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The Constitution envisioned Congress being lazy, and the POTUS too
| https://imgur.com/a/o2g8xYK | 05/24/25 |
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Date: May 24th, 2025 5:38 PM Author: https://imgur.com/a/o2g8xYK There are all these rules for when and how Congress can be called into session without everyone being there, because there was a background assumption that members of Congress would just collect a paycheck and do nothing. They would never actually travel to Philly, vote on laws, any of it. So the Constitution allows the President to whip them into acting through various coercive measures, and take other actions if they fail to show up.
Separately, the POTUS has to tell Congress what he thinks, at least once in a while. The framers were worried the POTUS would stay home and do nothing, so once in while he has to tell Congress what he thinks about the state of the union, and recommend any policy changes he thinks are appropriate.
Congress has to keep a journal of its proceedings, but only some of the time. They have a lot of discretion there, but they have to keep some kind of journal, at least some of the time. |