April 13, 1965

AMENDMENT OF'FERED BY MR. MOORE

Mr. MOORE. Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.

The Clerk · read as follows:

Amendment to the committee amendment offered by Mr. MOORE:

Page 4, line 17 after the word "shall" insert the word "immediately" and place a period after the word "office".

Line 18 strike out the word "unless" and insert the words "In the event".

Line 24 change period to a comma so as to read "of his office, thereupon".

Page ~ 5 , line 6, strike out "continue to" a~d place a period after the word "President" on line 7.

Strike the remainder of lines 7 and 8 on page 5.

Mr. MOORE. Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consent to proceed for an additional 5 minutes.

The CHAIRMAN. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from West Virginia?

There was no objection.

Mr. MOORE. Mr. Chairman, I have asked for the additional time for the reason I believe this to be an extremely important amendment and there were not so many Members on the floor during discussion of this particular amendment during general debate.

The proposed constitutional amendment would in section 4, in my opinion, completely isolate a man who has been elected to the Office of President of the United States.

My amendment would provide simply that once the President of the United States has been removed from office by virtue of the written declaration of the Vice President and a majority of the principal officers in the executive department he cannot again get into the office to which he has been elected unless the Congress makes a decision that he is ca- · pable of reassuming his duties.

My amendment seeks to place in this proposed constitutional amendment language which simply says that when the President transmits--that is, the one who has been removed from office-to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House his written declaration that no inability exists, he shall immediately resume the powers and duties of his office. And I repeat the office to which he was elected by the people.

We have placed in section 4 of this proposed constitutional amendment the mechanism that the written declaration of a Vice President, which is concurred in by a majority of the principal officers of the executive departments shall be sufficient to remove the elected President of the United States from office on the alleged grounds that he is incapable. My amendment seeks to give him the opportunity by written declaration ~ to declare that he is capable of assuming the duties and responsibilities of his office. He then is again the President of the United States. My amendment preserves the right of the Vice President and the majority of the principal officers of the executive departments to challenge his declaration of ability. In other words, after the President has transmitted to the Congress--to the Speaker and the President pro tempore-that he is capable of assuming his duties, the Vice President can challenge that, but the individual who has been elected to the Office of President is in the Office of President.

I suggest that if we permit this particular constitutional amendment to remain as it is presently written, this is what will happen: The individual that has been elected President of the United States can lose the protection of that office.

I believe also that if a Presidential disability exists it should be immediately decided by the Congress of the United States. I can imagine that there could come a time when a man who has been declared incapable by virtue of the written declaration of the Vice President and the principal members of the executive department, will have no office from which to even plead his case that he is again capable of handling the duties of his elected office. It would not be an uncommon event to see a man who is President of the United States lobbying here in the Congress of the United States to get back the position to which the people elected him.

My amendment is very clear. It says if you have taken the job away from him by written declaration he shall have the right by written declaration to get it back, and then the Vice President could bring the issue to the Congress, if he feels the President is still incapable, by using the provisions that are within the framework of section 4 of this proposed constitutional amendment.

I happen to believe we should be very jealous of the Office of the President. I suggest the Acting President can bring about a complete . transition of government at a time when the President of the United States has been declared to be incapable. It is not difficult to imagine that the Acting President could change the complete complexion of the · executive branch and the President never could get his foot back into the office to which he was elected.

So I suggest that since we have taken this job away from him by virtue of this written declaration, I believe the President of the United States, once he feels he is capable of taking care of the duties of that office, should have the office by simply making a written declaration that he is capable of taking care of the duties of that office. It seems to me all presumptions should be in favor of the President of the United States, that all doubts about his capability to serve should be resolved by the Congress, with the elected President of the United States holding his office. I believe it is the duty of the Congress looking into the eyes of the man who has been elected as President of the United States, to declare that, for one reason or another, he is incapable of holding the office. In other words, I conceive that once the Vice President is made the Acting President, there is a possibility he could resort to many manipulations that would never permit the President of the United States, the one elected by the people of this country, to present his case to the Congress of the United States. So I want it built in-I want the provision for putting the President back in his job in the constitutional amendment. If we in the Congress want to throw him out or declare that he is incapable, then I think it is our responsibility to do it here in the Congress when the elected President and Vice President are in their respective positions in the executive branch of the Government, positions to which each was elected by the people

Mr. HOLIFIELD. Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. MOORE. I am happy to yield to the gentleman from California.

Mr. HOLIFIELD. The gentleman has stated that he could imagine certain conditions. Can the gentleman carry his imagination just a little further and imagine a President who had had a nervous breakdown and who had been declared under the provisions in section 4 mentally incapable of performing the duties of the office, writing a letter nevertheless saying, "I am well, I am cured, I am sane." And immediately under the gentleman's amendment, as I understand it, he would, regardless of his mental condition, resume his office immediately? Would you have his own unciontested opinion of his mental condition to be the only controlling factor as to his resuming the duties of President?

Mr. MOORE. I agree with the gentleman that this could happen. I do not see any · more danger, if I may respond to the gentleman, than that which we have at the present in case a President becomes incapable while in office. I have stretched my imagination-not to an extreme, because I do not think the gentleman's suggestion is extreme; it could very well happen. I just happen to think that this Congress can act expeditiously if that were the case. If the President under his signature says he is capable, at noon on a given day, the Vice President with a majority of the principal members of the executive branch of the Government can transmit that declaration to the respective bodies and that issue can be decided by the Congress of the United States immediately. I think the balance in such a situation-the presumption-should remain with the man who v. 1 as elected President of the United States. It could very well happen today that any man elected could at some future time be mentally incapable. Today we live with this prospect and realize the matter is locked. That is why we are here today. As presented, the language before us lets the Acting President become mentally incapable and no one can get him out of the office. An incapable Acting President is locked in the office. So I cannot see the great concern as expressed by the gentleman from California.

I do not think the gentleman's suggestion is at all an extreme suggestion. I think it could happen, but I do not find myself too frightened by the fact. What we do here, we could immediately put to the congressional test.

I respectfully say, Mr. Chairman, that to do otherwise is to invite the suggestion of perhaps--and I hesitate to use the word-a coup among individuals in the executive branch of the Government to remove a President of the United States. This could be a very indirect way to impeach a President of the United States if you did not want to try him here in the Congress of the United States. I say this again, if we in the Congress are going to have to say "No" to a man who has been elected as President of the United States, I think that we should do it when he occupies that office and does have some measure of protection in the event that there should be some unexplained reason for the suggestion of his incapacity. I urge the adoption of my amendment.

The CHAIRMAN. The time of the gentleman has expired.

Mr. CORMAN. Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to the amendment.

Mr. Chairman, first of all, let us clarify what the committee proposal does. We are . talking about the constitutional amendment which is proposed. The gentleman suggested that once the Vice President and a majority of the Cabinet removed a President from office that only the Congress could put him back into office. That is not correct. The President would be restored without congressional action, 2 days • after his own declaration of renewed ability, unless his declaration was challenged by the Vice President and Cabinet.

Beyond that the gentleman suggested that this might be a scheme for the Vice President to remove the President and then never bring this issue to the Congress. That is not correct. The President returns to power in 10 days, over the objection of the Vice President and Cabinet, unless the Congress by a two-thirds vote sustains the validity of their challenge.

Now the committee considered very carefully what we do in this very sensitive area when there is a dispute between the President, on one hand, and the Vice President and his Cabinet on the other, as to the inability of a President to perform his duties.

It seems to me what we are really asking ourselves is, which is more fragile-a single human being or our system itself?

We talk about coups or the possibility of a Vice President and a Cabinet seizing power. I would point out to you the Presidency itself is very much protected by the committee's proposed amendment.

First, when we get into a dispute between the President on the one hand and the Vice President and the Cabinet on the other, the Vice President will retain power for 2 days. If the dispute continues beyond 2 days, Congress must act within 10 days. Unless two-thirds of the Congress agrees with the Vice President, at that point the President himself will resume his authority. ·

What would be the condition if we adopted the gentleman's amendment? There is no question that one of the things we are concerned about is mental incapacity of a President. It is generally accepted that when a man is mentally incapable, he is the last one to realize it. I do not believe, under any stretch of the imagination, the Vice President and the Cabinet will use this mechanism capriciously. When they make the very hard decision that the President is, for mental reasons, no longer able to act, that very great power of the Presidency will pass.

if we are to provide that he can get the power back by the simple writing of a letter, and then to start the process over again to remove that power, it seems to me there is a real hazard for a long period of time. It may be a long period of time, when we consider the possibilities of rather substantial actions by the President without there being any check on those actions. In this instance it seems to me to be very hazardous.

Then we get to the next question. As­ words. suming he can come back by the simple writing of a letter, again the Vice President and the Cabinet may decide that he is not capable. Then we would have un­ vails. certainty.

One of the things the committee was most concerned about was that there never be any question at any moment about who the President is and whom we ought to obey within the realm of Presidential orders.

Mr. RODINO. Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. CORMAN. I yield to the gentleman from New Jersey.

Mr. RODINO. Is it not entirely possible, under the gentleman's proposed amendment, that a President who · had been declared unable to continue the duties of his office might then make such a declaration and assume the powers of the office and fire the heads of the departments; and, therefore, there would be no majority with which the issue might ever come to a test in the Congress of the United States?

Mr. CORMAN. Yes. It would seem to me that would be the result.

Mr. MOORE. Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. CORMAN. I yield to the gentleman from West Virginia.

Mr. MOORE. The gentleman used the term, I might suggest, that we are going to start this process over and over and over again.

The language of the proposed constitutional amendment is very clear in that respect. It would be necessary to make the determination under the language of the proposed constitutional amendment. I am just proposing to put in the hands of the elected President a means to get his job back during the period of the trial. There is no gap or abyss at all. This issue would be immediately resolved by the Congress of the United States.

Mr. CORMAN. I would ask the gentleman wha.t period of time would have to transpire before the Vice President might start over again?

Mr. MOORE. There is not a starting over again. That is where I would suggest the gentleman is misleading the committee.

Mr. CORMAN. A day later? A year later? At some time the Vice President and Cabinet could initiate a new challenge.

Mr. MOORE. No. If we adopt the proposed resolution as it is, without my amendment, and the President makes a written declaration that he is capable, the Vice President would have to come forward with another written declaration that he was incapable. That is in this resolution as it is before the House today.

All I say is that with the transition of power involved, it should be upon a written declaration of the President for a reinvestment of the office. The . Vice President would do exactly as he does in this proposal, if he says the President is incapable. The issue would be decided by the • Congress.

Mr. CELLER. Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to the amendment and move to strike the requisite number of We have a very anomalous situation here, or will have if the amendment of the gentleman from West Virginia preAfter the Congress by two-thirds vote-that is a sizeable majority voteplus a vote of the majority of the Cabinet, whose members know intimately well the President and know a good deal about his mental and physical condition, usually, and after a judgment that the President is still disabled, after that verdict of disability by that very high authority, the President would simply come in and make a simple declaration, "I am not disabled," an'd he would resume all the powers of his office and the duties of his office.

Now, I cannot conceive how we could put the imprimatur of our approval on that. The President may be as nutty as a fruitcake. He may be utterly insane. He may have had a paralytic stroke, · such as Wilson did, and the Congress would say by a two-thirds vote then, "You are not able," and the Cabinet would say by a majority vote, "You are not able." Yet the President in that condition, as was President Wilson, for example, could say, ““Yes, I am able." You may remember that President Wilson caused the resignation of his very able Secretary of State Lansing, not on good grounds but probably on coffee grounds. This same President could dismiss, insane as he is, every member of the Cabinet. If the gentleman's amendment would prevail, he could dismiss every member of the Cabinet. Over and beyond that we have a safety valve here also. We provide that the Congress can consult such other body as the Congress may by law provide. That might be a body of experts or men with expertise to determine whether or not the President is abled or disabled.

In addition thereto, the gentleman has indicated that there may be a coup d'etat by some usurping Vice President. I doubt whether in this day and age we could have any such thing as a; coup d'etat with our mass media of communication, with our public knowing instantly what happens inside and outside of Washington. There is not a secret here. As the woman said with reference to the situation in Washington, "I can keep a secret, but the people I tell it to cannot." That is the situation in Washington. There is nothing secret here and there would be no secrets. The public would know. However, even over and beyond that, if we would have some rogue, some devilish person, who would be there, then we have the power to take care of it. We have the power of impeachment. We can impeach for high crimes and misdemeanors, and these high crimes and misdemeanors can mean anything that this Congress wants it to mean. It is like Alice in Wonderland. When Alice asked the queen, "How can you make words mean so many different things?" the answer was "It all depends on who is in power." We are in power and we can make the words "high crimes and misdemeanors" mean anything we wish and apply it to some roguish, usurping Vice President.

I am not afraid of a coup d'etat in that regard, but I am fearful if we give the President the power of the sort envisioned in the amendment of the gentleman from West Virginia.

I hope that the amendment will be voted down.

Mr. MOORE. Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. CELLER. Now I yield to my distinguished colleague.

Mr. MOORE. May I ask my chairman, for whom I have great affection, if it is not possible under this proposed constitutional amendment for the Acting President to fire everybody in the executive branch of the Government that is friendly to the deposed President.

Mr. CELLER. Yes. That is possible, but the contrariwise is also possible.

Mr. FLYNT. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike out the requisite number of words. Mr. Chairman, I support the amendment offered by the gentleman from West Virginia and I do so because, among other reasons, I feel that it gives to the elected President of the United States the presumption, whereas the language of the committee amendment would give to the Vice President who may be serving as President during the disability of the President the presumption that he is better qualified to determine the disability or the ability of the President than the President himself.

The situation might not be cause for concern except for the possibility that under conditions where the President were still in life, the Vice President might successfully remove every member of the Cabinet who was not friendly to him. That, Mr. Chairman, would provide an open invitation to an ambitious, certainly to an overly ambitious Vice President, to strive for the coup d'etat to which the chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary referred just a few minutes ago. As between vesting the presumption of discretion and judgment in either the elected President or the elected Vice President it occurs to me, Mr. Chairman, that the presumption ought to be in favor of the President of the United States as long as he is in life.

I support the amendment.

Mr. McCLORY. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike out the requisite number of words.

Mr. Chairman, I think there is a great appeal which can be made for the amendment propsed by the gentleman vital. from West Virginia, but I think if we consider this subject logically we will see that it would be extremely unwise to adopt the amendment.

In the first place the opportunity is afforded already in section 3 for the President voluntarily to give up the office of the President and let the Vice President serve as Acting President and then for the President voluntarily to resume his duties. The situation which is involved here in section 4 is simply where the President is involuntarily removed. It seems to me that we want to sustain the continuity of the office of President and the stability of government which is going to follow once there is an involuntary removal of the President from office. And if that does occur then the Vice President will remain until the Congress acts contrariwise. That is exactly what the proposed amendment does now.

If we adopt this amendment we would have instability which would come with the presumption which follows the resumption in office of the the President without the Congress having acted. Since the Congress would be acting later, instability would follow from a temporary restoration of the President in office and his subsequent removal by action · of the Congress. ·

The CHAIRMAN. The question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from West Virginia.

The question was taken; and on a division . (demanded by Mr. MOORE) there were-ayes 58, noes 122.

So the amendement was rejected.

AMENDMENT OFFERED BY MR. GROSS

Mr. GROSS. Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.

The Clerk read as follows:

Amendment offered by Mr , GRoss to the committee amendment: On page 3, line 23, after the word "Congress" strike the period, · insert a comma, and add the following: "and the votes of both Houses shall be determined by the yeas and nays and the names of the persons voting for and against shall be entered on the Journal of each House respectively."

Mr. GROSS. Mr. Chairman, the adoption of my amendment would make section 2 read as follows:

Whenever there is a vacancy in the office of the Vice President, the President shall nominate a Vice President who shall take office upon confirmation by a majority vote of both Houses of Congress, and the votes of both Houses shall be determined by the yeas and nays and the names of the persons voting for and against shall be entered on the Journal of each House respectively. Mr. Chairman, I have taken the language which is added to the bill from page 37 of Jefferson's Manual and Rules of the House. It is the language which requires a rollcall vote upon bills or resolutions which may be vetoed by the President of the United States.

Mr. Chairman, it seems to me that if it is mandatory to have a rollcall vote upon a vetoed · bill, certainly there ought to be the requirement for a rollcall vote in Congress when it is called upon to confirm or reject a President's selection of a Vice President of the United States. I can think of scarcely nothing more

Mr. HALL. Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. GROSS. Yes, I yield to : the gentleman from Missouri.

Mr. HALL. Would the gentleman suggest the same wording after the two words "both Houses" in line 5 of page 5?

Mr. GROSS. Yes. The gentleman from . Iowa is prepared, if this amendment is adopted, to off er the same amendment to page 5, line 5.

Mr. HALL. I thank the gentleman. I believe his amendment is worthy of support.

Mr. CELLER. Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to the pending ame n dment. The gentleman seeks to do something rather extraordinary in a constitutional amendment, or a portion of a constitutional amendment. I suggest that the gentleman from Iowa seeks to amend the rules of the House. In any event, when a proposition is presented to this House or to the Senate the House or Senate can demand a record vote. That right is always present, the right to demand a record vote, and certainly there is no need to place such a provision in a constitutional amendment. There is no need to break down this amendment with details of that sort, particularly since the right already exists to demand a record vote.

Mr . RUMSFELD : Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of the pending amendment. ·

Mr. Chairman, the distinguished chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary has indicated this amendment is clutter and excess freight. However, I strongly disagree. The Constitution includes these same words where it says "in all such cases"-referring to a veto-­ "the vote of both Houses shall be determined by the yeas and nays," and so forth, as the amendment reads. The text of this amendment is already in the Constitution. I would suggest it is not clutter, and I would further suggest it is not clutter to demand that the public business be conducted publicly. The Committee on Government Operations' Subcommittee on Government Information has been meeting to consider legislation to require the executive branch of the Federal Government to make public more of the public business. How can the Congress justify conducting its business in private. Certainly, a vote on a matter as important as a Vice President or on this difficult question of presidential disability · should be by record vote in both Houses of the U.S. Congress.

I think we can all recall instances where important pieces of legislation, such as the railroad arbitration legislation have passed this body by something other than a record vote. I would strongly urge that the amendment offered by the gentleman from Iowa be agreed to, so that the people of this country have the opportunity to know definitely who voted yea on an issue as important to our nation as this.

The CHAIRMAN. The question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from Iowa [Mr. GRoss].

The question was taken; and on a division (demanded by Mr. GRoss) there were--ayes 92, noes 102.

Mr. GROSS. Mr. Chairman, I demand tellers.

Tellers were ordered, and the Chairman appointed as tellers Mr. GRoss and Mr. ROGERS of Colorado.

The Committee again divided, and the tellers reported that there were--ayes 115, noes 130.

So the amendment was rejected.

AMENDMENT OFFERED BY M.R. POFF

Mr. POFF. Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.

The Clerk read as follows:

Amendment offered by Mr. POFF to the committee amendment: On page 4, line 25, strike out the word "immediately" and after the word "assembling," insert the words "within forty-eight hours".

The CHAIRMAN. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Virginia [Mr. POFF].

Mr. CELLER. Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. POFF. I am glad to yield to the distinguished chairman of the committee, the gentleman from New York.

Mr. CELLER. I would accept that amendment. It is a very good amendment.

Mr. McCULLOCH. Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. POFF. I yield to the gentleman from Ohio.

Mr. McCULLOCH. Mr. Chairman, we are pleased to accept the amendment. It has been thoroughly discussed and it is agreeable to us.

Mr. POFF. Mr. Chairman, I have been asked to make a brief explanation of the amendment, after which I will yield to the distinguished minority leader.

Mr. Chairman, the amendment simply requires that the Congress as an automatic proposition will, if not in session, when it receives the Vice President's challenge of the President's declaration of restoration, assemble within a 48-hour period. ·

Now I would assume, and I will yield to the chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary in order to make legislative history on this point, that the Vice President who is then Acting President would as a matter of procedural necessity by proclamation, directive, or otherwise indicate a time certain and a place certain where and when the Congress would assemble. Is that the understanding of the gentleman from New York?

Mr. CELLER. That is exactly the understanding, that the Vice President would issue a proclamation and fix a time certain within 48 hours as to when the Congress must assemble.

Mr. POFF. May I ask the gentleman further, if for any reason the Vice President as Acting President should not do so, then the Speaker of the House would have the apparent power, as the Congress automatically assembled, to fix the time certain when the Congress would assemble?

Mr. CELLER. That is correct. In other words, if he does not summon the Congress, the Congress automatically gathers and assembles--and must assemble. But I take it in the ordinary course, the Speaker would issue a summons to the Members of the House to assemble and the President pro tempore would issue a summons to the Senators to assemble in the other body.

Mr. POFF. I thank the gentleman.

Mr. GERALD R. FORD. Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. POFF. I yield to the distinguished minority leader.

Mr. GERALD R. FORD. Mr. Chairman, during the history of our country, the Nation has been without a Vice President 16 times, totaling 37 years, creating a vacuum in the executive branch of Government in particularly important and crucial times.

The Constitutional Convention wisely looked into the future to see the need for a qualified Vice President in the event of the Chief Executive's death or inability. However, the precise method of activating the line of succession has been clouded with legal and political uncertainties, controversy, and debate.

This resolution being considered by the House will amend the Constitution · to clarify this vitally important issue, assuring a clear-cut method of action to result in proper succession.

A large number of bar associations in the country and some of the best legal minds in our Nation support this resolution, which is the result of long, indepth study by the Committee on the Judiciary. In the past, Attorneys General Herbert Brownell, William P. Rogers, and Nicholas, deB. Katzenbach agreed that an amendment is necessary. The tragic death of John Fitzgerald Kennedy and the physical health of former President Dwight D. Eisenhower in our most recent history brought quick and urgent congressional and public attention to the need for an amendment.

Presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Johnson made informal agreements with the Vice Presidents to fill the Chief Executive's position in event of inability. I stress that · these were informal agreements, without constitutional definition. The resolution before the House at this time, in my opinion, fulfills a vital need, especially at a vital and turbulent time in our Nation's history.

I support the resolution and urge my colleagues to do likewise in the national interest.

Mr. POFF. I thank the gentleman. I yield back the remainder of my time. Mr. McCORMACK. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word.

Mr. Chairman, I feel that I should make a few observations on this occasion because what we do here is not only a matter of importance but also could have a marked and tremendous effect in the future life of our Nation.

What we have said here today will . be referred to by some future House of Representatives, particularly if the situation under section 4 of the pending resolution should arise.

We all know that a constitutional amendment is a very important matter involving a very sensitive questionsensitive not only to draft, but sensitive to consider, and sensitive to picture or contemplate all the human considerations which might arise in the future.

I agree with the statement made in that respect by the distinguished minority leader.

I favor strongly this resolution. I favor section 2 because we must be practical. We must realize, whether we like to or not, that great changes are taking place, have taken place within the past 30 years, and changes of a greater nature are going to take place in the years which lie ahead.

I have lived for 14 months in the position of the man who, in the event of an unfortunate event happening to the occupant of the White House, under the law then would have assumed the Office of Chief Executive of our country. I can assure you, my friends and colleagues, that a matter of great concern to me was the vacuum which existed in the subject of determining inability of the occupant of the White House, if and when that should arise.

I have in my safe in my office a written agreement. As has been well said, it is outside the law. It 1s an agreement between individuals. But it was the only thing that could be done under the circumstances, when we do not have a disability law in relation to the President in existence.

We have made a marked contribution by this resolution, and particularly by section 3 and section 4.

Section 3 will enable the President of the United States or an acting President or one who is in the office of the Chief Executive, when he is ill without being totally incapaciated, to declare his inability for a limited period of time. For example, a man might have a heart attack. He is mentally equipped and there is no impairment of his mental facilities, but there is a marked impairment of his physical facilities. If he has the knowledge that he can declare himself to be disabled or unable to perform the duties of his office in a broad sense and if he has the knowledge that on a statement by himself or a declaration by himself he can resume the office, and the duties of the office, then this could play a very important part, in my opinion, in the future life of our country.

Section 4 is a matter of vital concern, as I see it. I will not say this is the only vacuum but a great vacuum which has existed since the institution of our Government is the fact that there has been nothing on the statute books or in the Constitutional law whereby there could be a legal determination made of the inability or the disability of the President of the United States and of the restoration of his ability. I can assure you, as the one who for 14 months was next in line for the Presidency, that I know I could never have made the decision. There are so many human considerations involved. For example, my motives might well be impugned. Also there could be the feeling that I might be involved in a quest for personal power. As a result of those considerations, and others, I would have great difficulty in making the decision myself, because I could appreciate the fact and picture the fact that the whole legitimacy of government, if I were in the White House, would be clouded and could be affected very seriously, Therefore, I am very happy with the provisions of this resolution and particularly, as I say, with section 4 thereof. We cannot legislate for every human consideration that might occur in the future. All we can do is the best that we can under the circumstances. The considerations of the committee and the deliberations of the members of both parties have resolved the problem confronting us in the best manner possible, having in mind the fact that with all our strengths we have weaknesses as human beings.

I am glad that the gentleman from Virginia [Mr. POFF] offered his amendment because I recognize that we could establish in our minds or we could create there hypothetical cases in the future which no resolution and no law could avoid and the resolution did contain a weakness in the language which states: "Thereupon Congress shall decide the issue, immediately assembling for that purpose if not in session." Now, first of all, I would assume that a Vice President, as Acting President, if the provisions of section 4 should develop and a Vice President who assumes the Presidency and the majority of the heads of the executive departments or the members of the Cabinet should disagree with the declaration or the proclamation of the President that his ability to function had been restored and thereby he could resume his office-I would assume in that case that the Acting President at that time would immediately call Congress into session within a reasonable period thereafter, by proclamation, as implied by this resolution, and as expressly provided for in other parts of the Constitution. But something might happen. The resolution provided and Congress intended that we should assemble immediately. But who is going to do the assembling? The Speaker will speak for the House of Representatives, whoever the Speaker may be at that time. The President pro tempore of the U.S. Senate will speak for that body.

One man may construe the word "immediately" differently from another. There may be a great deal of difficulty and confusion at that time. Who knows what human emotions might exist 10, 20, 30, or 40 years from now when some emotional situation has enveloped the people of our country?

I am anxious about this. In case there were no proclamation by the then Vice President as Acting President calling Congress into session, I was anxious that there be specific language in the resolution to bring Congress into session. The amendment of the gentleman from Virginia fills that vacuum and makes it specific; that is, that if a Vice President as Acting President does not by proclamation call Congress into session, Congress shall come into session automatically, without any call, not later than 48 hours. For whatever benefit my opinion may be at some future time to some future Speaker, if this situation should arise, may I say for the record that if this were part of the Constitution today, and this situation arose, and if the Congress were faced with a situation today where a Vice President as Acting President had disagreed with the President on the question of his ability to assume office, and the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House had been notified, as provided by this resolution, and the 48-hour time limit in the amendment of the gentleman from Virginia were a part of the Constitution, if I were Speaker I would then consider calling the House into session within the 48-hour limit, but in any event, if the Speaker or President pro tempore failed to act Congress would have to come into session within 48 hours. If that did not happen the very purpose of this amendment to the Constitution, if adopted, could be defeated.

I wanted to make these few remarks to compliment the Members of the House who have participated in this debate which has been consistently on the highest possible level, in the consideration of any legislation, particularly that having to do with the Constitution. This debate will be of invaluable assistance some day in the future. The debate has occurred today but it will live for the future. If such a situation arises and this becomes part of the Constitution, Members of Congress at that time and others will look back to this debate, and they will see a high level debate to show what the intent of Congress was and certainly what the intent was of the House of Representatives in consideration of this resolution.

So I congratulate the committee and the House of Representatives. As Speaker I am proud of the debate that took place today.

The CHAIRMAN. The question is on the amencment offered by the gentleman from Virginia [Mr. PoFFl.

The amendment was agreed to.

The CHAIT..MAN. The question is on the committee amendment as amended. The committee amendment, as amended, was agreed to.

The CHAIRMAN.

Committee rises.

Accordingly, the Committee rose; and the Speaker having resumed the chair, Mr. FASCELL, Chairman of the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, reported that that Committee having had under consideration House Joint Resolution 1 proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States relating to succession to the Presi- · dency and Vice Presidency and to cases where the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, pursuant to House Resolution 314, he reported the joint resolution back to the House with an amendment adopted by the Committee of the Whole.

The SPEAKER. Under the rule, the previous question is ordered.

The question is on the amendment.

The amendment was agreed to.

The SPEAKER. The question is on Cra.Iey the engrossment and third reading of the joint resolution. ·

The joint resolution was ordered to Curtin be engrossed and read a third time, and was read the third time.

Mr. MATHIAS. Mr. Speaker, I offer a motion to recommit. ·

The SPEAKER. Is the gentleman opposed to the joint resolution?

Mr. MATHIAS. I am, Mr. Speaker.

The SPEAKER. The gentleman qualifies. The Clerk will report the motion to recommit.

The Clerk read as follows:

Mr. MATHIAS moves to recommit House Donohue Joint Resolution 1 to the Committee on the Judiciary.

The SPEAKER. Without objection, the previous question is ordered.

There was no objection.

The SPEAKER. The question is on the motion to recommit.

The motion to recommit was rejected.

The SPEAKER. The question is on the passage of the joint resolution.

Mr. ASHBROOK. Mr. Speaker, on Everett that I demand the yeas and nays.

The yeas and nays were ordered.

The question was taken; and there were--yeas 368, nays 29, not voting 36, as follows:

[Roll No. 74]

YEAS-368

Abbitt Anderson, m. Arends Abernethy Anderson, Ashbrook Adair Tenn. Ashley Ada.ms Andrews, Ashmore Adda.bbo . Glenn Aspinall Albert Annunzio Ayres

Ba.ndstra Fuqua. Mink Barrett Garmatz Minshall Bates Gathings Mize Battin Gettys Moeller Beckworth Giaimo Monagan Bell Gibbons Moore Bennett Gilbert Moorhead Berry Gilligan Morgan Betts Goodell Morris Bingham Grabowski Morrison Blatnik Gray Morse Boggs Green, Oreg. Morton Boland Green, Pa.. Mosher Bolton Greigg Moss Bow Grider Multer Bra.dema.s Griffin Murphy, nl. Bray Grtfflths Murphy, N.Y. Brock Grover Murray Brooks Gurney Natcher Broomfield Hagan, Ga. Nedzi Brown, Ca.Ii!. Ha.gen, Ca.Ii!. O'Brien Broyhlll, N.C. Haley O'Hara., m. Broyhill, Va. Hall O'Hara, Mich. Burke Halleck O'Konski Burleson Halpern Olsen, Mont. Under the rule, the Burton, Ca.Ii!. Hamilton Olson, Minn. Burton, Utah Hanley O'Ne111, Mass. Byrne, Pa.. Hanna. Ottinger Byrnes, Wis. Hansen, Ida.ho Patten Cabell Hansen, Iowa. Pelly Ca.hill Hansen, Wash. Pepper Callan Hardy Perkins Cameron Harris Philbin Carter Harsha Pickle Casey Harvey, Mich. Pike Cederberg Hathaway Poage Cell er Hawkins Poff Chamberlain Hechler Pool Chelf Helstoski Powell Clancy Herlong Price Clark Hicks Pucinski Clausen, Holifield Quie

Don H. Holland Quillen Clawson, Del Horton Race Cleveland Hosmer Randall Clevenger Howard Redlin Cohela.n Hungate Reid, m. Collier Huot Reid, N .Y. Conable Irwin Reifel Conte Jacobs Reinecke Conyers Jarman Resnick Cooley Johnson, Calif. Reuss Corbett Johnson, Okla.. Rhodes, Ariz. Corman Johnson, Pa.. Rhodes, Pa. Jonas Rivers, Ala.ska. Cramer Jones, Mo. Rivers, S.C. Culver Karsten Roberts Cunningham Karth Robison

Ka.stenmeier Rodino

Curtis Kee Rogers, Colo. Daddario Keith Rogers, Fla. Dague Kelly Ronan Daniels Keogh Ronca.llo Davis, Ga.. King, Call!. Rooney, N.Y. Davis, Wis. King, N.Y. Rooney, Pa. de la. Garza. King, Utah Rosenthal Delaney Kornegay Roudebush Denton Krebs Roush Derwinski Kunkel Roybal Devine Laird Rums!eld Dickinson Landrum Ryan Diggs Langen Satterfield Dingell Latta St Germain Dole Leggett St. Onge

Lennon Saylor

Dow Lindsay Scheuer Dowdy Lipscomb Schisler Downing Long, La.. Schmldha.user Dulski Long, Md. Schneebeli Duncan, Oreg. Love Schweiker Duncan, Tenn. McCarthy Secrest Dwyer McClory Selden Dya.l McCulloch Senner Edmondson McDa.de Shriver Edwards, Ala. McDowell Sickles Edwards, Calif. McEwen Sikes Ellsworth McFall Sisk Erlenborn McGrath Skubitz Evans, Colo. McVicker Slack Macdonald Smith, Ca.lit. Fallon MacGregor Smith, Iowa Farbstein Machen Smith, N.Y. Farnsley Mackay SpringeT Fa.seen Mackie Stafford Feighan Madden Staggers Findley Ma.hon Stanton Fisher Maill1ard Steed Flood Marsh Stephens Fogarty Martin, Nebr. Stratton Foley Matsunaga. Stubblefield Ford, Gerald R. Matthews Sullivan Ford, May Sweeney

William D. Meeds Talcott Frelinghuysen Mlller Taylor Friedel Mllls Teague, Ca.lit. Fulton, Pa.. Minish Tenzer

Thomas- Utt Willis Thompson, La. Van Deerlin Wilson, Bob Thompson, N.J. Vanik Wilson, Thompson, Tex. Vigorito Charles H. " Thomson, Wis . Vivian Wolff Todd Waggonner Wright Trimble Walker, N. Mex. Wyatt Tuck Watkins Wydler Tunney Watts Young Tupper Whalley Younger Tuten White, Idaho Zablocki Udall Whitener Ullman Widnall

NAYS-29

Andrews, Gallagher Mathias

GeorgeW. Gonzalez O'Neal, Ga. Ba.ring Gross Passman Brown, Ohio Hays Patman Buchanan Henderson Rogers, Tex. Callaway Hull Teague, Tex. Dent Hutchinson Walker, Miss . Dorn !chord White, Tex. Flynt McMillan Whitten Fountain Martin, Ala. Williams

NOT VOTING-36

Andrews, Fulton, Tenn. Pirnie

N . Dak. Gubser Purcell Baldwin Harvey, Ind. Roosevelt Belcher Hebert Rostenkowski Bolling Jennings Scott Bonner Joelson Shipley Carey Jones, Ala. Smith, Va. Colmer Kirwan Stalba.um Dawson Kluczynski Toll Evins, Tenn. Martin, Mass. Weltner Farnum Michel Yates Fino Nelsen Fraser Nix

So (two-thirds having voted in favor thereof) the joint resolution was passed. The Clerk announced the following pairs:

On this vote:

Mr. Hebert with Mr. Michel.

Mr. Carey with Mr. Belcher. Mr. Nix with Mr. Gubser. Mr. Smith of Virginia with Mr. Martin of Massachusetts. Mr. Toll with Mr. Andrews of North Dakota. Mr. Roosevelt with Mr. Pirnie. Mr. Rostenkowski with Mr. Nelsen. Mr. Jennings with Mr. Harvey of Indiana. Mr. Kirwan with Mr. Fino. Mr. Joelson with Mr. Shipley. Mr. Yates with Mr. Colmer. Mr. Fulton of Tennessee with Mr. Weltner. Mr. Scott with Mr. Stalbaum.

Mr. Frazer with Mr. Dawson.

Mr. Purcell with Mr. Bonner.

The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.

Mr. CELLER. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 314, I call up from the Speaker's table for immediate consideration Senate Joint Resolution 1.

The Clerk read the title of the Senate joint resolution.

The Clerk read the Senate joint resolution, as follows:

S.J. RES. 1

Joint resolution proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States relating to succession to the Presidency and Vice-Presidency and to cases where the President ls unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office

Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled · (two-thirds of each House concurring therein), That the following article is proposed as an amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which tion. shall be valid to all intents and purposes as part of the Constitution when ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States within seven years from the da.te of its submission by the Congress:

"ARTICLE-

“SECTION 1. In case of the removal of the President from office or of his death or resignation, the Vice President shall become President.

"SEC. 2. Whenever there is a vacancy in the office of the Vice President, the President shall nominate a Vice President who shall take office upon confirmation by a majority vote of both Houses of Congress.

"SEC. 3. Whenever the President transmits to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration that he is unable to discharge the powers a.nd duties of his office, such powers and duties shall be discharged by the Vice President as Acting President.

"SEC. 4. Whenever the Vice President, and a majority of the principal officers of the executive departments or such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President ls unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President.

"SEC. 5. Whenever the President transmits to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration that no inability exists, he shall resume the powers and duties of his office unless the Vice President, and a majority of the principal officers of the executive departments or such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit within seven days to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office. Thereupon Congress shall immediately proceed to decide the issue. If the Congress determines by two-thirds vote of both Houses that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of the office, the Vice President shall continue to discharge the same as Acting President; otherwise the President shall resume the powers and duties of his office."

Mr. CELLER. Mr. Speaker, I offer an amendment to strike out all after the resolVing clause and insert in lieu thereof the provisions of House Joint Resolution l, proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States relating to succession of the Presidency and Vice Presidency and to cases where the President is unable to discharge the Powers and duties of his office, as passed.

The SPEAKER. The Clerk will report the amendment.

The Clerk read as follows:

Amendment offered by Mr. CELLER: "Strike out all after the resolving clause of Senate Joint Resolution 1 and insert the provisions of House Joint Resolution 1, as passed by the House."

The SPEAKER. The question is on the amendment.

The amendment was agreed to.

The SPEAKER. The question is on the third reading of the Senate joint resolution. ·

The Senate joint resolution was ordered to be read a third time, and was read the third time.

The SPEAKER. The question is on the passage of the Senate joint resolution. question was taken; and (twothirds having voted in favor thereof) the Senate Joint Resolution was passed.

A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

A similar joint resolution (H.J. Res. 1) was laid on the table.