The Republican Study Committee is calling on President George Bush to summon Congress for a special session in the middle of their August recess in hopes of getting a clean up or down vote on energy exploration.
“Since Speaker Pelosi has decided not to keep the House in session to allow this vote to take place, we urge you to use the power vested in you by the Constitution to convene an immediate energy special session of Congress,” their letter to the president said. “Under Article II, Section 3 of the Constitution, you have the power ‘on extraordinary occasions’ to convene the Congress.”
I've been speaking to some people here about this. Even if the president called a special session the Speaker Pelosi would still be in control of the House. If the president did this, she could essentially open the House for business, say the pledge and the prayer and then adjourn it all over again. So the key here is really keeping the pressure on Pelosi to open the House herself.
That said, I still think it would be great if the President did this. I think it'd be even better if John McCain would swing by the House and show these guys some support.