Concurrent resolution

A concurrent resolution is a joint resolution passed by the United States Senate and House of Representatives under Article I, Section 7, Section 3 of the Constitution. Although concurrent resolutions are passed by both chambers of Congress , they have no legally binding effect and, according to the prevailing opinion, have not been submitted to the President for approval and signature since 1879 .

Traditionally, concurrent resolutions are used to express the point of view of both chambers or to deal with issues that only concern Congress itself. Examples are:

• Breaks from meetings that last longer than three days
• External uses of the rotunda of the United States Capitol
• Preparation of joint congress sessions, for example for the State of the Union Address
• Corrections to laws that have already been passed by both chambers but have not yet been signed
• Request to return a bill that has already been submitted to the President for signature
• Preparation of the annual budget
• Creation of a special joint committee

Before the verdict in the Immigration and Naturalization Service v. Chadha were concurrent resolution also used to treat certain office operations of the immigration authorities to suspend. This mechanism was known as a legislative veto before it was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court on June 23, 1983.

Concurrent resolutions are numbered for each legislative period. Resolutions that are presented to the Senate first are given the abbreviation “S Con. Res. ”, Suggestions from the House of Representatives“ H Con. Res. "

See also: Joint Resolution