a secret session, the Senate operates under applicable portions of Senate Rules XXIX and XXXI. Rule XXIX specifies which of the Senate's officers and staff may stay during the closed session and authorizes the presiding officer to include other staff at his discretion. Rule XXXI requires Senate business to be transacted in open session, but states that the Senate by majority vote may determine that a specific treaty, nomination, or other matter may be considered in secret session. A motion to return to open session is in order at any time, is not debatable, and requires a simple majority vote, a quorum being present.

When the Senate is conducting an impeachment trial, it may hold deliberations behind closed doors. During this time, Senate standing rules are supplemented by additional rules, called "Rules of Procedure and Practice in the Senate when Sitting on Impeachment Trials."

Confidentiality and Publication Requirements

Members and staff of both houses are prohibited from divulging information from secret sessions. In the Senate, staff are sworn to secrecy, whereas in the House, staff must sign an oath not to reveal what happens in the secret session, unless the House decides to make its actions public. Violations of secrecy are punishable by the disciplinary rules of a chamber. A Member may be subject to a variety of punishments, including loss of seniority, fine, reprimand, censure, or expulsion. An officer or employee may be fired or subject to other internal disciplinary actions.

The proceedings of a secret session are not published unless the relevant chamber votes, during the meeting or at a later time, to release them. Then, those portions released are printed in the Congressional Record .

Under Rule XVII, if the House decides not to release the transcript of a secret session, the Speaker refers the proceedings to the appropriate committee(s) for evaluation. The committees are required to report to the House on their ultimate disposition of the transcript. If a committee decides not to release the transcript, it becomes part of the committee's noncurrent records (pursuant to House Rule VII, clause 3) and is transferred to the Clerk of the House for transmittal to the Archivist of the United States at the National Archives and Records Administration. Transcripts may be made available to the public after 30 years unless the Clerk of the House determines that such availability "would be detrimental to the public interest or inconsistent with the rights and privileges of the House" (Rule VII, clauses 3 and 4). If the Senate does not approve release of a secret session transcript, it is stored in the Office of Senate Security and ultimately sent to the National Archives and Records Administration. The proceedings remain sealed until the Senate votes to remove the injunction of secrecy.

Frequency of Secret Sessions

The Senate met in secret until 1794, its first rules reflecting a belief that the body's various roles, including providing advice and consent to the executive branch, compelled it to act behind closed doors. Although legislative sessions were generally open after 1795, the Senate's executive sessions (to consider nominations and treaties) were usually closed until 1929.

Since 1929, the Senate has held 57 secret sessions, generally for reasons of national security or for consideration of impeachment questions. On December 20, 2010, for example, the Senate met in closed session to discuss the ratification of the New Start Treaty with Russia (Treaty Doc. 111-5). On December 7, 2010, the Senate met in closed session to debate the impeachment of federal judge G. Thomas Porteous, Jr., of Louisiana. Six secret sessions were held during the impeachment trial of President William J. Clinton in 1999. In 1997, the Senate met in secret to consider the Chemical Weapons Convention Treaty and, in 1992, to debate the "most favored nation" status of China. Table 1 identifies the 57 secret sessions of the Senate since 1929.

The House met frequently in secret session through the end of the War of 1812, mainly to receive confidential communications from the President, but occasionally for routine legislative business. Subsequent secret meetings were held in 1825 and in 1830. Since 1830, the House has met behind closed doors four times: in 1979, 1980, 1983, and 2008. Table 2 identifies secret House sessions since 1825.