Heidi Alexander: “I thank the Chair and ask to be notified when I have consumed 3 minutes more. On November 16, 2007, Senator Reid said…”

“I thank the Chair and ask to be notified when I have consumed 3 minutes more. On November 16, 2007, Senator Reid said: As a result, I am keeping the Senate in pro forma to prevent recess appointments until we get this process back on track.'' And on July, 28, 2008 he said: ``We don't need a vote to recess. We will just be in pro forma session. We will tell the House to do the same thing.'' The President is restricted, as Senator Reid indicated, by article I section 5 of the Constitution, which states that ``neither House, during the Session of Congress, shall, without the Consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other Place than that in which the two Houses shall be sitting.'' Last December when the House and Senate agreed to adjourn, the Speaker--a Republican--and the majority leader here--a Democrat--agreed the two Chambers would hold pro forma sessions for the express purpose of not going into recess. Yet the President went ahead and made his appointments. This is a dangerous trend. It is a dangerous trend. The major issue before our country is the Obama economy. That is what we will be talking about more than anything else in an election year. But liberty is the defining aspect of our American character. If the President's current actions were to stand as a precedent, the Senate may very well find that when it takes a break for lunch, when it comes back, the country has a new Supreme Court Justice.…”