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[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6972 Referred in Senate (RFS)]

<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6972

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 7, 2024

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security 
                        and Governmental Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT

 
 To amend title 5, United States Code, to require an Executive agency 
 whose head is a member of the National Security Council to notify the 
   Executive Office of the President, the Comptroller General of the 
   United States, and congressional leadership of such head becoming 
    medically incapacitated within 24 hours, and for other purposes.

 

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Securing Chain of Command Continuity 
Act''.

SEC. 2. NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL MEDICAL INCAPACITY NOTIFICATION 
              ENHANCEMENT.

    Section 3349 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by adding 
at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(c)(1) Not later than 24 hours after the head of an Executive 
agency who is a member of the National Security Council becomes 
medically incapacitated or 24 hours in advance of a planned medical 
procedure where incapacitation is known or may be reasonably assumed, 
the person serving or who will be serving in an acting capacity as such 
head or, if no person is or will be so acting, the first assistant to 
the office of such head, shall submit to the appropriate Federal 
officials a notification that such head is or will be medically 
incapacitated.
    ``(2) If the notification required by paragraph (1) with respect to 
a head of an Executive agency becoming medically incapacitated is not 
submitted in accordance with the requirements of such paragraph, not 
later than 72 hours after such head became subject to such medical 
incapacity the person serving in an acting capacity as such head or, if 
no person is so acting, the first assistant to the office of such head, 
shall submit to the appropriate Federal officials a report including--
            ``(A) the name of each individual who served in an acting 
        capacity as such head pursuant to such medical incapacity and, 
        for each such individual--
                    ``(i) the dates of such service;
                    ``(ii) whether such individual was authorized to 
                serve in such acting capacity; and
                    ``(iii) a comprehensive list of resources and 
                authorities allocated to such individual while serving 
                in such acting capacity to ensure that such individual 
                could perform the functions and duties of the office of 
                such head;
            ``(B) an explanation why the notification required by 
        paragraph (1) was not submitted in accordance with the 
        requirements of such paragraph;
            ``(C) the dates of such head's medical incapacitation, and 
        if such head has resumed performing the functions and duties of 
        the office, the date such head so resumed performing such 
        functions and duties; and
            ``(D) an explanation why such head was medically 
        incapacitated.
    ``(3) In the event the head of an Executive agency remains 
medically incapacitated on the date the report is submitted under 
paragraph (2), the person serving in an acting capacity as such head 
or, if no person is so acting, the first assistant to the office of 
such head, shall submit periodic updates, as such person or first 
assistant considers appropriate, to such report to the appropriate 
Federal officials.
    ``(4) In this subsection--
            ``(A) the term `appropriate Federal officials' means the 
        Executive Office of the President, the Comptroller General of 
        the United States, the Majority Leader of the Senate, the 
        Minority Leader of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of 
        Representatives, and the Minority Leader of the House of 
        Representatives;
            ``(B) the terms `medical incapacity' and `medically 
        incapacitated' mean, with respect to the head of an Executive 
        agency, that such head is unable to perform the functions and 
        duties of the office of such head due to sickness, injury, or 
        other medical condition and such inability to perform the 
        functions and duties of the office of such head constitutes a 
        vacancy of the office of such head to which this section and 
        sections 3345, 3346, 3347, 3348, 3349a, 3349b, 3349c, and 3349d 
        apply; and
            ``(C) the term `National Security Council' means the 
        council established under section 101 of the National Security 
        Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3021).''.

            Passed the House of Representatives May 6, 2024.

            Attest:

                                             KEVIN F. MCCUMBER,

                                                                 Clerk.
```