“Since 1830, the House has met behind closed doors only three times,”according to the Congressional Research Service: “in 1979 to discussthe Panama Canal, in 1980 to discuss Central American assistance, andin 1983 to discuss U.S. support for paramilitary operations inNicaragua.”
On March 13, the House went into secret session once more to considerclassified matters concerning the Foreign Intelligence SurveillanceAct. After some extended discussion of the unusual practice, followedby a security check, public access to the proceedings was barred.
