March 12, 1947

The Senate resumed the consideration of the joint resolution (H. J. Res. 27) proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United S t ates relating to the terms of office of the President.

The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The pending question is on agreeing to the following amendment · proposed by the Senator from Washington [Mr. MAGNUSON] to the committee amendment beginning on page 1, line 10, namely:

In lieu of the language proposed to be inserted by the committee · in lines 4 to 12 on page 2', insert the words: ·

No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice.

Mr. TAFT. Mr. President, I send to the desk a proposed substitute for the second committee amendment, which is the pending question, and ask tha:t it be received and lie on the table.

The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The amendment in the nature of a substitute will be received and printed, and will lie on the table.

Mr. WILEY. Mr. President, I wish to announce to my associates in the Senate that, following the suggestions made the other day, conferences have been proceeding and I understand that more or less of an agreed basis has been arrived at among Senators who the other day did not agree. The Senator from Ohio [Mr. TAFT], the Senator from Maryland [Mr. TYDINGS], and other Senators have been doing yeoman work in this respect. I understand the more or less agreed basis is set forth in the amendment just submitted by the Senator from Ohio, which reads a s follows:

No person shall be elected to the office of the - President more than twice, and no person who has held the office of President, or acted as President, for more than 2 years of a term to which some other person was elected President shall be elected to the office of the President more than once. But this article shall not apply to any person now holding the office of President, and shall not prevent any person who may be holding the office of President, or acting as President , during the term within which this article becomes operative from holding the office of President or acting as President during the remainder of such term.

Mr. President, what this language does is to adopt substantially the suggestion made by the Sena t or from Maryland [Mr. TYDINGS] on the floor the other day. The committee amendment provided in substance that one who had held the Presidential office less than a year could be elected to two terms, and if he had held the office more than 1 year he could be elected to " only one term. The suggested amendment, as I understand it, proposes that if the person occupying the office had not held it for more than 2 years of the term of his predecessor he would be eligible to two elective ·terms, and thus in effect could remain in the office for practically 10 years. If, however, the individual succeeding to the Presidency should hold the office for more than 2 years of the Presidential term he would be limited to the portion of the term thus served and one elective term.

The suggested amendment, as I understand, is not to apply to President Truman, who now holds the office as former Vice President. ·

I should like; if . possible, to facilitate action on this measure. I think the country is entitled to have an opportunity to vote on this question, which for a century and a . half in greater or less degree has been agitating the electorate. I make this explanation at this time because the pending amendment is the Magnuson amendment, and I think it should be voted down so that we may have an opportunity to vote on the suggested amendment.

Mr. ELLENDER. Mr. President, will the Senator yield?

Mr. WILEY. I yield .

Mr. ELLENDER. As I understand, the only difference between the suggested amendment and the committee amendment is that the minimum length of time a President might serve would be 6 years instead of 5 years. In other words, the proposed amendment simply adds 1 year.

Mr. WILEY. No. If he went into office shortly after the death of the President he could serve 7.9 years.

Mr. TAFT. Mr. President, will the Senator yield?

Mr. WILEY. I yield.

Mr. TAFT. Under the proposed amendment a man could always serve as much as 6 years, and he might serve for as much as 10 years. That is the proposal.

Mr. ELLENDER. , But under the terms of the committee amendment he could serve a minimum of 5 years and a maximum of 8 years and a fraction of a year.

Mr. TAFT. That is correct.

Mr. ELLENDER. Therefore, what is proposed is to increase the time by 1 year over the provision contained in the committee amendment.

Mr. TAFT. There is a difference of 1 year.

On the other hand, the proposed amendment of the Senator from Washington might permit a man to serve 12 years if the President should die between the date of the election and the date of his inauguration. I thought that was too much.

The other provision in the suggested amendment is as follows:

But this article shall not apply to any person holding the office of President when this article was proposed by the Congress, and shall not prevent any person who may be holding the office of President, or acting as President, during the time within which this article becomes operative, from holding the office of President or acting as President during the remainder of such term.

Thus it would except President Truman, in order that there may be no in personam legislation under the circumstances.

, I believe that the language of the suggested amendment is somewhat clearer than the language of the committee amendment. The suggested amendment reads in part as follows:

No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice, and no person who has held the office of President or acted as President for more than 2 years of a term to which some other person was elected President, shall be elected to the office of the President more than once.

It seems to me that that is a somewhat clearer statement than the language cf the committee amendment. So I hope the Senate may be willing to vote down the amendment of the Senator from Washington, if he wishes to press it. If it is voted down, I shall offer this proposed substitute for the second committee amendment. I understand that it is agreeable to the chairman of the committee.

Mr. MAGNUSON obtained the floor.

Mr. HOLLAND. Mr. President, will the Senator yield?

Mr. MAGNUSON. I yield.

Mr. HOLLAND. I know that some Senators on bOth sides of the Chamber are rather inclined to believe that we should attemept to enact into constitutional law the Washington tradition, and that to that end the amendment should apply to prevent a man being elected President for more than two successive terms. I wonder if the Senator from Washington would agree to modify his amendment, or to reframe it, so as to have it provide, in effect, that-

No person shall be eligible to be elected to the office of President for more than two successive terms.

Mr. MAGNUSON. Mr. President, I may say that I have discussed this ques-: tion with the Senator from Florida and other Senators on this side of the aisle. I am perfectly willing to accept that language. I think it perfects the amendment and makes the issue much clearer.

The PRESIDENT pro tempore. Is the Chair to understand that the Senator perfects his amendment as indicated?

Mr. MAGNUSON. Yes.

The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The amendment is so perfected.

Mr. MAGNUSON. Mr. President, at the close of the last session the Senator from Ohio [Mr. TAFT] suggested that we might be able to arrive at some compromise on this. question. This morning the Senator from Ohio submitted to me a proposed amendment which he wishes to offer as a substitute for my amendment. I have read it very carefully and discussed it with other members on this side of the aisle. I should like ve r y much to accept it. However, in my opinion, it does not reach the evil which the proponents of' the amendment say they wish to eliminate. When we deal in that manner with a Vice President or other person who succeeeds -to the Presidency we penalize a man for holding an office which he assumes because of conditions beyond his control. If there is an evil in connection with Presidential successsian, it is the evil of a man deliberately using his office to be reelected by the people for many successive terms. Personally, I think the people should have the right to pass upon that question. But if there is an existing evil, the Taft substitute would penalize a man who happened to be Vice President, Secretary of State, or the holder of any other office in the line of succession, and prevent him from running twice for the Presidency if something should happen which would cause him to assume the duties of President during the course of a Presidential term. I feel that the least we can do is to permit the people to vote for him once and say, "This man is to be our President," and if he does a good job, permit the people to endorse him again. That is the only alleged evil against which the proponents of the measure - are striking. I should like to accept the substitute of the Senator from Ohio; but in view of the perfecting language suggested by the Senator from Florida [Mr. HoLLAND J, I should like to have a vote on mY amendment as modified.

The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The question is on agreeing to the amendment offered by the Senator from Washington, as modified.

Mr. REVERCOMB. · Mr. President, will the Senator yield?

Mr. MAGNUSON. I yield.

Mr. REVERCOMB. In effect, the amendment originally offered by the Senator from Washington provided that a person might serve at least 8 years in the Presidency, but under the amendment, before it was perfected, it was possible for him to serve as much as 12 years less 1 day. The Senator has modified his amendment so that, in · effect, not only could a person serve in the · Presidency for 12 years minus 1 day, but after the interim of another term he could come back and serve for another 12 years.

Mr. MAGNUSON. That is correct.

Mr. REVERCOMB. It seems to me that the amendment offered by the able Senator does not serve the purpose of any amendment whatever on this subject. The purpose is not to bar a person from holding office. It seems to me that the principal purpose is to preserve government and protect it against extended tenure of office.

Mr. MAGNUSON. The modification suggested by the Senator from Florida merely breaks the line of succession. It has been suggested on this side of the aisle that there are many young men in politics. I do not know whether the wish is father to the thought; but a very young man might be elected to the Presidency. He might be elected twice; and later, after an interim of 8 or 12 years, or even a greater period of time, the people might want him again. The reason I accepted the amendment was that so many Senators had expressed the same idea.

Mr. REVERCOMB. It seems to me that the Senator's argument is based upon the very evil which the amendment originally proposed was intended to cure. . A man might serve for 12 years, and after an interruption of 4 years might serve for another 12 years.

Mr. MAGNUSON. I would call it an alleged - evil.

The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The question is on agreeing to the amendment offered by the Senator from Washington [Mr. MAGNUSON], as modified.

Mr. HOLLAND. Mr. President, it seems to me that the amendment offered by the Senator from Washington is greatly preferable to that suggested by the distinguished Senator from Ohio, in two particulars.

First, under the amendment to which I refer as the Taft amendment, it seems ~ to me that persons who have acquired experience in serving as President, but who came into office through misfortune or misadventure, having served as Vice President and having succeeded in the case of the death of the President, would be unduly penalized.

I invite attention to the fact that under the so-called Taft amendment, if it had been in effect in 1912 when former President Theodore Roosevelt ran for another term, he would have been ineligible to offer himself a · s a candidate for the Pres _ i­ dency. He had served, including the time he had served in the McKinley term and the time he had served in the term for which he himself was elected, more than 6 years. He would have been in­ . eligible to have been considered a candidate for election again to the Presiden~y.