IA 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. J. RES. 118 

Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to temporarily fill vacancies in the House of Representatives to further the continuity of Congress. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 7, 2024 

Mr. KILMER (for himself, Mr. WENSTRUP, Mr. TIMMONS, and Mr. CLEAVER) 

submitted the following joint resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

JOINT RESOLUTION 

Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United 

States to temporarily fill vacancies in the House of Representatives to further the continuity of Congress. 

1 Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives 

2 of the United States of America in Congress assembled

3 (two-thirds of each House concurring therein), That the fol4 lowing article is proposed as an amendment to the Con5 stitution of the United States, which shall be valid to all 

6 intents and purposes as part of the Constitution when 

7 ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several 

8 States within seven years after the date of its submission 

9 for ratification: 


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1 ‘‘ARTICLE— 

2 ‘‘SECTION 1. Immediately after taking the oath of of3 fice, an individual who is elected to serve as a Representa4 tive in the House of Representatives shall provide the 

5 House of Representatives with a list of at least five des6 ignees to take the individual’s place in the event the indi7 vidual dies prior to the expiration of the individual’s term 

8 of office. The individual shall ensure that the list only con9 tains the names of designees who meet the qualifications 

10 for service as a Representative in the House of Represent11 atives. 

12 ‘‘SECTION 2. In the event of the death of a Rep13 resentative, the chief executive of the State involved shall, 

14 not later than 10 days after the date of the death of the 

15 Representative, select an individual from the most recent 

16 list of designees provided by the Representative whose seat 

17 is now vacant, as provided by section 1, and the Speaker 

18 of the House shall immediately fill the vacancy with the 

19 individual selected. An individual designated to take the 

20 place of a Representative shall serve until another Member 

21 is elected to fill the vacancy pursuant to a special election. 

22 ‘‘SECTION 3. During the period of an individual’s 

23 service under section 2, the individual shall be treated as 

24 a Representative in the House of Representatives for pur25 poses of all laws, rules, and regulations, including for purVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:38 Mar 08, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HJ118.IH HJ118

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1 poses of section 1. In the event of the death of an indi2 vidual designated under section 2, the chief executive of 

3 the State involved shall select an individual from the most 

4 recent list of designees provided by the individual des5 ignated under section 2, as provided by section 1, and the 

6 Speaker of the House shall immediately fill the vacancy 

7 with the individual selected.’’. 

Æ 


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