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be not then in session, or if it did not meet in accordance with law within twenty days thereafter it shall be the duty of the person upon whom said powers and duties shall devolve to issue a proclamation convening Congress in extraordinary session, giving twenty-day notice of the time of meeting."

SEC. 2. Such Act is further amended by adding at the end thereof of a new section as follows:

"SEC. 4. Whenever the powers and duties of the office of President of the United States shall devolve upon one of the persons named in the first section of this Act, such person forthwith shall cause a notification of the event by reason of which such powers and duties so devolved to be made to the executive of every State, and shall specify in such notification that electors of a President and Vice President to fill the unexpired term shall be appointed in the several States on the first Tuesday which occurs more than ninety days after the date of such event. Electors appointed pursuant to such notification shall be appointed in the same manner as is provided by law for the appoinment of electors for a regular quadrennial election of a President and Vice President, and shall met and give their votes on the first Monday which occurs more than thirty days after the date of their appointment, at such place in each State as the legislature of such State shall direct. Except as otherwise provided in this section, all provisions of law relating to the choosing of a President and Vice President at a regular quadrennial election shall apply with respect to the choosing of a President and Vice President to fill an unexpired term as provided in this section. The person chosen for such purpose shall take office on the thirtieth day following the date on which the electors were chosen."

Amend the title so as to read: "To provide for the holding of special elections to fill vacancies caused by removal, death, resignation, or inability of both the President and the Vice President, or the failure of both the President and the Vice President to qualify."

[S. 536, 80th Cong., 1st sess.]

A BILL To provide for the holding of a special election by the members of the electoral college to fill vacancies caused by the removal, death, resignation, or inability of both the President and the Vice President

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Act entitled "An Act to provide for the performance of the duties of the office of President in case of the removal, death, resignation, or inability both of the President and Vice President", approved January 19, 1886 (24 Stat. 1; U. S. C., title 3, secs. 21-22), is amended by adding at the end thereof four new sections as follows:

"SEC. 4. If the powers and duties of the office of President of the United States shall devolve upon one of the persons named in the first section of this Act at a time which is more than one hundred and twenty days before the time provided by law for the appointment of the electors of President and Vice President, such person shall, within ten days after the powers and duties of the office of President have devolved upon him, cause a notification of the event by reason of which such powers and duties have so devolved to be made to the chief executive of each State. The notification shall include a request, which it shall be the duty of each chief executive to carry out, that each of such chief executives shall cause the members of the electoral college of his State appointed for the last regular quadrennial election of a President to be assembled at some place in the State on the first Monday following the fifteenth day of such notification for the purpose of casting their votes for a President and a Vice President to fill the unexpired terms of the offices of President and Vice President, which have become vacant by reason of the removal, death, resignation, or inability of both the President and the Vice President. Any vacancy which has occurred in the college of electors since its appointment shall be filled in the manner provided by law for filling vacancies before a regular quadrennial election. The electors shall then proceed, in the manner provided by the Constitution and by law for the regular quadrennial election of a President and a Vice President, to cast their votes for a President and a Vice President, who shall serve the unexpired terms of the offices of President and Vice President, which have become vacant by reason of the removal, death, resignation, or inability of both the President and the Vice President.

"SEC. 5. The certificates and lists of the electors shall be transmitted in the manner as provided by the Constitution and by law for a regular quadrennial election of a President and a Vice President so as to reach the President of

the Senate not later than the second Monday after the meeting of the electors shall have been held. If such certificates and lists are not received by such time, the procedure provided in sections 5 and 6 of the Act entitled 'An Act providing for the meeting of electors of President and Vice President and for the issuance and transmission of the certificates of their selection and of the result of their determination, and for other purposes', approved May 29, 1928, as amended, shall be followed.

"SEC. 6. For the purpose of counting the votes of the electoral college, the Congress shall meet on the third Monday after the meeting of the electors shall have been held. The certificates and lists of the electors shall be opened, presented, and acted upon in the manner provided by the Constitution and by law for a regular quadrennial election of the President.

"SEC. 7. Except as provided in this Act, the electors, where required by section 4 to elect a President and a Vice President, shall proceed in the manner provided by the Constitution and by law for a regular quadrennial election of a President and a Vice President and all laws relating to a regular quadrennial election of a President and a Vice President, so far as they are applicable, shall govern the election of a President and a Vice President as provided in this Act."

[S. 564, 80th Cong., 1st sess.]

A BILL To provide for the performance of the duties of the office of President in case of the removal, resignation, or inability both of the President and Vice President

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That (a) (1) if, by reason of death, resignation, removal from office, inability, or failure to qualify, there is neither a President nor Vice President to discharge the powers and duties of the office of President, then the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall act as President until the disability be removed, or a President shall be elected.

(2) The same rule shall apply in the case of the death, resignation, removal from office, or inability of an individual acting as President under this subsection. (3) An individual acting as President under this subsection shall continue to act until a President shall be elected in the manner prescribed by law, and until the expiration of the then current Presidential term, except that

(A) if his discharge of the powers and duties of the office is founded in whole or in part on the failure of both the President-elect and the Vice President-elect to qualify, then he shall act only until a President or Vice President qualifies; and

(B) if his discharge of the powers and duties of the office is founded in whole or in part on the inability of the President, Vice President, or individual acting under this subsection, then he shall act only until the removal of the disability of one of such individuals.

(b) If, at the time when under subsection (a) a Speaker is to begin the discharge of the powers and duties of the office of President, there is no Speaker, or the Speaker fails to qualify as Acting President, then the President pro tempore of the Senate shall, upon his resignation as President pro tempore and as Senator, discharge the powers and duties of the office of President until the expiration of the then current Presidential term, but not after a qualified and prior entitled individual is able to act.

(c) (1) If, by reason of death, resignation, removal from office, inability, or failure to qualify, there is no President pro tempore to discharge the powers and duties of the office of President under subsection (b), then the officer of the United States who is highest on the following list, and who is not under disability to discharge the powers and duties of the office of President, shall discharge such powers and duties: Secretary of State, Secretary of the Treasury, Secretary of War, Attorney General, Postmaster General, Secretary of the Navy, Secretary of the Interior, Secretary of Agriculture, Secretary of Commerce, Secretary of Labor.

(2) An individual discharging the powers and duties of President under this subsection shall continue so to do until a President shall be elected or until a Speaker is qualified in the manner prescribed by law but not after a Speaker of the House is qualified and prior-entitled individual is able to serve, except that the removal of the disability of an individual higher on the list contained in paragraph (1) or the ability to qualify on the part of an individual higher on such list shall not terminate his service.

(3) The taking of the oath of office by an individual specified herein shall be held to constitute his resignation from the office by virtue of the holding of which he qualifies to serve as President.

(d) Subsection (a), (b), and (c) shall apply only to such officers as are eligible to the office of President under the Constitution. Subsection (c) shall apply only to officers appointed, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, prior to the time of the death, resignation, removal from office, inability, or failure to qualify, of the President pro tempore, and only to officers not under impeachment by the House of Representatives at the time the powers and duties of the office of President devolve upon them.

(e) During the period that any individual serves as President under this Act, his compensation shall be at the rate then provided by law in the case of the President.

(f) Sections 1 and 2 of the Act entitled "An Act to provide for the performance of the duties of the office of President in case of the removal, death, resignation, or inability both of the President and Vice President," approved January 19, 1886 (24 Stat. 1; U. S. C., 1940 edition, title 3, secs. 21 and 22), are repealed.

The CHAIRMAN. The bill with which we are particularly concerned at this time is Senate Concurrent Resolution 1, introduced by Senator Green. Senator, you may proceed and explain your bill to us. STATEMENT OF HON. THEODORE FRANCIS GREEN, UNITED STATES SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

Senator GREEN. This is Senate Concurrent Resolution 1. It is almost identical with a similar Senate concurrent resolution, No. 50, which was introduced a year ago last January. The one change, among the specific matters to which attention is drawn, I believe, is the addition of a provision regarding the limitation on the term of the President.

All these specific items to which reference is made are included in the general terms of the investigation which is proposed, but it is thought well to mention those to which attention has been drawn in one way or another from time to time.

This matter of Presidential succession, under which heading all are grouped, is a matter a good deal more inclusive than has ever been thought of heretofore. It is at least more inclusive than is usually implied in the term "Presidential succession."

It has seemed to Mr. Smith, who is cosponsor of this bill with myself, both at the last session and in this, that all these questions ought to be considered together. There are too many incidents which might occur, as shown by our history, that will imperil the succession, because of death. It is not only death while the President and Vice President are in office, as has been usually thought, but death which occurs at other times after the time of nomination. If, after a President has been nominated by a party, or a Vice President has been nominated, he dies, there is room for debate as to how that vacancy can be filled by an election. And even after election there is still uncertainty. Suppose after election and before inauguration the President or Vice President dies, how are those vacancies to be filled? Then after election and inauguration-that is where they usually take up the question-suppose the President or Vice President dies, how are those vacancies to be filled?

These questions are not easily solved. They have been with us ever since the time of George Washington in 1792. It was a matter of great debate and I am not going to trace the history of it which is

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probably well known to the members of this committee-but these questions have arisen from time to time, and it usually takes the death of a President to bring any action at all, or even any discussion.

Our present law which defines the succession in the case of the death of the President, was the result of some 4 years of discussion after the death of President Garfield, and there is a renewal of the discussion now since the death of President Roosevelt. It seems as though Heaven has guarded over this country pretty well, considering how many opportunities there were for crises to arise which haven't arisen, how many gaps in the law which ought to be filled, how many combinations of circumstances there are which might arise and which are not provided for in the law.

At the present time there are some 21 bills and resolutions, which have been introduced in the House and the Senate relating to the subJects covered by this resolution, and my primary point is this. They ought all to be considered together. You don't want a succession of constitutional amendments on different phases of this matter, and in my opinion, if I may express it, constitutional amendments will be

necessary.

There is confusion in the law as drafted, there is confusion in the Constitution itself as to what it means, and there is much at stake now. There always has been throughout our history but there is more now than ever before. This Nation is the greatest Nation in the world, and yet a combination of circumstances may arise under which we would have no head, no President, and we are just trusting to luck, and it is an awful gamble with fate. Now you may say that it is taken care of by the present succession that was adopted in 1886. However, at that time it might have been considered comprehensive as there was no likelihood of all the members of the Cabinet dying before the Government had been reorganized. But nowadays anything may happen, in the day of the atom bomb.

If an ordinary bomb should strike the White House at a time when the Cabinet was in session, they might all be wiped out. If no Cabinet meeting were being held, and all its members were in Washington, and if an atom bomb were dropped on Washington they might all be wiped out. That is just in the case of the President and Vice President, which is provided for under that succession bill, but there are all these other cases I speak of for which no provision at all is made.

Now there is doubt as to the meaning of the law. Concerning the Speaker of the House or the President of the Senate, who have been proposed in line of succession, all sorts of questions come up. In the case of the Speaker of the House, he may not be eligible to be President. There is a question as to whether he is an officer of the Nation or whether he is simply an officer of the House. The same thing arises in connection with the President of the Senate. Is he anything more than an officer of the Senate? Does he come within the Constitution whereby he is eligible for the Presidency? And if we conclude that he is, then the President of the Senate can be changed from time to time very easily. A man may be President of the Senate only for a few weeks when his successor is elected President of the Senate. It is a very uncertain line of succession, and produces all sorts of constitutional debates.

You may say that that might not be harmful, but it might be very harmful. The "lame duck" amendment to the Constitution

(3) The taking of the oath of office by an individual specified herein shall held to constitute his resignation from the office by virtue of the holding which he qualifies to serve as President.

(d) Subsection (a), (b), and (c) shall apply only to such officers as are gible to the office of President under the Constitution. Subsection (c) shall ply only to officers appointed, by and with the advice and consent of the nate, prior to the time of the death, resignation, removal from office, inability, failure to qualify, of the President pro tempore, and only to officers not der impeachment by the House of Representatives at the time the powers d duties of the office of President devolve upon them.

(e) During the period that any individual serves as President under this t, his compensation shall be at the rate then provided by law in the case the President.

(f) Sections 1 and 2 of the Act entitled "An Act to provide for the permance of the duties of the office of President in case of the removal, death, signation, or inability both of the President and Vice President," approved nuary 19, 1886 (24 Stat. 1; U. S. C., 1940 edition, title 3, secs. 21 and 22), are ealed.

The CHAIRMAN. The bill with which we are particularly concerned this time is Senate Concurrent Resolution 1, introduced by Senator reen. Senator, you may proceed and explain your bill to us. ATEMENT OF HON. THEODORE FRANCIS GREEN, UNITED STATES SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

Senator GREEN. This is Senate Concurrent Resolution 1. It is most identical with a similar Senate concurrent resolution, No. 50, hich was introduced a year ago last January. The one change, among e specific matters to which attention is drawn, I believe, is the addion of a provision regarding the limitation on the term of the resident.

All these specific items to which reference is made are included in he general terms of the investigation which is proposed, but it is hought well to mention those to which attention has been drawn in ne way or another from time to time.

This matter of Presidential succession, under which heading all are couped, is a matter a good deal more inclusive than has ever been ought of heretofore. It is at least more inclusive than is usually aplied in the term "Presidential succession."

It has seemed to Mr. Smith, who is cosponsor of this bill with yself, both at the last session and in this, that all these questions ight to be considered together. There are too many incidents which ight occur, as shown by our history, that will imperil the succession, ecause of death. It is not only death while the President and Vice resident are in office, as has been usually thought, but death which curs at other times after the time of nomination. If, after a Preslent has been nominated by a party, or a Vice President has been ominated, he dies, there is room for debate as to how that vacancy an be filled by an election. And even after election there is still ncertainty. Suppose after election and before inauguration the resident or Vice President dies, how are those vacancies to be filled? Then after election and inauguration-that is where they usually take p the question-suppose the President or Vice President dies, how re those vacancies to be filled?

These questions are not easily solved. They have been with us ever ince the time of George Washington in 1792. It was a matter of reat debate and I am not going to trace the history of it which is

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