CRS Report – The First Day of a New Congress: A Guide to Proceedings on the House Floor, Updated December 7, 2020: “Article 1, Section 2 of the Constitution set sa term of office of two years for all Members of the House. One House ends at the conclusion of each two-year Congress, and the newly elected Representatives must constitute a new House at the beginning of the next Congress. Consequently, the House must choose its Speaker and officers and adopt the chamber’s rules of procedure every two years. The Constitution mandates that Congress convene at noon on January 3, unless the preceding Congress by law designated a different day. For example, P.L. 113-201set January 6, 2015, as the convening date of the 114th Congress. Congressional leaders planned that the 115thCongress would convene January 3, 2017,and that the 116th Congress would convene January 3, 2019,obviating the need for a law to set the date.Although no officers will have been elected when the House first convenes, officers from the previous Congress perform certain functions, such as conducting the election of the Speaker..”