,,iii #aadth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,s4 ,,res4 #eha ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,september #bg1 #bjaf ,mr4 ,blumenthal 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,leahy1 ,ms4 ,baldwin1 ,mr4 ,bennet1 ,mr4 ,booker1 ,mrs4 ,boxer1 ,mr4 ,brown1 ,ms4 ,cantwell1 ,mr4 ,cardin1 ,mr4 ,carper1 ,mr4 ,casey1 ,mr4 ,coons1 ,mr4 ,donnelly1 ,mr4 ,durbin1 ,mrs4 ,feinstein1 ,mr4 ,franken1 ,mrs4 ,gillibrand1 ,mr4 ,heinrich1 ,ms4 ,heitkamp1 ,ms4 ,hirono1 ,mr4 ,kaine1 ,ms4 ,klobuchar1 ,mr4 ,markey1 ,mrs4 ,mc,caskill1 ,mr4 ,menendez1 ,mr4 ,merkley1 ,ms4 ,mikulski1 ,mr4 ,murphy1 ,mrs4 ,murray1 ,mr4 ,peters1 ,mr4 ,reed1 ,mr4 ,reid1 ,mr4 ,sanders1 ,mr4 ,schatz1 ,mr4 ,schumer1 ,mrs4 ,shaheen1 ,ms4 ,stabenow1 ,mr4 ,tester1 ,mr4 ,udall1 ,mr4 ,warner1 ,ms4 ,warren1 ,mr4 ,whitehouse1 and ,mr4 ,wyden7 submitted the following resolution2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,rules and ,administration ,,resolution ,prohibiting the ,senate from adjourning1 recessing1 or convening in a pro forma session unless the ,senate has provided a hearing and a vote on the pending nomination to the position of justice of the ,supreme ,court of the ,united ,states4 ,whereas the ,constitution of the ,united ,states provides that the ,president shall nominate1 and by and with the advice and consent of the ,senate1 shall appoint justices of the ,supreme ,court of the ,united ,states 7in this preamble referred to as the ,supreme ,court72 ,whereas the constitutional duty of the ,senate of providing advice and consent on nominees to be a justice of the ,supreme ,court is one of the most important and solemn responsibilities of the ,senate2 ,whereas the ,senate has taken action on every pending nominee to fill a vacancy on the ,supreme ,court in the last #ajj years2 ,whereas the ,senate has confirmed #ac justices of the ,supreme ,court in the month of ,september1 including ,chief ,justice ,john ,roberts and ,justice ,antonin ,scalia2 ,whereas there has never been a time in history when an elected ,president has been denied the ability to fill a ,supreme ,court vacancy1 by and with the advice and consent of the ,senate1 prior to the election of the next ,president2 ,whereas the ,senate has confirmed more than a dozen justices of the ,supreme ,court in ,presidential election years1 including #e in the last #ajj years2 ,whereas the ,senate has confirmed justices of the ,supreme ,court in election years in which the executive and legislative branches of the ,federal ,government were divided between #b political parties1 including confirming ,associate ,justice ,anthony ,kennedy in #aihh2 ,whereas the ,committee on the ,judiciary of the ,senate has never denied a hearing to a nominee to be a justice of the ,supreme ,court since the committee began holding public confirmation hearings for such nominees in #aiaf2 ,whereas the ,committee on the ,judiciary of the ,senate has a long tradition of reporting nominees to be a justice of the ,supreme ,court for consideration by the full ,senate1 even in cases in which the nominee lacked the support of a majority of the committee1 including the nominations of ,associate ,justice ,clarence ,thomas in #aiia and ,robert ,bork in #aihg2 ,whereas the ,federal ,judiciary is a coequal branch of the ,federal ,government and the ,supreme ,court serves an essential function resolving questions of law that affect the economy and people of the ,united ,states and the protection of the ,united ,states and its communities2 ,whereas forcing the ,supreme ,court to function with only #h sitting justices has created several instances1 and risks creating more instances1 in which the justices are evenly divided as to the outcome of a case1 preventing the ,supreme ,court from resolving conflicting interpretations of the law from different regions of the ,united ,states and thereby undermining the constitutional function of the ,supreme ,court as the final arbiter of the law2 ,whereas the ,supreme ,court recusal policy adopted in #aiic and signed by ,chief ,justice ,william ,h4 ,rehnquist1 ,associate ,justices ,john ,paul ,stevens1 ,antonin ,scalia1 ,sandra ,day ,o',connor1 ,anthony ,kennedy1 ,clarence ,thomas1 and ,ruth ,bader ,ginsburg1 and later adopted by ,chief ,justice ,john ,roberts1 stresses that even one unnecessary recusal impairs the functioning of the ,court and that needless recusal deprives litigants of the nine ,justices to which they are entitled1 produces the possibility of an even division on the merits of the case1 and has a distorting effect on the certiorari process1 requiring the petition to obtain 7under our current practice7 four votes out of eight instead of four out of nine2 ,whereas since #aige1 the average number of days from nomination to confirmation vote for a nominee to be a justice of the ,supreme ,court has been #gj days2 ,whereas the vacancy on the ,supreme ,court caused by the death of ,associate ,justice ,antonin ,scalia arose on ,february #ac1 #bjaf1 and the days since the occurrence of that vacancy now number more than #bjj days2 and ,whereas1 on ,march #af1 #bjaf1 ,president ,obama nominated ,merrick ,b4 ,garland1 ,chief ,judge of the ,united ,states ,court of ,appeals for the ,district of ,columbia ,circuit1 to fill the ,supreme ,court vacancy caused by the death of ,associate ,justice ,antonin ,scalia3 ,now1 therefore1 be it #a4 ,short title ,this resolution may be cited as the ,no ,vote ,no ,recess ,resolution4 #b4 ,prohibiting adjournment or pro forma sessions until action on nominee to ,supreme ,court 7a7 ,prohibition ,during the period beginning on ,september #bg1 #bjaf1 and ending on the last day of the #aadth ,congress1 the ,senate shall not adjourn1 remain adjourned1 or recess for a period of more than #b days and shall not convene solely in a pro forma session unless1 by the date on which the period of adjournment begins or the date of the pro forma session1 the ,senate has taken action on any nomination made by the ,president for a position as a justice of the ,supreme ,court of the ,united ,states by-- 7#a7 holding a hearing on the nomination in the ,committee on the ,judiciary of the ,senate2 7#b7 holding a vote on the nomination in the ,committee on the ,judiciary of the ,senate2 and 7#c7 holding a confirmation vote on the nomination in the full ,senate4 7b7 ,adjourning and recessing ,during the period beginning on ,september #bg1 #bjaf1 and ending on the date on which the requirements under paragraphs 7#a71 7#b71 and 7#c7 of subsection 7a7 are met-- 7#a7 a motion to adjourn or to recess the ,senate1 or any resolution or order of the ,senate including a provision that the ,senate adjourn at a time certain1 shall be decided by a yea-or-nay vote1 and agreed to upon an affirmative vote of two-thirds of the ,senators voting1 a quorum being present2 7#b7 if a quorum is present1 the ,presiding ,officer shall not entertain a request to adjourn or recess the ,senate by unanimous consent or to vitiate the yeas and nays on such a motion by unanimous consent2 and 7#c7 if the ,senate adjourns due to the absence of a quorum1 the ,senate shall reconvene #b hours after the time at which it adjourns and ascertain the presence of a quorum4 7c7 ,no suspension of requirements ,the ,presiding ,officer may not entertain a request to suspend the operation of this resolution by unanimous consent or motion4 7d7 ,consistency with senate emergency procedures and practices ,nothing in this resolution shall be construed in a manner that is inconsistent with ,s4 ,res4 #bif 7#ajhth ,congress7 or any other emergency procedures or practices of the ,senate4