The 20th Amendment, ratified in 1933, dramatically shortened — but did not eliminate — the sessions by moving the swearing-in date for lawmakers to Jan .3. John Copeland Nagle, a law professor at the University of Notre Dame who has researched the amendment, argues that the current session, with its jam-packed legislative agenda, contradicts the authors' intent.
Critics are saying that Oosterhoff, a staunch social conservative who has described himself as "100percentt pro-life," may have had his swearing-in date pushed back so he would miss the debate and vote for Bill 28 which passed.
Since the General Mining Act was passed, we have tried -- and abandoned -- Prohibition, moved the President's swearing in date from March to January, created a succession path if the Vice-President dies or is removed from office, established Social Security and the Federal Reserve Bank, and invented the automobile, airplane, telephone, and Internet.
"Then they were simply told the swearing-in was canceled with no date for rescheduling".
The sentence mentioning the alternate swearing-in does not specify a date, and government officials have said that means Mr. Chávez can be sworn in later.
Take a look at the front pages from the first 10 days of Franklin D. Roosevelt's presidency in 1933, beginning with his speech on March 4 (the last time a swearing-in was held on that date).
"Yes, of course they will ensure that the Amendment 19 is enacted and present themselves on a set date for the swearing-in ceremony," he said.
Also on Wednesday, Mr. Landesman, 62, was sworn in by Romy Scott, assistant to the director of human resources at the arts endowment; a ceremonial swearing-in is expected at a later date.
The 2013 inauguration will be the 57th in the nation's history, and it will come with a twist: Jan . 20 the constitutionally mandated date for the swearing-in, falls on a Sunday in 2013, so Mr. Obama will be sworn in during a private ceremony that day at the White House.
But government officials loyal to Mr. Chávez have forcefully rejected that notion and said the swearing-in could take place at a later date.
And because Jan . 20 the constitutionally mandated date for the presidential swearing-in, falls on a Sunday this year, Mr. Obama will take his oath in private at the White House, and the public swearing-in ceremony and other events will be held on Jan . 21
