To amend chapter 1 of title 3, United States Code, relating to Presidential succession.

Summary: Presidential Succession Act of 2010 - Revises provisions governing presidential succession to: (1) provide that the person next in line to succeed the President after the Vice President (currently, the Speaker of the House of Representatives) shall be the individual whose name is submitted by the President to the Clerk of the House from among the Speaker of the House, the Majority Leader of the House, or the Minority Leader of the House (or the Speaker until the President submits such name); (2) provide that the person next in line (currently the President Pro Tempore of the Senate) after such designated House leader shall be the individual whose name is submitted by the President to the Secretary of the Senate from among the Majority Leader of the Senate, the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, or the Minority Leader of the Senate (or the Majority Leader of the Senate until the President submits such name); (3) include in the succession list, after the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Ambassadors to the United Nations, Great Britain, Russia, China, and France, in that order; and (4) provide that the taking of the oath of office by an individual specified in the succession list shall not require resignation from the office qualifying such individual for succession.

Permits the succession list to include only such officers that are: (1) eligible to the office of President under the Constitution; (2) not under impeachment by the House of Representatives; and (3) except for the designated House or Senate leader, appointed to the office involved, by and with the Senate's advice and consent, prior to succession.

Expresses the sense of Congress regarding: (1) to whom electors should give their votes in the event of the death or incapacity of nominees for President and Vice President; and (2) nomination by a President who will not be serving a succeeding term of individuals selected by the President-elect for offices that fall within the line of succession, confirmation of such nominees by the Senate, and the signing and delivery of commissions to all such approved nominations, before the inauguration of the President-elect, to ensure continuity of government.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Presidential Succession Act of 
2010''.

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)(1) If, by reason of death, resignation, removal from office, 
inability, or failure to qualify, there is neither a President nor Vice 
President to discharge the powers and duties of the office of 
President, then the highest individual on the succession list who is 
not under disability to discharge the powers and duties of the office 
of President and not disqualified under subsection (c), shall serve as 
acting President.
    ``(2) The same rule shall also apply in the case of the death, 
resignation, removal from office, or inability of an individual serving 
as acting 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.
    ``(b) An individual serving as acting President under this section 
shall continue to so serve until the expiration of the then current 
Presidential term, except that--
            ``(1) if his discharge of the powers and duties of the 
        office is founded in whole or in part on the failure of both 
        the President-elect and the Vice-President-elect to qualify, 
        then he shall serve only until a President or Vice President 
        qualifies; and
            ``(2) if his discharge of the powers and duties of the 
        office is founded in whole or in part on the inability of the 
        President or Vice President, then he shall serve only until the 
        removal of the disability of one of such individuals.
    ``(c)(1) For purposes of this section, the term `succession list' 
means the following: The designated House leader under subsection (d), 
the designated Senate leader under subsection (e), 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, 
the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Ambassador to the United 
Nations, the Ambassador to Great Britain, the Ambassador to Russia, the 
Ambassador to China, and the Ambassador to France.
    ``(2) The taking of the oath of office by an individual specified 
in the succession list shall not require his resignation from the 
office by virtue of the holding of which he qualifies to serve as 
acting President. Such individual shall not receive compensation from 
holding that office during the period that the individual serves as 
acting President or Vice President under this section, and shall be 
compensated for that period as provided under subsection (f).
    ``(3) The succession list shall include only such officers that 
are--
            ``(A) eligible to the office of President under the 
        Constitution;
            ``(B) not under impeachment by the House of Representatives 
        at the time the powers and duties of the office of President 
        devolve upon them; and
            ``(C) except in the case of the designated House leader 
        under subsection (d) and the designated Senate leader under 
        subsection (e), appointed to the office involved, by and with 
        the advice and consent of the Senate, prior to the time the 
        powers and duties of the President devolve to such officer 
        under this section.
    ``(d)(1) The designated House leader under this subsection is the 
individual whose name is submitted by the President in a written 
notification to the Clerk of the House of Representatives from among 
the following: The Speaker of the House of Representatives, the 
Majority Leader of the House of Representatives, or the Minority Leader 
of the House of Representatives.
    ``(2) The notification by the President under paragraph (1) shall 
remain in effect until the President submits a later notification under 
such paragraph, and shall not be rendered ineffective by the expiration 
of any Presidential term.
    ``(3) Until such time as the President first submits a notification 
under paragraph (1), the Speaker of the House of Representatives is 
deemed to be the designated House leader under this subsection.
    ``(4) A person acting as Speaker pro tempore shall not be treated 
for purposes of this subsection as holding the office of Speaker of the 
House of Representatives.
    ``(5) Each notification submitted by the President under this 
subsection shall be made publicly available.
    ``(e)(1) The designated Senate leader under this subsection is the 
individual whose name is submitted by the President in a written 
notification to the Secretary of the Senate from among the following: 
The Majority Leader of the Senate, the President Pro Tempore of the 
Senate, or the Minority Leader of the Senate.
    ``(2) The notification by the President under paragraph (1) shall 
remain in effect until the President submits a later notification under 
such paragraph, and shall not be rendered ineffective by the expiration 
of any Presidential term.
    ``(3) Until such time as the President first submits a notification 
under paragraph (1), the Majority Leader of the Senate is deemed to be 
the designated Senate leader under this subsection.
    ``(4) Each notification submitted by the President under this 
subsection shall be made publicly available.
    ``(f) During the period that any individual serves as acting 
President under this section, his 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 nominees of 
        each political party for the office of President and Vice 
        President should jointly announce and designate on or before 
        the final day of the convention (or related event) at which 
        they are nominated 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 ON THE CONTINUITY OF GOVERNMENT AND THE 
              SMOOTH TRANSITION OF EXECUTIVE POWER.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
            (1) members of the Senate, regardless of political party 
        affiliation, agree that the American people deserve a 
        Government that is failsafe and foolproof, and that terrorists 
        should never have the ability to disrupt the operations of the 
        Government;
            (2) continuity of governmental operations in the wake of a 
        catastrophic terrorist attack remains a pressing issue of 
        national importance before the United States Congress;
            (3) at a minimum, terrorists should never have the ability, 
        by launching a terrorist attack, to change the political party 
        that is in control of the Government, regardless of which party 
        is in power;
            (4) whenever control of the White House shall change from 
        one political party to another, the outgoing President and the 
        incoming President should work together, and with the Senate to 
        the extent determined appropriate by the Senate, to ensure a 
        smooth transition of executive power, in the interest of the 
        American people;
            (5) under the current presidential succession statute in 
        section 19 of title 3, United States Code, the members of the 
        cabinet, defined as the heads of the statutory executive 
        departments under section 101 of title 5, United States Code, 
        fall within the line of succession to the presidency;
            (6) during previous presidential transition periods, the 
        incoming President has had to serve with cabinet members from 
        the prior administration, including subcabinet officials from 
        the prior administration acting as cabinet members, for at 
        least some period of time;
            (7) the Constitution vests the appointment power of 
        executive branch officials in the President, by and with the 
        advice and consent of the Senate, and nothing in this 
        resolution is intended to alter either the constitutional power 
        of the President or the constitutional function of the Senate 
        with regard to the confirmation of presidential nominees;
            (8) an incoming President cannot exercise the 
        constitutional powers of the President, in order to ensure a 
        smooth transition of Government, until noon on the 20th day of 
        January, pursuant to the terms of the twentieth amendment to 
        the Constitution;
            (9) cooperation between the incoming and the outgoing 
        President is therefore the only way to ensure a smooth 
        transition of Government;
            (10) Congress throughout history has acted consistently and 
        in a bipartisan fashion to encourage measures to ensure the 
        smooth transition of executive power from one President to 
        another, such as through the enactment of the Presidential 
        Transition Act of 1963 (3 U.S.C. 102 note; Public Law 88-277) 
        and subsequent amendments;
            (11) Congress has previously concluded that ``[t]he 
        national interest requires'' that ``the orderly transfer of the 
        executive power in connection with the expiration of the term 
        of office of a President and the inauguration of a new 
        President . . . be accomplished so as to assure continuity in 
        the faithful execution of the laws and in the conduct of the 
        affairs of the Federal Government, both domestic and foreign'' 
        under the Presidential Transition Act of 1963 (3 U.S.C. 102 
        note; Public Law 88-277);
            (12) Congress has further concluded that ``[a]ny disruption 
        occasioned by the transfer of the executive power could produce 
        results detrimental to the safety and well-being of the United 
        States and its people'' under the Presidential Transition Act 
        of 1963 (3 U.S.C. 102 note; Public Law 88-277);
            (13) Congress has previously expressed its intent ``that 
        appropriate actions be authorized and taken to avoid or 
        minimize any disruption'' and ``that all officers of the 
        Government so conduct the affairs of the Government for which 
        they exercise responsibility and authority as (1) to be mindful 
        of problems occasioned by transitions in the office of the 
        President, (2) to take appropriate lawful steps to avoid or 
        minimize disruptions that might be occasioned by the transfer 
        of the executive power, and (3) otherwise to promote orderly 
        transitions in the office of President'' under the Presidential 
        Transition Act of 1963 (3 U.S.C. 102 note; Public Law 88-277);
            (14) the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the 
        United States established under title VI of the Intelligence 
        Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2003 (6 U.S.C. 101 note; 
        Public Law 107-306) expressly recognized the need to ``Improve 
        the Transitions between Administrations'' in its final report;
            (15) the Commission specifically recommended that, 
        ``[s]ince a catastrophic attack could occur with little or no 
        notice, we should minimize as much as possible the disruption 
        of national security policymaking during the change of 
        administrations by accelerating the process for national 
        security appointments'' and that ``the process could be 
        improved significantly so transitions can work more effectively 
        and allow new officials to assume their new responsibilities as 
        quickly as possible'';
            (16) the Commission suggested that ``[a] president-elect 
        should submit lists of possible candidates for national 
        security positions to begin obtaining security clearances 
        immediately after the election, so that their background 
        investigations can be complete before January 20'', that ``[a] 
        president-elect should submit the nominations of the entire new 
        national security team, through the level of under secretary of 
        cabinet departments, not later than January 20'', that ``[t]he 
        Senate, in return, should adopt special rules requiring 
        hearings and votes to confirm or reject national security 
        nominees within 30 days of their submission'', and that an 
        outgoing Administration should work cooperatively with an 
        incoming President to ensure a smooth transition, in the 
        interest of national security; and
            (17) there is no more important national security position 
        than the office of President, and thus it is essential to 
        national security that any new administration establish its own 
        clear and stable line of succession to the presidency as 
        quickly as possible.
    (b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that during the 
period preceding the end of a term of office in which a President will 
not be serving a succeeding term--
            (1) that President should consider submitting the 
        nominations of individuals to the Senate who are selected by 
        the President-elect for offices that fall within the line of 
        succession;
            (2) the Senate should consider conducting confirmation 
        proceedings and votes on the nominations described under 
        paragraph (1), to the extent determined appropriate by the 
        Senate, between January 3 and January 20 before the 
        Inauguration; and
            (3) that President should consider agreeing to sign and 
        deliver commissions for all approved nominations on January 20 
        before the Inauguration to ensure continuity of Government.