Talk:Joint session of the United States Congress

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	Joint session of the United States Congress is part of WikiProject U.S. Congress, an attempt to build a comprehensive guide to the United States Congress.
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[edit] Needs more

This needs more info, or it's just a copy of what's in the U.S. Congress article. Sugestion, notable Joint Sessions in history. --John R. Barberio ^{talk, contribs} 21:52, 12 September 2005 (UTC)

What chamber do the joint sessions take place in?

[edit] Seating?

Surely there isn't enough room in the area where Representatives are normally seated to fit the hundred Senators in as well. How does Congress squeeze itself into the House? Johnleemk | Talk 17:21, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

There are 448 seats in the House Chamber. Seats are reserved for the Senate, for members of the President's Cabinet and Joint Chiefs of Staff, for Justices of the Supreme Court who choose to attend (fewer recently than had historically been the case; Justice Breyer is a regular attendee), and for ambassadors of foreign countries. That leaves not enough seats for the Representatives; I believe that except for a few senior Members who are chosen to serve on the "committee of escort," seating is on a first-come, first-served basis. Newyorkbrad 17:33, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

Couldn't they remove desks from the back rows and fit in additional seats? Especially if there are going to be several hours before and after the joint session when there will be nobody or a much smaller number present?

Also, how are members seated in normal session? In the British Parliamentary system, members are seated by party group, and within that group, proximity to the Speaker is determined by precedence (who's been there the longest or holds a higher rank due to office served such as a cabinet post), although the Prime Minister and the Opposition Leader face each other from the middle, and the cabinet is grouped around the PM in the front two rows of five on the government side. GBC 23:19, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

I don't believe the benches on the floor of the House Chamber are movable (because of the much greater number of Members, there are long rows of seats in the House, not individual desks as in the Senate). Regarding seating in the U.S. House and Senate, see under United States House of Representatives#Procedure for some information about seating in the House Chamber, and United States Senate#Procedure for the Senate. More information should available on the House and Senate websites (www.house.gov and www.senate.gov). Newyorkbrad 23:31, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Foreign dignitaries

While every address to a joint session of Congress is significant, the fact that Italy leaders have given four such addresses seems no more significant than the fact that French leaders have given five and Spanish leaders have given two. M Pinck 13:03, 3 December 2007 (UTC)