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The United States House of Representatives rarely meets in closed session.
In the House, Rule XVII, clause 9, governs secret sessions, including the types of business to be considered behind closed doors. A motion to resolve into a secret session may only be made in the House, not 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, but if agreed to, the Member making the motion is recognized under the one-hour rule in closed session.
Members and staff of both houses are prohibited from divulging information from secret sessions, and all staff are sworn to secrecy. 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.
If the House decides not to release a transcript, it is ultimately transferred to the Clerk of the House of Representatives for transmittal to the archivist of the United States for preservation at the National Archives and Records Administration. The transcripts may be made available to the public after 30 years (Rule VII, clause 3).
The House met frequently in secret session until the end of the War of 1812. The House has met in closed session only 6 times since 1825. The following is a full list of those sessions, along with their dates and the reasons they were called:
| Reason | Date(s) |
|---|---|
| Electronic Surveillance of Terror Suspects | March 13, 2008 (10:11pm–11:09pm) [1] |
| U.S. support for paramilitary operations in Nicaragua | July 19, 1983 |
| Involvement of Cuba and communist countries in Nicaragua | February 25, 1980 |
| Implementing the Panama Canal Act of 1979 | June 20, 1979 |
| Trade between the U.S. and Great Britain | May 27, 1830 |
| Relations with Indian tribes | December 27, 1825 |
Article One of the United States Constitution establishes the legislative branch of the federal government, the United States Congress. Under Article One, Congress is a bicameral legislature consisting of the House of Representatives and the Senate. Article One grants Congress various enumerated powers and the ability to pass laws "necessary and proper" to carry out those powers. Article One also establishes the procedures for passing a bill and places various limits on the powers of Congress and the states from abusing their powers.
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The Clerk of the United States House of Representatives is an officer of the United States House of Representatives, whose primary duty is to act as the chief record-keeper for the House.
The United States Senate has the authority for meeting in closed session, as described in the Standing Rules of the Senate.
The Standing Rules of the Senate are the parliamentary procedures adopted by the United States Senate that govern its procedure. The Senate's power to establish rules derives from Article One, Section 5 of the United States Constitution: "Each House may determine the rules of its proceedings ..."
In the Congress of the United States, a closed session is a parliamentary procedure for the Senate or the House of Representatives to discuss matters requiring secrecy.
An executive session is a term for any block within an otherwise open meeting in which minutes are taken separately or not at all, outsiders are not present, and the contents of the discussion are treated as confidential. In a deliberative assembly, an executive session has come to mean that the proceedings are secret and members could be punished for violating the secrecy.
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Deliberative assemblies – bodies that use parliamentary procedure to arrive at decisions – use several methods of voting on motions. The regular methods of voting in such bodies are a voice vote, a rising vote, and a show of hands. Additional forms of voting include a recorded vote and balloting.
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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; and the yeas and nays of the members of either House, on any question, shall, at the desire of one-fifth of those present, be entered on the journal.
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
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The Chaplain of the United States House of Representatives is the officer of the United States House of Representatives responsible for beginning each day's proceedings with a prayer. The House cites the first half of Article 1, Section 2, Clause 5 in the United States Constitution as giving it the authority to elect a Chaplain, "The House of Representatives shall choose their speaker and other officers".
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