Congressional Censure and "No Confidence" Votes Regarding Public Officials (CRS Report for Congress)
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| Release Date |
Revised June 23, 2016 |
| Report Number |
RL34037 |
| Report Type |
Report |
| Authors |
Jack Maskell, American Law Division; Richard S. Beth, Government and Finance Division |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
| Older Revisions |
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Summary:
The House and the Senate have, from time to time in the past, proposed and on some
occasionsâ adopted a resolution which has expressed the body's disapproval, condemnation,
censure, or lack of confidence regarding a particular official in the executive branch of the federal
government.
Such actions have not been considered as part of the express impeachment authority of the House
within the Constitution (nor the authority to try such impeachments in the Senate), nor have they
generally been considered as either part of the inherent contempt authority of either house of
Congress or the express constitutional authority of each house of Congress to discipline its own
Members. Rather, such actions seem to be in the nature of a sense of the House or a sense of
the Senate resolution, whereby a simple resolution is proposed and adopted by one house of
Congress, without the concurrence of the other house of Congress, and without a requirement for
a âpresentmentâ to the President (as would be required of a âbillâ). Such simple resolutions
adopted by one house (or concurrent resolutions adopted by both houses) have come to be
recognized by parliamentarians as a vehicle to express the opinion and sense of Congress on a
nonlegislative matter; and sense of the House, Senate, or Congress resolutions concerning a
wide range of subjects have been used frequently in the past by the House and Senate.
The adoption of a simple or concurrent resolution expressing the Houseâs or Senateâs âcensure,â
âcondemnation,â or âno confidenceâ in a particular officer of the federal government does not
have any immediate or binding legal import, but does express a particular moral judgment and
may have both symbolic as well as political implications.
This report has been updated from an earlier version, and may be updated in the future to reflect
new rulings, practices, or precedents.
