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

Summary: Presidential Succession Act of 2005 - Modifies the presidential succession list to include, following 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.

Revises the provision specifying how long an acting President shall serve to provide that an acting President shall continue to serve as such until the expiration of the then current Presidential term or until the disability of the President or Vice-President is removed.

Expresses the sense of Congress with respect to: (1) votes by electors after the death or incapacity of nominees; and (2) the continuity of government and the transition of executive power.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Presidential Succession Act of 
2005''.

SEC. 2. PRESIDENTIAL SUCCESSION.

    (a) In General.--Section 19(d) of title 3, United States Code, is 
amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1), by inserting ``, Secretary of 
        Homeland Security, Ambassador to the United Nations, Ambassador 
        to Great Britain, Ambassador to Russia, Ambassador to China, 
        Ambassador to France'' after ``Secretary of Veterans Affairs'';
            (2) in paragraph (2)--
                    (A) by striking ``acting as'' and inserting 
                ``serving as acting''; and
                    (B) by striking ``but not'' and all that follows 
                through the period and inserting ``or until the 
                disability of the President or Vice President is 
                removed.'';
            (3) in paragraph (3)--
                    (A) by striking ``be held to constitute'' and 
                inserting ``not require'';
                    (B) by striking ``act as President'' and inserting 
                ``serve as acting President''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following: ``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 (c).''; and
            (4) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(4) This subsection shall apply only to such officers that are--
            ``(A) eligible to the office of President under the 
        Constitution;
            ``(B) appointed to an office listed under paragraph (1), 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 paragraph (1); and
            ``(C) not under impeachment by the House of Representatives 
        at the time the powers and duties of the office of President 
        devolve upon them.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendments.--Section 19 of such title is amended as 
follows:
            (1) In subsection (a)--
                    (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ``act as 
                President'' and inserting ``serve as acting 
                President''; and
                    (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ``acting as 
                President'' and inserting ``serving as acting 
                President''.
            (2) In subsection (b), by striking ``act as President'' and 
        inserting ``serve as acting President''.
            (3) In subsection (c)--
                    (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1)--
                            (i) by striking ``acting as President'' and 
                        inserting ``serving as acting President'', and
                            (ii) by striking ``continue to act'' and 
                        inserting ``continue to serve''; and
                    (B) in paragraphs (1) and (2), by striking ``shall 
                act'' each place it appears and inserting ``shall 
                serve''.
            (4) In subsection (e)--
                    (A) in the first sentence, by striking ``(a), (b), 
                and (d)'' and inserting ``(a) and (b)''; and
                    (B) by striking the second sentence.
            (5) In subsection (f), by striking ``acts as President'' 
        and inserting ``serves as acting 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 the Senate 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.