For the purposes of blocking President Obama's appointments, the House has been open and in session continuously. For the purposes of doing the people's business, it's closed for vacation until January 17th.
... Clearly coordinating the staged floor session on day that the House was scheduled for a brief "pro forma" meeting, Assistant Democratic Leader Jim Clyburn rose to speak after members recited the Pledge of Allegiance, saying Democrats are in Washington and ready to work.
But California Republican Jeff Denham, who was assigned to preside over the procedural session, in which the House typically doesn't handle major business, gaveled the meeting to a close after a few minutes....
Democrats were ready to get back to work on extending a middle class tax cut and unemployment insurance for the long-term jobless. These programs will expire by March if they're not renewed, as House Republicans refused to extend them for a full year before leaving on holiday break.
