Order Code 98-775 GOV
Updated August 31, 2006
CRS Report for Congress
Received through the CRS Web
Quorum Requirements in the Senate:
Committee and Chamber
Betsy Palmer
Analyst in American National Government
Government and Finance Division
Quorum Requirements in Committee. Senate Rule XXVI establishes
minimum quorum requirements for four areas of committee activity. These are listed in
the following table. See [http://www.crs.gov/products/guides/guidehome.shtml] for more
information on legislative process.1
Action
Minimum Quorum
Rule XXVI
To report a measure, matter
A majority of the committee
(7)(a)(1)
or recommendation
“physically present”
To close a meeting or
A majority of the committee
(5)(b)
hearing
To transact business other
One-third of membership
(7)(a)(1)
than reporting a measure,
matter or recommendation
To take sworn or unsworn
One-third of membership, or
(7)(a)(2)
testimony
a “lesser number” as may be
authorized by the committee
Senate committees, however, have discretion in adjusting the minimum quorum
requirements mandated in Rule XXVI as long as they adopt rules that are “not
inconsistent with the Rules of the Senate.” For instance, most committees allow a single
Senator to take testimony at a hearing, rather than the one-third required by Rule XXVI.
Committees cannot change the majority physically present quorum needed for reporting
a measure.
Quorums in the Senate. Rules and practices for quorums in the Senate derive
from Article I, Section 5, clause 1 of the Constitution, which states in part that “a Majority
of each [House] shall constitute a Quorum to do Business; but a smaller Number may
adjourn from day to day, and may be authorized to compel the Attendance of absent
1 This report was originally written by the late Richard C. Sachs. Please direct any inquires to
the listed author.
Congressional Research Service ˜ The Library of Congress

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Members, in such Manner, and under such penalties as each House provides.” Thus, the
quorum for conducting business in a Senate of 100 Members is 51 Senators. The
presence of a quorum is always presumed even if fewer than 51 Senators are present. In
practice, there are rarely 51 Senators present in the Senate chamber except when the
Senate is voting. Any Senator can challenge the presumption of a quorum by rising and
stating: “Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.” Usually, the presiding officer
cannot count to determine if a quorum is present, but, according to the requirements of
Rule VI, paragraph 3, must immediately direct the clerk to call the roll. (Only when the
Senate has invoked Rule XXII and is operating under cloture does the presiding officer
have the authority to count to determine the presence of a quorum.)
In the Senate, the quorum call is more often a device by which the chamber can
suspend its formal proceedings temporarily than a procedure to bring legislators to the
floor for a vote. Senators initiate quorum calls for several reasons. For example, when
a Senator completes a statement and notices that no one else is on the floor, the Senator
typically suggests the absence of a quorum. When the Senate finds itself confronted with
a procedural problem or policy disagreement, a Senator sometimes will respond by
suggesting the absence of a quorum in the hope that the matter can be resolved through
informal conversations. Also, quorum calls provide an opportunity for informal
discussions and negotiations among Senators. Because quorum calls for these purposes
are recognized as a procedure for delay, the clerk calls the role very slowly.
Once the quorum call has begun, the Senate may not resume business until either a
majority of Senators has responded to the call, or the Senate has, by unanimous consent,
agreed to a request to “dispense with further proceedings under the quorum call.” In such
a case, whether or not a quorum of the membership has come to the floor, the Senate
returns to business.
There are instances when a quorum call is intended to bring Senators to the floor to
register their presence. Called “live” quorum calls, they are most likely to occur in three
situations: (1) under Rule XXII, immediately before any cloture vote, and under Rule XII,
before the Senate acts on a unanimous consent request to set a date for voting on whether
to pass a bill or joint resolution (although these quorum calls are usually waived by
unanimous consent); (2) occasionally, when the majority leader suggests the absence of
a quorum and announces that there is to be a live quorum call because he wishes to bring
Senators to the floor for some reason; or (3) when the clerk completes a routine quorum
call without a majority of Senators having responded. During a live quorum call, the clerk
calls the names of Senators more quickly.
When a Senator who has the floor requests the yeas and nays on the pending
question, the Senate assumes — as its regular practice — that those present constitute a
quorum. The Senate usually requires that the request for a roll-call vote must be
supported by at least one-fifth of the smallest possible quorum. Consequently, at least 11
Senators — one-fifth of the minimum quorum of 51 Senators — must raise their hands
to support a request for a roll-call vote. If there is sufficient support, the question then
pending before the Senate will be decided by a roll-call vote whenever the time arrives
for voting on that question.
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