To amend title 3, United States Code, to revise the procedures for Presidential succession in the case of the death, resignation, removal from office, inability, or failure to qualify of the President, and for other purposes.

Summary: Presidential Succession Act of 2004 - Rewrites provisions concerning presidential succession. Modifies the presidential succession list to include: (1) following the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, the Secretary of Homeland Security on the list; and (2) specified U.S. Ambassadors at the end of such list.

Requires the President-elect, prior to taking office, to file with the Clerk of the House of Representatives and the Secretary of the Senate a notice designating whether the Speaker or the minority leader of the House of Representatives, and whether the majority leader or minority leader of the Senate, should act as President.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Presidential Succession Act of 
2004''.

SEC. 2. PRESIDENTIAL SUCCESSION.

    Section 19 of title 3, United States Code, is amended to read as 
follows:
``Sec. 19. Vacancy in offices of both President and Vice President; 
              officers eligible to Act
    ``(a) In General.--
            ``(1) Use of succession list.--Except as provided in 
        paragraph (2), 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 highest individual 
        on the succession list who is eligible to the office of 
        President under the Constitution, not under disability to 
        discharge the powers and duties of the office of President, and 
        not disqualified under subsection (e), shall act as President.
            ``(2) Special rule if no president or vice president is 
        elected prior to beginning of term.--
                    ``(A) In general.--If, at the time fixed for the 
                beginning of the term of the President, a President has 
                not been chosen or the President elect has failed to 
                qualify, and a Vice President has not been chosen or 
                the Vice President elect has failed to qualify--
                            ``(i) the Speaker of the House of 
                        Representatives shall act as President; or
                            ``(ii) if the Speaker of the House of 
                        Representatives does not qualify, the majority 
                        leader of the Senate shall act as President.
                    ``(B) No nomination of vice president.--An 
                individual acting as President under this paragraph may 
                not nominate any individual to serve as Vice President.
            ``(3) Determination of inability to serve.--For purposes of 
        this subsection, an individual may not be considered to be 
        unable to serve as President or Vice President unless--
                    ``(A) the individual or an individual legally 
                authorized to act on the individual's behalf files a 
                statement with the Supreme Court of the United States 
                that the individual is unable to carry out the powers 
                and duties of the office; and
                    ``(B) the Supreme Court certifies that the 
                statement is correct.
    ``(b) Termination of Service.--An individual acting as President 
under this section shall continue to so act until the expiration of the 
then current Presidential term except that--
            ``(1) if the individual's service as President under this 
        section results in whole or in part from the failure of both 
        the President-elect and the Vice-President-elect to qualify, 
        the individual shall act only until a President or Vice 
        President qualifies;
            ``(2) if the individual's service as President under this 
        section results in whole or in part from the inability of the 
        President or Vice President, the individual shall act only 
        until the removal of the disability of one of such individuals; 
        and
            ``(3) if the individual's service as President under this 
        section results from the application of subsection (a)(2), the 
        individual shall act only until a President or Vice President 
        has been chosen or qualifies (as the case may be).
    ``(c) Succession List Described.--
            ``(1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2), for purposes 
        of this section, the term `succession list' means the following 
        list:
                    ``(A) The Secretary of State, the Secretary of the 
                Treasury, the Secretary of Defense, the Attorney 
                General, the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary 
                of Agriculture, the Secretary of Commerce, the 
                Secretary of Labor, the Secretary of Health and Human 
                Services, the Secretary of Housing and Urban 
                Development, the Secretary of Transportation, the 
                Secretary of Energy, the Secretary of Education, the 
                Secretary of Veterans Affairs, and the Secretary of 
                Homeland Security.
                    ``(B) The United States Ambassadors to the 
                following (in the following order):
                            ``(i) The United Nations.
                            ``(ii) The United Kingdom of Great Britain 
                        and Northern Ireland.
                            ``(iii) The French Republic.
                            ``(iv) The Russian Federation.
                            ``(v) The People's Republic of China.
            ``(2) Requiring appointment by president.--
                    ``(A) In general.--For purposes of paragraph (1) 
                and except as provided in subparagraphs (B) and (C), an 
                individual shall not be considered to hold any office 
                referred to in such paragraph unless the individual was 
                appointed to the office by the President whom the 
                individual would succeed pursuant to this section.
                    ``(B) Special rule for individuals appointed by 
                former president succeeded by vice president.--For 
                purposes of subparagraph (A), if the President who 
                appointed an individual to an office referred to in 
                paragraph (1) no longer serves as President by reason 
                of death, resignation, removal from office, inability, 
                or failure to qualify, the individual shall be deemed 
                to have been appointed to the office by the individual 
                succeeding that President if the successor President 
                served as the Vice President of that President.
                    ``(C) Special rule for individuals suggested or 
                approved by president-elect.--For purposes of 
                subparagraph (A), if an individual who holds an office 
                referred to in paragraph (1) was appointed by a sitting 
                President, the individual shall be deemed to have been 
                appointed by the President-elect if--
                            ``(i) the individual was appointed pursuant 
                        to a suggestion by the President-elect so that 
                        the individual may begin serving in the office 
                        immediately upon the inauguration of the 
                        President-elect (as described in paragraph 
                        (3)); or
                            ``(ii) if the President-elect notifies the 
                        Clerk of the House of Representatives and the 
                        Secretary of the Senate that the President-
                        elect approves the appointment of the 
                        individual to the office for purposes of 
                        paragraph (1).
            ``(3) Sense of congress regarding submission of nominees 
        suggested by president-elect.--It is the sense of Congress 
        that, prior to the inauguration of a President-elect--
                    ``(A) the President-elect should submit to the 
                sitting President suggestions for nominees to the 
                offices referred to in the succession list;
                    ``(B) the sitting President should submit to the 
                Senate the nominations of the individuals suggested by 
                the President-elect; and
                    ``(C) the Senate should confirm the appointment of 
                the nominees submitted by the sitting President so that 
                such individuals may begin serving in the offices 
                involved immediately upon the inauguration of the 
                President-elect.
    ``(d) Special Rule If No Individual Is on Succession List.--
            ``(1) In general.--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, and if there is no 
        individual on the succession list--
                    ``(A) the Speaker of the House of Representatives 
                or the minority leader of the House of Representatives, 
                as designated by the President-elect in the most recent 
                notice filed under paragraph (2), shall act as 
                President; or
                    ``(B) if the Speaker or minority leader does not 
                qualify, the majority leader of the Senate or the 
                minority leader of the Senate, as designated by the 
                President-elect in the most recent notice filed under 
                paragraph (2), shall act as President.
            ``(2) Designation by president-elect.--Prior to taking 
        office, the President-elect shall file with the Clerk of the 
        House of Representatives and the Secretary of the Senate a 
        notice designating whether the Speaker or the minority leader 
        of the House of Representatives, and whether the majority 
        leader or minority leader of the Senate, should act as 
        President pursuant to this subsection, and may file a revised 
        version of the notice at any time, including after taking 
        office.
    ``(e) Resignation From Current Office.--An individual is 
disqualified to discharge the powers and duties of the office of 
President for purposes of this section unless such individual, at the 
time that such powers and duties devolve upon the individual, meets the 
following requirements:
            ``(1) In the case of the Speaker of the House of 
        Representatives under subsection (a)(2)(A) or subsection 
        (d)(1), the individual resigns the office of Speaker and (in 
        the case of an individual who is a Member of the House of 
        Representatives) the office of Member of the House of 
        Representatives.
            ``(2) In the case of the minority leader of the House of 
        Representatives under subsection (d)(1), the individual resigns 
        the office of Member of the House of Representatives.
            ``(3) In the case of the majority leader of the Senate 
        under subsection (a)(2)(B) or subsection (d)(2), or the 
        minority leader of the Senate under subsection (d)(2), the 
        individual resigns the office of Senator.
            ``(4) In the case of an individual described in subsection 
        (c), the individual resigns the office by virtue of the holding 
        of which the individual qualifies to act as President.
    ``(f) Application of Procedures to Individuals Acting as President 
Under This Section.--The rule of subsection (a) shall also apply in the 
case of the death, resignation, removal from office, or inability of an 
individual acting as President under this section if, by reason of 
death, resignation, removal from office, inability, or failure to 
qualify, there is no Vice President to discharge the powers and duties 
of the office of President.
    ``(g) Nomination of Vice President.--Except as provided in 
subsection (a)(2)(B), an individual acting as President under this 
section shall promptly nominate a Vice President upon any vacancy in 
the office of Vice President.
    ``(h) Compensation.--During the period that any individual acts as 
President under this section, the individual's compensation shall be at 
the rate then provided by law in the case of the President.''.

SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING VOTES BY ELECTORS AFTER DEATH OR 
              INCAPACITY OF NOMINEES.

    It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) during a Presidential election year, the 2 nominees of 
        each political party for the office of President and Vice 
        President should jointly announce and designate on or before 
        the first Monday in September the individuals for whom the 
        electors of President and Vice President who are pledged to 
        vote for such nominees should give their votes for such offices 
        in the event that such nominees are deceased or permanently 
        incapacitated prior to the date of the meeting of the electors 
        of each State under section 7 of title 3, United States Code;
            (2) in the event a nominee for President is deceased or 
        permanently incapacitated prior to the date referred to in 
        paragraph (1) (but the nominee for Vice President of the same 
        political party is not deceased or permanently incapacitated), 
        the electors of President who are pledged to vote for the 
        nominee should give their votes to the nominee of the same 
        political party for the office of Vice President, and the 
        electors of Vice President who are pledged to vote for the 
        nominee for Vice President should give their votes to the 
        individual designated for such office by the nominees under 
        paragraph (1);
            (3) in the event a nominee for Vice President is deceased 
        or permanently incapacitated prior to the date referred to in 
        paragraph (1) (but the nominee for President of the same 
        political party is not deceased or permanently incapacitated), 
        the electors of Vice President who are pledged to vote for such 
        nominee should give their votes to the individual designated 
        for such office by the nominees under paragraph (1);
            (4) in the event that both the nominee for President and 
        the nominee for Vice President of the same political party are 
        deceased or permanently incapacitated prior to the date 
        referred to in paragraph (1), the electors of President and 
        Vice President who are pledged to vote for such nominees should 
        vote for the individuals designated for each such office by the 
        nominees under paragraph (1); and
            (5) political parties should establish rules and procedures 
        consistent with the procedures described in the preceding 
        paragraphs, including procedures to obtain written pledges from 
        electors to vote in the manner described in such paragraphs.

SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING STATUS OF PRESIDENT-ELECT.

    It is the sense of Congress that, for purposes of the twentieth 
amendment to the Constitution, the President-elect is the individual 
receiving the requisite number of votes cast by the electors at the 
meeting of the electors held pursuant to clause 3 of section 1 of 
article II of the Constitution.