Making laws
pro forma session
A near-empty session lasting seconds, held every few days so the chamber never technically adjourns. Used to block recess appointments.
In full
One member gavels in, no business is conducted, and the chamber gavels out. The point is legal rather than legislative: a chamber that never adjourns for more than three days is never in recess, so the President cannot make recess appointments, and neither chamber can adjourn beyond three days without the other's consent. The Supreme Court blessed the tactic in NLRB v. Noel Canning (2014).
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A plain-language explanation for civic education, not legal advice. When in doubt, the official source named above controls.