The House and Senate are two separate bodies, and thus do not always require a formal agreement for adjournment at the end of a congress. Article One Section 5 says that “Neither House, during a Session of Congress, shall, without the Consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days …” If either House decides to adjourn for a period for more than three days, the Houses formally agree by concurrent resolution.

For the end of a congress, the situation is different. According to the Constitution’s Twentieth Amendment, Section 1, “the terms of Senators and Representatives [shall end] at noon on the 3rd day of January.” Section 2 says that “The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year, and such meeting shall begin at noon on the 3rd day of January, unless they shall by law appoint a different day.” Thus, a congress ends at noon on January 3rd of odd-numbered years. An official adjournment is not required by the Constitution; congressional terms simply end. However, each House normally adjourns “sine die,” (latin for “without day”), as its final act. The Speaker of the House and the president or president pro tempore of the Senate decides when each respective chamber adjourns “sine die.” If adjournment “sine die” is less than three days before the constitutional end of a congress, no formal agreement or concurrent resolution is required.

On the last day of the 110th Congress, Saturday January 3rd 2009, the House met at 11 a.m. and, the House adjourned sine die at 12 noon. On October 15th, 2008, President Bush signed H.J.Res.100 into law (PL 110-430), appointing January 6th, 2009, as the date for the convening of the first session of the 111th Congress.