CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT FOR CONTINUITY OF REPRESENTATIVE GOVERNMENT DURING EMER GENCY WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 23, 1961 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:06 a.m., in room 346, Old House Office Building, Washington, D.C., Hon. Thomas J. Lane presiding. Present: Messrs. Lane, Ashmore, Libonati, Peterson, MacGregor, and Shriver. Also present: William P. Shattuck and Alexander E. Finger. Mr. LANE. Now, if the committee will kindly come to order, at this time the Subcommittee No. 2 of the House Committee on the Judiciary has before it for consideration this morning four bills; namely, House Joint Resolution 29, filed by Mr. Byrnes of Wisconsin, to amend the Constitution to enable the Congress to function effectively in time of emergency or disaster; House Joint Resolution 74, filed by Mr. Thompson of Louisiana, proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to enable the Congress, in aid of the common defense, to function effectively in time of emergency or disaster; House Joint Resolution 91, the third one, filed by the chairman of this Judiciary Committee, the Honorable Emanuel Celler, who will be the first witness here this morning, to amend the Constitution to authorize Governors to fill temporary vacancies in the House of Representatives; and the fourth and last is House Joint Resolution 508, filed by Mr. Chamberlain of Michigan, to amend the Constitution and to enable the Congress to function effectively in time of emergency or disaster. (H.J. Res. 29, H.J. Res. 74, H.J. Res. 91, and H.J. Res. 508 follow :) [H.J. Res. 29, 87th Cong., 1st sess.] JOINT RESOLUTION To amend the Constitution to enable the Congress to function effectively in time of emergency or disaster 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 1 the United States, and shall be valid to all intents and purposes as part of the Constitution if ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States within seven years from the date of its submission by the Congress : "ARTICLE "Whenever, during any national emergency or national disaster, the total number of vacancies in the House of Representatives shall exceed one hundred and forty-five, the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall so certify to the President. In case there is no Speaker, or in the event of the inability of the Speaker to discharge the powers and duties of his office, such certification shall be made by the Clerk of the House of Representatives, or, if there is no Clerk or he is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, by such person as may be chosen by majority vote of the remaining Members of the House present and voting. Upon receipt of such certificate, the President shall issue a proclamation declaring the facts recited in such certificate. When such proclamation has been issued, the executive authority of each State shall have power to make temporary appointments to fill any vacancies in the representation from his State in the House of Representatives which may exist at any time within ninety days after the issuance of such proclamation. Any person temporarily appointed to fill any such vacancy shall serve until the people fill the vacancy by election as provided for by article I, section 2, of the Constitution." [H.J. Res. 74, 87th Cong., 1st sess.] JOINT RESOLUTION Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to enable the Congress, in aid of the common defense, to function effectively in time of emergency or disaster 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 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: "ARTICLE "SECTION 1. Whenever, by reason of the occurrence of acts of violence during any national emergency or national disaster, the total number of vacancies in the House of Representatives shall exceed one hundred forty-five, the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall so certify to the President. In case there is no Speaker, or in the event of the inability of the Speaker to discharge the powers and duties of his office, such certification shall be made by the Clerk of the House of Representatives, or, if there is no Clerk or he is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, by such person as may be chosen by majority vote of the remaining Members of the House present and voting. Upon receipt of such certificate, the President shall issue a proclamation declaring the facts recited in such certificate. When such proclamation has been issued, the executive authority in each State shall have power to make temporary appointments to fill each vacancy, including those happening during such period, in the representation from his State in the House of Representatives by appointment of the individual named to him by the central committee of the political party to which the deceased Member belonged and who is other wise properly qualified. "SEC. 2. Any person appointed under authority of this article to fill any vacancy shall serve until the people fill the vacancy by election as provided for by article I, section 2, of the Constitution. "SEC. 3. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States, as provided in the Constitution, within seven years from the date of the submission hereof to the States by the Congress." [H.J. Res. 91, 87th Cong., 1st sess.] JOINT RESOLUTION To amend the Constitution to authorize Governors to fill temporary vacancies in the House of Representatives 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, and shall be valid to all intents and purposes as part of the Constitution if ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several Sates within seven years from the date of its submission by the Congress : "ARTICLE "On any date that the total number of vacancies in the House of Representatives exceeds half of the authorized membership thereof, and for a period of sixty days thereafter, the executive authority of each State shall have power to make temporary appointments to fill any vacancies, including those happening during such period, in the representation from his State in the House of Representatives. Any person temporarily appointed to fill any such vacancy shall serve until the people fill the vacancy by election as provided for by article I, section 2, of the Constitution." [H.J. Res. 508, 87th Cong., 1st sess.] JOINT RESOLUTION To amend the Constitution to enable the Congress to function effectively in time of emergency or disaster 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, and shall be valid to all intents and purposes as part of the Constitution if ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States within seven years from the date of its submission by the Congress : "ARTICLE "Whenever, during any national emergency or national disaster, the total number of vacancies in the House of Representatives shall exceed one hundred and forty-five, the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall so certify to the President. In case there is no Speaker, or in the event of the inability of the Speaker to discharge the powers and duties of his office, such certification shall be made by the Clerk of the House of Representatives, or, if there is no Clerk or he is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, by such person as may be chosen by majority vote of the remaining Members of the House present and voting. Upon receipt of such certificate, the President shall issue a proclamation declaring the facts recited in such certificate. When such proclamation has been issued, the executive authority of each State shall have power to make temporary appointments to fill any vacancies in the representation from his State in the House of Representatives which may exist at any time within ninety days after the issuance of such proclamation. Any person temporarily appointed to fill any such vacancy shall serve until the people fill the vacancy by election as provided for by article I, section 2, of the Constitution." Mr. LANE. Your committee is most fortunate to have as its first witness at this hearing this morning the chairman of the House Committee on the Judiciary, one of the deans of the House, a man who has served ably and well and honorably for many, many years in the Congress of the United States and one whom we on this committee I know feel is one of the greatest of Congressmen who have ever served on Capitol Hill. So as the first witness, we have the author of one of the bills, House Joint Resolution 91, and the chairman of this important Judiciary Committee, Congressman Emanuel Celler, whom we are most pleased and happy to have here as our first witness this morning knowing he has to appear before the Committee on Rules and other committees here this morning before the House goes in session at 12 o'clock. You may proceed, Mr. Celler, please. STATEMENT OF HON. EMANUEL CELLER, CHAIRMAN, COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY Mr. CELLER. Mr. Chairman, members of this very distinguished subcommittee, I appear in support of a constitutional amendment which I offered, House Joint Resolution 91, and also in support of kindred resolutions which are before you. The purpose of the proposed legislation is to amend the Constitution to enable the Congress to function effectively in time of emergency or disaster. It authorizes the executive authority of each State-namely, the Governor-to make temporary appointments to fill vacancies in the representation in the House of Representatives whenever such vacancies exceed one-half of the authorized membership of that body. This amendment is not born of hysteria, but represents a readiness to continue the orderly processes of government in any and all events. Adoption of this resolution would be a demonstration particularly to the enemies of freedom, that we mean to carry on our democratic form of government come what may. Now, the present inability in time of disaster to provide continuity of representation offers great difficulty in extraordinary times. In periods of national emergency or disaster, this inability could well paralyze the functioning of representative government. As the Administrator of Civil Defense stated previously in support of this measure: It would be difficult to overestimate the importance of Congress continuing to function in time of national emergency. The functions of the Congress become ever more important under such circumstances. The ability of the Congress to act swiftly is essential to the successful defense of the Nation. If we are to take a military budget-for example, $46 billionseriously, if we are to take the added appropriations for civil defense seriously, then most assuredly this resolution must be treated with identical interest and concern. I think it is time we face the fact that the District of Columbia is a prime target in the event of war. Should disaster strike, we must be prepared to continue representative government throughout atomic destruction. In the executive branch of the Government, we have provided for succession. The judiciary could easily be reconstituted by Executive action. Even vacancies in the Senate could be filled by appointments of the Governors of the respective States. The House of Representatives, however, can only have its vacancies filled by special elections, which elections would mean a delay even at a minimum of at least 60 days. But should destruction be widespread, then most certainly twice and thrice the number of days would not be enough for the conduct of elections. And the Congress of the United States, a symbol of the representative form of government, must be permitted to act and must not die for lack of foresight. Suppose there were not total destruction and only a minority of Members were left in the House; with the absence of a majority, the operations of the House of Representatives would be paralyzed. Certainly in a catastrophe of that extent, the Executive could act, but is this the best way of assuring the continuance of representative government in this continent? The Department of Justice has indicated it is in support of this proposal because it becomes clearer and clearer as tension piles upon tension that to ignore this proposal is to tempt the fates. We cannot afford to be guilty of wishful thinking that such a catastrophe could not occur. If we are not lax with the military budget, if we are not lax with civil defense, then why should we be lax with the future of representative government? I ask you, gentlemen, to consider this most seriously and urge upon you that you report the resolution favorably and with dispatch. Mr. LANE. Mr. Chairman. Mr. CELLER. Thank you very much. Mr. LANE. I would like to ask just a few questions if I may before you leave. Mr. Celler, if an amendment of this type is passed by the Congress and ratified by the States, how can we be sure there will be an executive authority of the States left after the attack to make such temporary appointments? Mr. CELLER. Do I understand if there is an attack on the District of Columbia and there is a catastrophe that wipes out a certain number of members, how can we be sure there will be executives of the States who could act? Mr. LANE. Yes. Mr. CELLER. Most States provide for succession in their executive branches. Mr. LANE. How is it possible to determine what the exact percentage of vacancies should be before this temporary appointive power is vested? Mr. CELLER. I did not hear that first part. Mr. LIBONATI. Do you not think, Mr. Chairman, the term "vacancies" should be defined? Mr. LANE. Yes. We will get to that in a minute, too. Mr. LIBONATI. Yes. Mr. LANE. How is it possible, Mr. Celler, to determine what is the exact percentage of the vacancies that should be before the temporary appointive power is vested in the various executives? Mr. CELLER. Under my bill, it is one-half of the membership of the House would be put out of existence. There are other bills which provide for one-third. I am not going to quarrel with the number. Mr. LANE. Well, would it not be possible that if there were sufficient number of Members of the House of Representatives left, that they could function even in the event of an attack without Mr. CELLER. They could not function if there is no majority. Anybody could raise a question and there would be no work to be done if 75586 0-61-2 |