If the outgoing Congress comes back into session between the November election and the beginning of the new Congress in January, it is called a lame-duck session. The British first used the term lame duck to refer to bankrupt businessmen, and eventually it was extended to defeated politicians. Members of Congress who lose or do not stand for reelection can still attend a postelection session and vote on legislation. But because they have been defeated or are about to retire, they are as hobbled as lame ducks in terms of influence.
Throughout the 19th century, Congress regularly held lame-duck sessions. But reformers believed that lame-duck legislators were less responsive to the public and more susceptible to influence by special interests. Led by Senator George Norris (Republican-Nebraska), reformers proposed the 20th Amendment to the Constitution, which in 1933 changed the opening of a new Congress from the first Monday in December in odd-numbered years (13 months after the election) to January 3 (just two months after the election). Since then, Congress has held lame-duck sessions only on rare occasions, to address some important unfinished business.
See also Norris, George W.; Sessions of Congress
